(1910 to 1920) (1900-1910) (1920-1930) Table of Contents
Fred E. Basten Santa Monica Bay: The First 100 Years, A pictorial history of Santa Monica, Venice, Ocean Park, Pacific Palisades, Topanga and Malibu, Douglas-West Publishers: Los Angeles, CA, 1974, 227 pp., 1934, 1931, 1917, 1916 See Text
John Cage* Silence, Wesleyan University Press: Hanover, NH, 1961(1973), 276 pp., 1983, 1982, 1978, 1912, 1949, 1910 to 1920, See Text
Donald M. Cleland A History of the Santa Monica Schools 1876-1951, Santa Monica Unified School District, February 1952 (Copied for the Santa Monica Library, July 22, 1963). 140 pp., 1919, 1913, 1912, 1910s, 1908 See Text
Laurence Goldstein, The American poet at the movies: a critical history , Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, 1994, 272 pp., 1920s,, 1915, See Text
Robert Gottlieb and Irene Wolt* Thinking Big: The Story of the Los Angeles Times, Its Publishers and Their Influence on Southern California, G.P. Putnam's Sons: NY, 1977. 603 pp., 1910s See Text
Edgar Kaufmann, Jr. (ed.) The Rise of an American Architecture, Essays by Henry-Russell Hitchcock, Albert Fein, Winston Weisman, Vincent Scully, Praeger Publishers: NY, 1970, 1950s, 1920s, 1910s See Text
John Laughery The Man Who Created Philo Vance 1910s See Text
Color, Myth, and Music: Stanton Macdonald-Wright and Synchromism, LACMA Press Release 2001 August 5 through October 28, 2001, 1973, 1910s See Text
Esther McCoy Irving Gill 1870-1936 Five California Architects, 1960, Reprinted in Marvin Rand Irving J. Gill: Architect 1870-1936, Gibbs Smith, Publisher: Salt Lake City, UT, Design, Ahde Lahti; Photographs, Marvin Rand, 2006, 238 pp. pp. 219-227, 2006a, 1919, 1916, 1914, 1910s See Text
Tom Moran and Tom Sewell Fantasy by the Sea Peace Press: Culver City, CA, 1980 (1979) (Originally published by Beyond Baroque Foundation with a grant from the Visual Arts Program of the National Endowment for the Arts), 1910s See Text
Gordon Newell and Joe Williamson Pacific Coastal Liners, Superior Publishing Co.: Seattle, WA, (Bonanza Books, Crown Publishing: NY), 1959, 192 pp., 1910s See Text
Night Scene, Ocean Park and Santa Monica, 1910s See Image
Harold Osmer & Phil Harms Real Road Racing: The Santa Monica Road Races, Harold L. Osmer Publishing: Chatsworth, CA 1999, 1910s See Text
Jeffrey Stanton Santa Monica Pier A History from 1875 to 1990, Donahue Publishing: Los Angeles, CA, 1990, 1910s See Text
Jeffrey Stanton Venice of America: 'Coney Island of the Pacific,' Donahue Publishing: Los Angeles, CA, 1987. 176 pp., 1919, 1918, 1917 1916,1915, 1914, 1913, 1912, 1911, 1910 See Text
Kevin Starr, Inventing the Dream: California Through the Progressive Era Oxford University Press, 1985, p 87-9, 1933, 1929, 1912, 1910s See Text
Les Storrs Santa Monica Portrait of a City Yesterday and Today, Santa Monica Bank: Santa Monica, CA, 1974, 67 pp., 1910-1920 See Text
Betty Lou Young Our First Century: The Los Angeles Athletic Club 1880-1980, LAAC Press: Los Angeles, California 1979, 176pp., 1910s See Text
Documents
Fred E. Basten Santa Monica Bay: The First 100 Years, A pictorial history of Santa Monica, Venice, Ocean Park, Pacific Palisades, Topanga and Malibu, Douglas-West Publishers: Los Angeles, CA, 1974, 227 pp., 1934, 1931, 1917, 1916
"Santa Monica's two piers appear as one, 1916. The smaller Loof Pier was the predecessor of today's Newcomb Pier and held the amusement area. The adjoining Municipal Pier was reconstructed in 1921 when it was widened and extended 1,640 feet." p. 96.
"By legislative act, approved April 10, 1917, the State of California made a grant to the City of Santa Monica, in trust for harbor and other public purposes, of the tidelands and submerged lands within the boundaries of the city and below the mean high tide line. This made the city's waterfront activities possible, including its breakwater (built in 1934) and yacht harbor for which Santa Monicans voted a $690,000 bond issue in 1931-despite the Great Depression." p.97
John Cage* Silence, Wesleyan University Press: Hanover, NH, 1961(1973), 276 pp., 1983, 1982, 1978, 1912, 1949, 1910 to 1920,
(John Cage* (1912-1992) ". . . was born in Los Angeles. He was recognized by the American Academy of Arts and Letters for having extended the boundaries of music in 1949. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1978. In 1982, France awarded him its highest honor, Commandeur de l'Order des Arts et des Lettres.)
