Santa Monica Walking Tour in 4K - With Captions - Part 1
Jonathan Borofsky's permanent installation of the Ballerina Clown. Perched on the CVS at Rose and Main Street in Venice. This red building, a former firehouse, is called "The Firehouse," and is an all-day American Diner. Both the Ballerina Clown and The Firehouse can be seen in the first half-hour of the Motion Picture "Speed" with Keanu Reeves. Santa Monica, Spanish for Saint Monica (Patron Saint of Mothers and wives), is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County.
Popular locations include Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier, and Palisades Park atop a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Walk with us and we will take you to both locations, in addition to the Santa Monica Promenade, with many interesting points in between. Traveling west on Main Street: a strip of upscale shopping and eclectic dining in the Ocean Park neighborhood. We are walking parallel to, and two blocks east of the ocean. This area has a beachy, artsy feel, similar in manner to its neighbor Venice Beach. Architecture: The Parkhurst Building - A two-story commercial building built in 1927, in the Mission Revival style. Mural by artist Kristel Lerman.
Architecture: Ocean Park Library - Neoclassical style. The Ocean Park Library was built with funding from steel baron and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie believed that public libraries were the key to self-improvement for ordinary Americans. Thus, in the years between 1887 and 1917, Carnegie financed the construction of 2,811 public libraries, most of which were in the United States.
The Galley - a nautical-themed bar and restaurant, which was moved from the Santa Monica Pier to its current location in 1946. Dimly lit, warm, and inviting, the watering hole was a hit with the Hollywood crowd from the beginning. Frequent patrons included: Errol Flynn, Carole Lombard, Tyrone Power, Joe DiMaggio, and Marilyn Monroe. The interior decor features actual set pieces from the Motion Picture "Mutiny on the Bounty." Mural by artist Tommii Lim - Belzberg Architects Building. Santa Monica Community Garden - Established in 1976 with 73 plots. This is the largest community garden and most visible, encompassing an entire city block. North side of the Belzberg Architects Building - Mural by artist Tommii Lim.
Approaching Bicknell Avenue - in the heart of Dogtown - where the Zephyr Competition Team - Z-Boys - practiced their revolutionary skateboard style. Based out of the Jeff Ho Surfboards and Zephyr Productions Surf and Skate Shop - the twelve original Z-Boys, (which included one girl), were: Jay Adams, Tony Alva, Bob Biniak, Chris Cahill, Paul Constantineau, Shogo Kubo, Jim Muir, Peggy Oki, Stacy Peralta, Nathan Pratt, Wentzle Ruml IV, and Allen Sarlo. Dogtown Coffee - the original site of Jeff Ho Surfboards and Zephy Productions. We totally missed the most awesome tribute mural to Jay Adams on the back side of this building. The Inkwell was a popular beach for African Americans in Southern California through the middle decades of the Twentieth Century. The beach at Bay Street, fanning out a block to the north and south, was derogatorily called "The Inkwell" by nearby Anglos in reference to the skin color of the beach-goers.
Such names existed for other beaches across the U.S. as well. Nonetheless, African Americans in Southern California, like their counterparts elsewhere, transformed the hateful moniker into a badge of pride. A perfectly placed park bench. Santa Monica has a coastal Mediterranean climate, and boasts a total of 310 sunny days per year. As a general rule, the beach temperature is from 5 - 10 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than it is inland during summer days and 5 - 10 degrees warmer during winter nights.
September has the highest temperature; the average being 70.7 degrees Fahrenheit or 21.5 degrees Celsius. On the left is the Hotel Casa Del Mar - opened as "Club Casa Del Mar," on May 1st, 1926, as a private beach club. Architecture Style: Italian Renaissance Revival. The glory days of the hotel spanned from 1926 to 1941 and it became one of the most successful beach clubs in Southern California. The building has served as housing for enlisted soldiers during World War II, a drug rehabilitation facility, a nutritional and health care facility, and most recently a hotel, refurbished at the cost of $50 million by the Edward Thomas Hospitality Corporation.
Walking on "The Strand," Santa Monica's beach path. The Santa Monica portion is 8.5 miles long. Straight ahead is the Santa Monica Pier. Here in front of the Sea Castle Luxury Apartments is the Original Muscle Beach (OMB) Slackline Park.
This park has several poles that stick out of the sand that allow for slacklines to be attached. The lengths range 20 to 300 feet. Original Muscle Beach, which began in the early 1930s, was a venue for people to watch acrobats, gymnasts, wrestlers, and stunt people practice for films being shot during the great depression. By the mid-1950s Muscle Beach had established world-wide fame and created a large fitness movement in Santa Monica which spread to surrounding cities. In 1987, Muscle Beach Venice - with a focus on weightlifting - was named in honor of the Original Muscle Beach in Santa Monica. In 1989, Santa Monica rededicated their park as the Original Muscle Beach.
2021-04-09 02:39
