Santa Monica Conservancy

Santa Monica Conservancy https://smconservancy.org/explore-santa-monica/historic-places/map/

09/01/2026

Planning out your month? Well, here’s our September special events rollout. Swipe to explore 🌎😎

🏡Don’t miss the launch of Sidewalk Talks on Tuesday, September 1. Visit the Airplane Bungalow on 1921 20th Street and get an inside look at the landmark nomination process. Choose from two identical sessions at noon or 6 pm!

🎟️ Attention, all architecture enthusiasts and history buffs! The 2026 Doors Open California celebration stops in Santa Monica, September 26-27. View a special exhibition featuring original period-era wallpaper found in the walls of the 1897 Shotgun House during its rehabilitation!

✈️ Save the date for “Where Legends Took Flight”, part one of a two-part series on the past and future of the Santa Monica Airport, streaming live on Sunday, September 27 at 5 pm.
Learn more at smconservancy.org.

The former J.C. Penney Building at Third Street and Wilshire Boulevard is a shining example of the optimism of Santa Mon...
08/31/2026

The former J.C. Penney Building at Third Street and Wilshire Boulevard is a shining example of the optimism of Santa Monica’s postwar downtown. J.C. Penney Company opened its first Santa Monica store at 1326 Third Street in 1924. In 1949, Santa Monica was booming, and J.C. Penney outgrew its narrow, mid-block storefront. A stylish new home was built at 1202 Third Street.

Los Angeles architect Milton Lawrence Anderson created this rare local example of the Late Moderne style, a style that bridged the Streamline Moderne of the 1930s and the International Style and Mid-Century Modernism that followed. The monumental fluted cylindrical corner tower that originally carried the "JCP" logo high above Third Street and Wilshire Boulevard rises from a solid base. Horizontal details add movement that carries the building facade around the corner beneath a curved cantilevered canopy, creating a dramatic juxtaposition to the soaring verticality of the tower.

J.C. Penney operated at this corner for over 45 years, watching as Third Street was closed to cars in 1965 and evolved into the Third Street Promenade. By the 1990s, the classic downtown department store faded from favor. J.C. Penney closed the Santa Monica store in 1998, and Banana Republic moved into the building. The original "JCP" lettering disappeared from the tower, but Anderson’s 1949 building still stands today, telling the story of Santa Monica’s postwar commercial boom.

Do you remember shopping at either of its major former retailers, Penney’s or Banana Republic? Or maybe you worked here for one of them?

Built in 1919, more than a decade before the International Style began, Horatio West Court on Hollister Avenue is a true...
08/28/2026

Built in 1919, more than a decade before the International Style began, Horatio West Court on Hollister Avenue is a true precursor to modern architecture.

The four-unit complex was designed by Irving Gill. Born in New York in 1870, Gill came to California in 1893. He developed his own style by combining futuristic ideas with the forms of pueblos and Spanish missions.

Horatio West Court was conceived out of Gill's desire to develop affordable housing for folks living on modest means. He wanted to design places that were not only inexpensive, but pleasant. The concept didn't quite work as planned because the new residents were all middle-income and attracted to the beach.

Horatio West Court consists of four two-story residences in facing pairs separated by a landscaped central path.

The individual units are substantial five-room homes. Downstairs is a living room, study, dining room, kitchen, and bath, with doors opening from the living and dining rooms into a private court. Upstairs is a bedroom, another bath, and a large outdoor porch enclosed by parapet walls.
Exterior walls and interior partitions are built as a six-inch concrete sandwich reinforced with steel rods, while the floors, stairs, and roof slab are also concrete. It was an extraordinarily complete application of concrete to residential construction in 1919, and the material helped the buildings survive with relatively little alteration.

In 1973, a group of architects and admirers of early California Modernism acquired Horatio West Court to restore and live in. Between 1973 and 1976, they repaired the concrete and plaster, replaced roofing, updated kitchens and plumbing, and carefully rehabilitated the buildings without changing Gill's basic plan. Their work is what allows the structure to survive to this day.

Horatio West Court was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. Looking at it now, can you tell this structure is over 107 years old?