"When I was growing up in California there were two things that everyone assumed were good for you. There were, of course others-spinach and oatmeal, for instance-but right now I'm thinking of sunshine and orange juice. When we lived at Ocean Park, I was sent out every morning to the beach where I spent the day building rolly-coasters in the sand, complicated downhill tracks with tunnels and inclines upon which I rolled a small hard rubber ball. Every day toward noon, I fainted because the sun was too much for me. When I fainted I didn't fall down, but I couldn't see; there were flocks of black spots wherever I looked. I soon learned to find my way in that blindness to a hamburger stand where I'd ask for something to eat. Sitting in the shade, I'd come to. It took me much longer, about thirty-five years in fact, to learn that orange juice was not good for me either." p. 88
"Once when I was a child in Los Angeles I went downtown on the streetcar. It was such a hot day that, when I got out of the streetcar, the tar on the pavement stuck to my feet. (I was barefoot.) Getting to the sidewalk, I found it so hot that I had to run to keep from blistering my feet. I went into a five and dime to get a root beer. When I came to the counter where it was sold from a large barrel and asked for some, a man standing on the counter high above me said, "Wait, I'm putting syrup and it'll be a few minutes." As he was putting in the last can, he missed, and spilled the sticky syrup all over me. To make me feel better, he offered a free root beer. I said, "No, thank you."" p. 263
Donald M. Cleland A History of the Santa Monica Schools 1876-1951, Santa Monica Unified School District, February 1952 (Copied for the Santa Monica Library, July 22, 1963). 140 pp., 1919, 1913, 1912, 1910s, 1908
The Washington School that rose out of the ashes of the old one the same year gave the neighborhood its first fine brick building. Cement sidewalks had been laid around the entire block, but weeds and wild flowers still grew unmolested in the streets. The new building contained twelve rooms, was of two-story construction, and commanded a view of the Santa Monica-Ocean Park strand. The slope of the hill permitted the extension of the building downward, creating a sub-story. Before three years were passed, space in the sub-story room had been converted into classroom space. [47. Pearl, op. cit., p. 27.]
Visitors, discovering the beauty of Santa Monica, remained in ever-increasing numbers to become permanent residents. The schools found it difficult to keep pace with this phenomenal growth, and the inadequacy of instructional facilities made it necessary, in 1912, to send the eighth grade to Lincoln School. A year later, the John Adams School took in the seventh and eighth grades making it possible to establish a much needed kindergarten. A Miss Schaffner was selected to direct this early kindergarten program [48. Ibid., p. 28.]
Washington School, still on the march in 1919, added four new primary rooms, the enrollment of the school having again reached the point where a large number of pupils could not be properly accommodated. The board of trustees acquired additional playground space in 1911[1921?],
" . . .
" . . . an account of the establishment of the Santa Monica High School in 1911 and 1912. The early course of study that was established and that developed as the school grew is the foundation upon which the present program [1952] is based. The selection of Prospect Hill, midway between Ocean Park and Santa Monica, as the site for the new high school was a large factor in eliminating the cross-town rivalry which had existed between the two communities. . .
" . .
An agricultural program was introduced into the course of study in 1914 with work in propagation and horticulture for those interested in this field as a career or for home use. The program reached a peak during World War I, when food production became a vital factor in winning the war. [68. Pearl, op. cit., p. 94.]
" . . .
As the school grew, more subjects were added to the course of study. In 1916, a course in dramatics was instituted and later was made part of the regular English program. . . .
" . . .
Frank W. Thomas, elected in 1911, was the first principal of the new high school, which opened in its new location with an enrollment of 450 students and a staff of twenty-three teachers. The following spring more than a dozen teachers were added to to the staff to meet the requirements of an increased enrollment. [60. Pearl, op. cit., p.92]
Thomas resigned in 1913 to become president of Fresno State Teachers College, and the Board of Education accepted his resignation "with deepest regret."
His successor was J.E. McKown (1913-1914) who was followed two years later by A.F. Wood. (1915) The next year, 1916, W.F. Barnum, who had been teaching in the high school since 1914, assumed the principalship. Under his able direction the high school made remarkable progress. He served the school as principal from 1916 until his untimely death on May 13, 1943. The auditorium building, constructed after the earthquake of 1933, was named Barnum Hall in honor of his long and faithful service to the school.
Ocean Park residents soon discovered that the new high school, lying as it does midway between the two settlements, served their children equally well. As time went on and old antagonisms were replaced with friendly understanding and tolerance, Ocean Park people took as much pride in the hilltop high school as did residents of North Santa Monica.
" . . .
In Chapter IV, analysis will be made of the further refinement and expansion of the organization of the schools, starting with the establishment of two junior high schools in 1912 and 1914, respectively.
" . . .
During the years of World War I, when the impact of the conflict was felt strongly by students and faculty, Santa Monica High School engaged in many patriotic activities. Among other things, they raised money for an ambulance to be sent to the French army. The Red Cross sewing class at the school numbered 216 participants, the largest class in the history of the school. So many young patriots joined the armed forces that there were almost twice as many girls as there were boys in the school. The total enrollment dropped to 455, with chemistry the most popular study of that period, and home gardening also proving to be an important interest." [63. Pearl, op. cit., p. 97]
Robert Gottlieb and Irene Wolt* Thinking Big: The Story of the Los Angeles Times, Its Publishers and Their Influence on Southern California, G.P. Putnam's Sons: NY, 1977. 603 pp., 1910s
". . . "We have received great assistance from the employers," real estate speculator Edwin Janss testified before a governmental commission in 1914 . . .
"Los Angeles bootsters actively promoted Los Angeles as the city with more wage earning home owners than any other city in the country. But many of the new suburban homes, Janss admitted, were little more than shacks of two-room frame construction, and although payments frequently lasted up to seven years, families were often unable to maintain them. Keying the policy to the open shop notion, employers were able to utilize the real estate situation to their benefit . . ." p. 145
" . . .
"By World War I real estate, according to one observer, had become "our chief stock in trade in Los Angeles." The city had almost five thousand reeal estate agents, that number increasing rapidly in the next decade. . . .
" . . . "They have no organized connection with one another," novelist Upton Sinclair bitterly wrote of an expanding Los Angeles. "Each is an individual desiring to live his own life, and to be protected in his own little privileges. The community is thus a parasite upon the great industrial centers of other parts of America. It is smug and selt-satisfied making the sacredness of property the first and last article of its creed . . . Its social life is display, its intellectual life is 'boosting,' and its politics are run by Chambers of Commerce and Real Estate Exchanges."" p. 146
Laurence Goldstein, The American poet at the movies: a critical history, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, 1994, 272 pp., 1920s,, 1915
"Vachel Lindsay was reaching the height of his powers when he began to consider the movies as something more than mere recreation. In 1912, at age thirty-two, he tramped the western states trading poems for bread and absorbing with his meals the spiritual hunger of fieldhands, small-town shopkeepers, factory workers-all the simple folk Whitman had claimed as his constituency. While in Los Angeles Lindsay wrote the poem that established his reputation, General William Booth Enters into Heaven. This tribute to the founder of the Salvation Army was published in the fourth number of Harriet Monroe's magazine Poetry in January of 1913 and became the title work of Lindsay's first important volume later that year. After the fall of 1914, when The Congo and Other Poems appeared from Macmillan, and Adventures While Preaching the Gospel of Beauty from Mitchell Kennerley, Lindsay was a star of the first magnitude. Shortly before his suicide in 1931 he would look back nostalgically at "that famous 1912 New Poetry Fire kindled by the good and great Harriet Monroe" (1), at Edgar Lee Masters, who would be his first biographer, at Edna St. Vincent Millay's premier volume Renascence , at Ezra Pound's and Amy Lowell's sponsorship of Imagism, at Robert Frost's first appearance in England and Carl Sandburg's muscular poems about Chicago. But better known than any of these was Lindsay himself, who would be featured by the ever-vigilant Sinclair Lewis in his novel Free Air (1919) as the epitome of American poetic genius and invited throughout the jazz age to declaim his poems in manic performances across the country."
"Of all this contemporaries in the poetry world, Lindsay was singular in one respect: "I am the one poet who has a right to claim for his muses Blanche Sweet, Mary Pickford, and Mae Marsh." (2) Lindsay was infatuated with the movies, like the rest of America, and without a thought for the indecorousness of doing so he incorporated them into his work and into his public image. He wrote poems about the actresses named above, and about John Bunny, and about the "restless Kinetoscope vigils" he kept with acquaintances on the road. (3) In 1915 he published the first book of film theory in the English language, The Art of the Moving Picture , which was reprinted in 1916 before a second edition appeared in 1922. D. W. Griffith appreciated Lindsay's praise and invited the poet to be his guest at a screening of Intolerance . In letters of that period Lindsay discerns his influence on that work of "Epic Poetry," as he called it, though film critics, beginning with Eisenstein, pointed to more obvious sources like Victorian melodrama, the novels of Dickens, and, if poetry must be mentioned, Shakespeare. As college courses gradually adopted Lindsay's pioneering commentary, he continued to discourse on the subject, briefly as the first film reviewer for the New Republic. He authored a second book of film criticism, never published, in which he applied his theories to films like The Thief of Bagdad, Scaramouche, Peter Pan, The Covered Wagon, Monsieur Beaucaire, and Merton of the Movies. Lindsay claimed with justice that he was the one poet of the silent period who could speak with authority about the two mediums. When in 1925 the University of California asked him to teach a course in Los Angeles, he proposed "Movies and Poems." (4) Who else of his contemporaries could have taught such a course?"