National Trust for Historic Preservation

08/27/2026

On Tuesday, September 1, Santa Monica Conservancy will host its first-ever "Sidewalk Talks", where we invite the public to explore the inner workings of preservation advocacy.

For the first event, we'll visit the Unfried House, a 1913 Airplane Bungalow.
🏡 1921 20th Street, Santa Monica, CA 90404
🗓️ Tuesday, September 1
🕛 Choose from Two Identical Sessions at Noon or 6pm

Every "sidewalk talk" begins with a 15-minute presentation of a historic resource that was recently nominated for landmark designation. Attendees will have a chance to view the resource in person, and afterward, the group will walk together for a no-host lunch or snack to continue the dialogue.

About the Unfried House:

The 1913 residence is an excellent, remarkably intact example of a Craftsman-style Airplane Bungalow and holds historical significance as a pioneering structure in the southeast section of the Pico neighborhood. The house was home to Simon and Anna Unfried, who later built Unfried Hall, the area's first commercial building, featuring four ground-floor shops and a banquet hall. Unfried Hall was forced to close as an unintended consequence of a racially motivated city ordinance that barred dancing in most parts of the city.

The talk will highlight the architecture and the historical narratives that motivated the Conservancy to nominate the structure as a local landmark.

This is a unique opportunity to learn about the Pico Neighborhood's early development and the landmark designation process, ahead of the Landmarks Designation Hearing of the Santa Monica Landmarks Commission on September 14.

Register for this free event: https://smc.givecloud.co/unfried

One all-access pass to over 70 historic sites throughout the month of September! Doesn't that sound like a dream? Don't ...
08/27/2026

One all-access pass to over 70 historic sites throughout the month of September! Doesn't that sound like a dream?

Don't miss Doors Open California 2026, a month-long, statewide celebration of historic architecture, design, and cultural heritage.

On September 26-27, the celebration comes to Santa Monica, with the historic Shotgun House and the Marion Davies Guest House at the Annenberg Community Beach House as featured sites.

This year, exclusive to California Preservation Foundation's 2026 Doors Open event, we're hosting a special exhibition of original period wallpaper samples, found in the walls of the 1897 Shotgun House during its rehabilitation.

What makes a house a home?What makes a neighborhood worth designating? Ponder these questions this Sunday on the Third S...
08/22/2026

What makes a house a home?

What makes a neighborhood worth designating?

Ponder these questions this Sunday on the Third Street Walking Tour. Take a stroll down Santa Monica’s Third Street Neighborhood Historic District, featuring 27 original 20th-century bungalows and four structures from the late 1800s.

🕛This Sunday, August 23, from noon to 1 pm
📍The tour starts at the Historic Shotgun House at 2520 Second Street, Santa Monica.
🎟️ Free for Conservancy members / $10 for the General Public

Designating the district was a grassroots effort organized by residents who organized for the historic district’s nomination.

Your guide, Mario Fonda-Bonardi, was among those who worked to designate the district in 1990.

Join him on a deep dive into the stories of some of Ocean Park’s oldest residents and buildings.

Learn more at smconservancy.org.
RSVP today: https://smc.givecloud.co/items/third-street-walk

You’ll recognize the historic Embassy Apartments Hotel at 1001 Third Street by its red-tile roofing and lush courtyard. ...
08/20/2026

You’ll recognize the historic Embassy Apartments Hotel at 1001 Third Street by its red-tile roofing and lush courtyard.

The property reflects the wealth, exuberance, and love of romantic styles from faraway places that peaked in the 1920s. Establishments like the Embassy were built to offer both long-term and short-term stays to accommodate tourists passing through as well as those in Santa Monica for longer stays, and residents who preferred to live with hotel-style amenities every day.

The Embassy was built in the Spanish Colonial Revival style with Moorish influences. The main entrance is reached through a wrought iron gate that leads to a verdant courtyard with a wishing well. The front entry doors are flanked by slender spiral columns and topped with fanciful ornamentation featuring heraldic shields, masks, and scrolls, which also appear in a decorative frieze just under the roofline. The asymmetrical structure is punctuated by windows ornamented with wrought iron grilles, balconets, or Moorish stucco screens. There are arched windows, colonnades, and some windows are glazed with bottle glass. The lobby and rear court still feature original California art tile accents.