"Film was routinely condemned by artists and intellectuals for its inane story lines and its vulgar appeal to the lower classes. A typical case against film that attracted Lindsay's attention and influenced his arguments in The Art of the Moving Picture was an essay by Walter Prichard Eaton, a newspaperman and afterward a professor of theater at Yale. Titled Class-Consciousness at the Movies, the essay argued that films were limited in quality because of the low educational level and unrefined taste of the proletarian audiences. Eaton compared the crude sensationalism of films with current theatrical works, which could and did assume a more literate and sophisticated public. He pronounced the film play "infinitely inferior" and "spiritually stultifying." (5) In the same spirit Ezra Pound noticed the new medium long enough to castigate mass vulgarity in Hugh Selwyn Mauberley (1920) as a "prose kinema" that militated against the sculpted beauty of great literature. "The age demanded an image / Of its accelerated grimace," sneered the inventor of Vorticism. Sympathetic to photography, Pound drew the line at moving pictures, except as he could use their undeniable narrative possibilities as a stick to beat narrative poets with. In the heyday of "flickers," the movie seemed to the heirs of Matthew Arnold, the self-appointed custodians of a rich humanistic tradition, closer to anarchy than culture."
Edgar Kaufmann, Jr. (ed.) The Rise of an American Architecture, Essays by Henry-Russell Hitchcock, Albert Fein, Winston Weisman, Vincent Scully, Praeger Publishers: NY, 1970, 1950s, 1920s, 1910s
"Vincent Scully writes in his essay on the American house, on pages 203 and 204 " . . . Greene & Greene created the last vernacular of the old, nineteenth-century kind. The California bungalows that the publications of Gustav Stickley briefly popularized from their design. By the time of World War I, their vogue had passed. Greene & Greene themselves, like the architects of the Prairie School, hardly functioned thereafter, though they lived long enough to witness the revival of their influence after World War II. The same was, unfortunately, not true of Irving Gill, the Greene's contemporary. Gill simplified Spanish-Colonial precedent into cast concrete and produced a marvelously lucid and severely rational architecture that was not unconnected with contemporary puritanical polemics in Europe and was thus a double precursor of the International Syle of the 1920's. Gill's unselfish social conscience, rare among American architects of any period, should also be mentioned, as should his Lewis Courts in Sierra Madre, a highly successful housing project what was prompted by it."
hometown.aol.com/_ht_a/bookviewzine/issue127.html -
John Laughery The Man Who Created Philo Vance 1910s
"S. S. van Dine was born Willard Huntington Wright on October 15, 1887. His parents operated hotels and he and his brothers were hotel children. In 1900 the Wrights' moved to Santa Monica and when finances improved to Lost Angeles to be part-owner of the Astoria, a hotel in downtown Los Angeles. Willard's younger brother Stanton became a renowned painter and Willard decided to become a writer because he was better at that than his younger brother. At sixteen, in the fall of 1903, Willard started his college career first at St. Vincent's College and then Harvard by 1906. Kicked out of Harvard Willard got married to Katherine, the daughter of a newspaper publisher. Back in L.A. Willard looked for something to do and after a few false starts, he became a journalist for the Los Angeles Times. For the Times Willard began reviewing books, the best job for an aspiring writer. Lying about his "Harvard education" and his time in Europe studying art and literature, Willard became a rising star in literary circles. In 1909 Willard became a contributor for The West Coast Magazine, a California literary magazine. Willard became friends with H. L. Mencken who, in 1912, hired Willard as editor-in-chief for The Smart Set . With the move to New York City, while his wife and daughter stayed in California, Willard lived the good life. Through The Smart Set Willard challenged the morality of the times, but by 1914 he was out of a job. In 1915 his first book Modern Painting: Its Tendency and Meaning was published but it didn't sell, although it did help him to become an art reviewer. In 1917 Willard wrote the book Misinforming the Nation which was a critique of errors and prejudices of The Encyclopedia Britainnica . By 1919 Willard was back in California doing a weekly column about artistic events for The San Francisco Bulletin. But it didn't pan out and Willard returned to New York City where he did a variety of jobs as an art reviewer."
Color, Myth, and Music: Stanton Macdonald-Wright and Synchromism, LACMA Press Release 2001 August 5 through October 28, 2001, 1973, 1910s
"LOS ANGELES, APRIL 2001-The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) explores the art of one of America's early modernist masters, Stanton Macdonald-Wright, in the first in-depth retrospective of his work. On view to the public August 5 through October 28, 2001, Color, Myth and Music: Stanton Macdonald-Wright and Synchromism examines the evolution of his art from his important Synchromist works, continuing with his masterful Asian-influenced paintings, and offering a selection of the stunning synchromies painted in the final years of his life. The exhibition includes more than 60 works spanning six decades. This show was organized by the North Carolina Museum of Art.
Synchromism
"Macdonald-Wright, with fellow American painter Morgan Russell, fathered the Synchromism movement. Convinced that color and sound were equivalent phenomena and that one could "orchestrate" the colors in a painting the way a composer arranged notes and chords in a musical composition, they developed a system of painting based on color scales. The system entailed constructing form and depth in a painting through advancing and reducing hues. Their ensuing "synchromies" were some of the first abstract non-objective paintings in American art.
"Leaving his California home behind, Macdonald-Wright arrived in Paris in 1907 and immediately began attending classes at the Sorbonne and studying painting at several traditional academies. Feeling that these schools stifled his creativity, he soon abandoned them in favor of the radical new approaches of Cubism, Fauvism, Futurism, and Orphism that were being developed to challenge traditional art. It was at that time that he met Morgan Russell and was introduced to Matisse, Rodin, Percyval Tudor-Hart, a Canadian painter and color theorist, and collectors Gertrude and Leo Stein. Macdonald-Wright and Russell exhibited their new aesthetic first in Munich, then in Paris in 1913, and the following year in New York. Synchromism became the first American avant-garde movement presented in the international arena.
"As a result of World War I, Macdonald-Wright returned to the United States and settled in New York City. There he continued to exhibit his synchromist works at some of the most progressive galleries in the United States: Stieglitz's Gallery 291, the Montross Gallery, and Charles Daniel Gallery. He was also instrumental in organizing, in 1916, the landmark Forum Exhibition that helped establish the role of modernism in American art.
Esther McCoy Irving Gill 1870-1936 Five California Architects, 1960, Reprinted in Marvin Rand Irving J. Gill: Architect 1870-1936, Gibbs Smith, Publisher: Salt Lake City, UT, Design, Ahde Lahti; Photographs, Marvin Rand, 2006, 238 pp. pp. 219-227, 2006a, 1916, 1910s,
" . . .
"Architecture was a broad subject to Gill; it included garden and interior decorations as well as structure. From the first he was enchanted with the natural growth in the canyons, the hedges of geraniums, the windbreaks of eucalyptus, the bougainvillea burning with color on cottage roofs. Eloise Roorbach wrote in the Architectural Record, December, 1913, that Gill "artfully embodies the permanent principles in the straight line and circle, then starts the impermanent principle embodied in the vines and creepers, to move across the face of the buildings, graciously breaking their severity."
"He worked a great deal with Kate Sessions, who had come to San Diego to teach Latin in the High School, and stayed to open a nursery on a small piece of land, now part of Balboa Park. Her 1905 planting for one of the Lee houses on Seventh Street is still almost intact. A certain unity in the planting of San Diego was due to her interest in native plants and her sturdy importations, and to Gill's constant efforts to simplify the garden.
"Today some of his houses are entirely covered with the Bignonia tweediana which he envisioned as tracery, and the Ficus repens meant as embroidery now strangles many a pergola. But when a gnarled and twisted leptospermum trunk and lacey foliage is glimpsed through the clean lines of an arch in Scripps Hall at Bishop's school, Gill's ability to extend architecture into planting becomes beautifully clear.
"He liked the dark glossy greens of pittosporums and the Coprosma baueri as screens, or as cool depths to look into from porch or terrace. The trim on his houses was invariably dark green, borrowed from his plantings. One of his favorite effects came from massing red geraniums near the house.
"The geraniums, in Eloise Roorbach's words, "took a second blooming upon the walls of the rooms," because Gill devised a paint which reflected color. What first appeared to be monotone walls were sensitive surfaces which received the impressions of all colors inside the room and [in the garden]. The paint was a mixture of primary colors, added to white. By varying the proportions of the pigment, a wall could be keyed to the blues, the violet, or any color he wished.
"Colored tiles in geometric Arabic patterns appeared often in his gardens. They created a rich effect and at certain hours of the day their colors danced on the walls. Living in one of Gill's houses was "like living in the heart of a shell," Eloise Roorbach said.