The Embassy was designed by Architect Arthur E. Harvey and built by contractor Luther Mayo in 1927. It was designated a Santa Monica landmark on October 13, 2003

In just under a century, the building has had many stewards. Yet throughout, the building has retained its historic character inside and out, drawing curious visitors and residents enamored by exotic Spanish-Moorish style architecture of the California coast.

Today, the Maison Twenty-Seven hotel manages the property, offering 38 guest rooms, each one with a unique interior and distinct personality.��

Have you stayed here before? Share your memories below.

08/17/2026

Do you recognize this scene?

Gene Wilder and Peter Boyle gave this unforgettable performance of "Puttin' On the Ritz" as part of the monster musical Young Frankenstein (1974).

Look closely at the interior details surrounding the stage and behind the critical audience.

You're looking at a Santa Monica landmark: the Mayfair Theater!

📍Location: 212-216 Santa Monica Boulevard
🏙️ Designated: July 11, 1994

Learn more at smconservancy.org.



This clip of Young Frankenstein (1974) is owned by 20th Century Studios. Its composition was edited slightly for use on social media, solely for educational purposes.

The show must go on!The Mayfair Theater at 212-216 Santa Monica Boulevard was the first-ever theater in Downtown Santa M...
08/15/2026

The show must go on!

The Mayfair Theater at 212-216 Santa Monica Boulevard was the first-ever theater in Downtown Santa Monica. Originally designed as the Santa Monica Opera House, it opened in 1911 as the "Majestic Theater" with lavish decor, advertising high-class entertainment: live theater. The venue was designed by Henry C. Hollwedel and created by the pioneering investment firm of Charles A. Tegner, one of the city's most prominent businessmen, and J. Euclid Miles, an active civic leader and donor of the 1929 Miles Playhouse.

The theater transitioned into vaudeville acts and silent films, attracting wider audiences and strengthening its position among the opulent movie palaces constructed in the pre-WWII era. By the 1960s, the "Majestic" had become the "Mayfair," settling into a new identity as a repertory cinema. In 1973, the space had another rebirth, this time as the Mayfair Music Hall, offering variety shows and comedy in a supper club setting.

On a few occasions, the Mayfair stood in front of movie cameras. If you pay close attention, you might spot this treasure in Young Frankenstein (1974), The Rockford Files (1974), and Girl Happy (1965, starring Elvis Presley).

The Mayfair underwent a facade refresh in 1919 by the original architect, Hollwedel, who had since completed several other commissions for Tegner, including Henshey's Department Store. The remodel introduced an exuberant Churrigueresque design featuring flowers, theatrical masks, and shields to embellish the high arched central bay and window surrounds. Vertical shafts and decorative wrought iron balconettes add further richness.

In 1994, the theater sustained severe damage as a result of the Northridge Earthquake and was red-tagged. Later that year, it was designated a City Landmark.

The Mayfair Theater has since been adaptively reused as an apartment building with 38 units and ground floor retail. The ornate facade and elaborate terrazzo paved entryway were meticulously restored as part of the project and shine brightly today.

If you visit Downtown this weekend, walk over and find the Majestic Theater and take a peek at this window into old Santa Monica.

What do the Keller Building, El Miro Theater, Shangri-La, and the Clocktower Building have in common?They’re all on our ...
08/14/2026

What do the Keller Building, El Miro Theater, Shangri-La, and the Clocktower Building have in common?

They’re all on our Downtown Walking Tour this Saturday.😎

🗓️ AUGUST 15

🕙 10 AM

📍Meet us at the Historic Rapp Saloon at 1436 Second Street 🤠

Discover downtown Santa Monica’s architecture, history, and culture with our team of highly-rated docents. From Art Deco to Victorian and Romanesque Revival, you’ll explore the diverse architectural styles that fill the streets of Santa Monica. Check out where Jim Morrison played his first show. Uncover the start of the modern movie industry! And visit a lavish Art Deco hotel that attracted mobster Bugsy Siegel and movie stars Clark Gable and ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle.

RSVP today: https://smc.givecloud.co/dwt

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