"Although Gill's social architecture was less well known than his other work, it was a continuing interest throughout his career.
"He had built residences for most of the wealthy families in San Diego, and designed churches, schools, and public buildings-all of which were financially rewarding-but his greatest satisfaction came from poorly paid ventures in low-cost housing.
" . . .
"Soon after Louis entered his uncle's drafting room, Gill made an interesting purchase. Searching for a quicker and cheaper way to handle concrete, he bought some equipment from the United States government which had been used, without great success, in the construction of tilt-slab barracks during the Spanish-American War. His first opportunity to try it out was on the Banning House [1910] in Los Angeles.
"Sunset magazine described the curiosity of the neighbors as they watched men wheelbarrow loads of concrete onto a huge table, tilted at a 15-degree angle by supporting jacks. On the table were rows of hollow tile-the forms for the wall. They were divided by 4-inch vertical steel bars which served for reinforcement, as well as a traffic way for the wheelbarrows in dumping the concrete. Metal frames for doors and windows were integrated into the forms. When the concrete had cured, (p. 223) it received a top coating of fine cement. After this step, the neighbors observed a wall, "smooth finished and complete with window and door openings, projecting window boxes and small balconies, raised to perpendicular by means of a single little donkey engine. They kept on guessing as the house took form in simple cubic units, the walls rising sheer and roofless without cornices or trim of any kind."
"Gill used tilt-slab construction even more successfully in the 1913 Women's Club, La Jolla, an exquisite building with superbly planned gardens. In 1914, he-now in partnership with Louis Gill-added another building to the expanding Scripps group, the Community House for the playground, and raised walls 60 feet long.
"There were low-cost structures, as were Gill's later slab-tilt houses in Los Angeles. But since the equipment often stood idle for weeks at a time, he had difficulty in finding contractors to build for him. He finally formed the Concrete Building and Investment Company, to develop the slab-tilt system for low and medium cost houses. However, it was not a success, and Gill lost heavily in the venture.
" . . .
"Up to the time of the Panama Pacific Exposition in San Diego, which opened in 1915, Gill prospered and achieved his purpose without great resistance. But his work was considered a threat to the rising school of atelier architecture in San Diego. "A dangerous kind of work," Elmer Gray, the Pasadena architect, called it in a letter to Bertram Goodhue.
"Nevertheless it was assumed that the buildings of the Exposition, which was to commemorate the opening of the Panama Canal, would be in Mission style, and that Gill would be the chief architect. The chairman of the Grounds and Building Committee was George Marston, a wealthy department store owner; Gill had designed a house for him in 1904, and one for his daughter in 1906. Also on the committee was Julius Wagenheim, who had commissioned Gill, in 1904, to design a half-timbered house.
"As the idea of the Exposition grew, the more grandiose it became. In 1910 Olmsted and Olmsted were commissioned to lay out the park on a site donated by George Marston. Other architects were considered for the post of chief architect, among them John Galen Howard, head of the School of Architecture at the University of California, and Myron Hunt of Los Angeles. But at the end of 1910, Gill was still favored.
"Then on December 28, 1910, Bertram Goodhue wrote to Elmer Gray, the former partner of Myron Hunt, about "a position I want very much indeed, but I have just heard that it is not for me. I wasn't at first going to tell you what it is, but I think I will change my mind as follows: the post is the directing architect of the San Diego Exposition . . . They have a perfectly lovely problem and one which Olmsted thought I was better fitted to deal with than any other architect, thanks to my studies of and book on Spanish Colonial architecture in Mexico. Needless to say that I am bitterly disappointed at the turn affairs have taken and it is equally needless to ask you to regard this information as approximately confidential and not to take any hand in it unless you think the circumstances warrant you in so doing."
"When he received the letter, Gray called his former partner, Myron Hunt, who telephoned at once to San Diego. Hunt's call occurred at the moment the Building Committee was meeting. As a result Goodhue was summoned to San Diego; he arrived three weeks later prepared to design all the Exposition buildings. The people of San Diegto were delighted with "such a distinguished gentleman who had made such a deep study of Spanish Colonial . . ."
"Gill with other San Diego architects lent their services to the fair and continued to do so for a while after Coodhue took over. Gill's departure had nothing to do with Goodhue. By chance he had discovered certain graft in buying supplies for the buildings, and was so enraged that he walked out. "He could never put up with any sort of dishonesty,"according to Louis Gill, who recalled similar actions on the part of Gill's stern Quaker father.
"Gill would not have remained anyway, for when Goodhue was asked by the Building Committee to select a local architect as an associate, he brought out his own staff from New York instead. They took charge after Goodhue returned to his office in the East. One of his associates, Carlton Winslow, remained in California after the Exposition work was completed. In the late twenties he designed a chapel and a Spanish Renaissance tower at Bishop's School to replace a square forthright one of Gill's.
"A difference of opinion arose between Goodhue and the Olmsteds over the location of the Fair buildings. The Olmsteds preferred a knoll at an edge of the park, because of its accessibility to visitors, while Goodhue who was more interested in dramatic effects, wanted to create a Spanish-Mexican village in the center of the park. When the problem was taken to the board, the members supported Goodhue and the Olmsteds withdrew.
"However, Goodhue did recognize Gill's importance. In a letter to Elmer Gray, dated December 29, 1914, he wrote, "I do think that he has produced some of the most thoughtful work done in the California of today, and that for the average architect his theories are far safer to follow than mine or even perhaps yours."
" . . .
"The house for Miss Ellen Scripps in La Jolla, planned in 1915 and finished in 1916, followed the Dodge house chronologically. And it marked the end of Gill's classic simplicity, a style which had already been modified in the Dodge house. The Scripps house did not make any new statements in form or materials or plan. It was not experimental, but rather it summed up a period of Gill's thinking and feeling. It was bold but not imperative, tranquil but with no touch of softness.
"Since the death of Miss Scripps, the house has been occupied by the La Jolla Art Center, and numerous alterations have obliterated Gill's work. This could not have been an easy task, for it requires a pneumatic drill to destroy a Gill building-and a lack of understanding of his work.
"After 1916, Gill gave up his practice in San Diego. There was little work for him in Los Angeles outside of remodeling and he was often busier with experiments than in his drafting room. One day Eloise Roorbach found him in the back yard of his Los Angeles office, on Ninth and Figueroa, working on some concrete 2-inch by 4-inch's.
"Although he was a modest man, Gill was aware of what he had accomplished, and knew that he was part of a movement to simplify structure. While his time was finding little use for him, he watched others in the United States and Europe discovering some of the essential architectural qualities he had realized, and put into practice 10 to 15 years earlier."
Tom Moran and Tom Sewell Fantasy by the Sea Peace Press: Culver City, CA, 1980 (1979) (Originally published by Beyond Baroque Foundation with a grant from the Visual Arts Program of the National Endowment for the Arts), 1910s
"Venice politics became a stormy battleground for several diverse interests. The Abbot Kinney Company, Kinney's wholly-owned amusement and real estate firm, was a powerful local influence. Kinney, with the backing of the local Chamber of Commerce, sponsored his own slate of candidates for public office. They took the name of the Good Government League, a nationwide reform group, and usually advocated tolerance toward the amusement interests of Venice. They were strong supporters of women's suffrage and backed women candidates for the Board of Trustees as early as 1912. . .
"Kinney's old partners from the earlier Ocean Park development, Fraser, Jones and Gage, were wealthy men, and they harbored a long-standing animosity toward Kinney. They held sway over the Board of Trustees during the developmental years of the city and took every available opportunity to thwart their former partner's plans.
" . . .
"Kinney's Good Government candidates forced the Ocean Park-supported trustees out of office in 1908 and controlled the Board of Trustees into the early 1920s. An opposition party, the Citizen's Protective League, formed by Thomas Aisbett, campaigned for prohibition of alcoholic beverages, a ban on bathing beauty and "yama yama" girl parades, an end to cafe dancing, a ban on boxing matches, and censorship of bathing attire on the local beaches. The League drew support from the local clergy and some of the year-round residential population but never won an elective seat.
"The Venice elections were hard and bitterly fought political exercises that divided the city into two warring camps. The amusement supporters were not above using bands and calliope music to drown out opposition speakers' words. The Venice Vanguard, a local newspaper, offered to start a collection to pay Aisbett's way out of town and the reform leader was hanged in effigy on Windward Avenue with a placard on his chest reading, "poor dumb toadstool-went out and lost his cool."
"Charges of fraud, forged signatures and miscounting were commonly leveled at election time. . .
"The most common practice was called "colonization." Prior to an election, each side would import and register to vote as many potential supporters as possible. Construction crews, waiters and itinerants were offered free lodging and work until the polls closed. . .
"The political intrigue of Venice went deeper than ordinary election-eve fever. Alleged corruption was regular newpaper fare, with stories of local officials accepting bribes, misappropriating public property and failing to enforce the law. . . .
"The needs of an amusement town devoted to providing a good time for all who visited it often ran counter to both the law and the desires of a more staid growing residential population. Gambling dens and brothels existed as did such "lesser evils" as roll-down games, chuck-a-luck and "razzle-dazzle." Public officials and law enforcement officers often found it best for Venice's and their own personal interests to turn their heads from these activities."
Gordon Newell and Joe Williamson Pacific Coastal Liners, Superior Publishing Co.: Seattle, WA, (Bonanza Books, Crown Publishing: NY), 1959, 192 pp., 1910s
"As late as 1914, however, eleven companies were competing for the coastwise passenger and freight business, although the Pacific Coast Steamship Company was doing more business than the rest of them combined. It was the coming of highway and air competition after World War I that put the coastal liners in the boneyard."
Night Scene, Ocean Park and Santa Monica, 1910s
Harold Osmer & Phil Harms Real Road Racing: The Santa Monica Road Races, Harold L. Osmer Publishing: Chatsworth, CA 1999, 1910s
Jeffrey Stanton Santa Monica Pier A History from 1875 to 1990, Donahue Publishing: Los Angeles, CA, 1990, 1928, 1919, 1910s, 1875
"Ocean Park's new Million-Dollar Pier, which opened on June 17, 1911, about a mile south of the Municipal Pier, immediately began luring away much of North Beach's tourist business. The amusement pier was huge with two roller coasters, vaudeville theater, several large restaurants, and numerous other attractions.
" . . .
"Edwin P. Benjamin purchased beach property held by Edison Electric in April 1912. That, combined with 85 feet thatt he already owned gave him 250 feet of beach frontage. . . .
" . . . he hired a band to entertain visitors and converted the old powerhouse into assembly rooms and a meeting hall.
" . . .
"The first test of the Municipal Pier's strength occurred on February 2, 1914. A huge storm damaged Venice's breakwater protected pier. . . .
"But by August 1915 some damage to the pilings appeared . . .
"In September Edwin P. Benjamin bought the beachfront south of Colorado for $125,000 and announced he was going to build an amusement center. This additional property, which was adjacent to his Edison property, gave him 347 feet of beach frontage that extended inland to Ocean Av.
"Benjamin assured the community that his new recreation center would be constructed "upon broad, progressive and refined lines." . . .
" . . .
"Santa Monica's business community was introduced to Charles I.D. Looff at their weekly Chamber of Commerce meeting on Feb. 22, 1916. He was a well-known Long Beach amusement operator who had just purchased the northern 200 feet of Benjamin's beach frontage adjacent to the Municipal Pier for $50,000. . . " p. 25
{P. 22 Photo of the casting site for the Santa Monica Munipal Pier concrete pylons shows an unmentioned Union Stables in the background.}
{P. 23 & 24 Photos of the September Day opening was taken by H.F. Rile}
[Photo on page 26 indicates that the Looff Pier was built by Charles I.D. Looff and his son, Arthur.]
{Photos on pages, 26, 27, 28 showing both the Santa Monica Municipal and Looff Piers, July 1917, somehow "joined at the hip". There seems to be two structures on the Municipal Pier T's, a fish market and a fish diner, while at the tip of the Municipal Pier there is what seems to be a boat hoist and a few dinghys. The focus of the scene is the Looff Carousel Bldg., the Blue Streak Racer Roller Coaster and a large picnic area between the carousel building and the Looff Pier Tract Bldg., which sold real estate; The What Is It Funhouse; A Giant Twirler, The Aeroscope, which twirled 6 boats at 35 miles per hour; The Whip; and two buildings beyond the Carousel, one of which was the Billard Room, with seven billard tables and also which included 8 bowling lanes. }
{Photos on pp. 34 and 35 show The Blue Streak Racer where two trains would race side by side for 3500 ft.}
{Photos on page 28 and 29 show the Airline Trolley Line terminus on the Looff Pier, the interior of the Billards Building, Looff's Aeroscope, and Episcopal Church Picnickers. The Looff Pier hosted picnics nearly every summer day the caption says.]
[1918 Photo and Diagram on pp. 30 and 31 identify a bandstand near the picnic area; Aeroscope; Blue Streak Racer; Whip Ride; Bowling & Billiards Hall; Restaurant and Banquet Hall; What Is It Fun House; and Fish Concession.}
"Charles Looff had a remarkable reputation for building quality amusement projects. He built Coney Island's first carousel in 1876. Success in hand carving two more carousels in the early 1880s encouraged him to open a carousel factory. By 1890, he employed four carvers in his Brooklyn, New York shop.
"In 1895 Looff set up a showcase carousel at Crescent Park in Rhode Island. The four-abreast machine was housed in a domed building with stained glass windows. New models of the factory's horses and menagerie animals were adorned with glittering jewels, gold and silver leaf paint, and lavish ornamentation. Prospective customers visited the carousel to select figures that they wanted included in their carousels.
"When Brooklyn city officials in 1895 condemned the land on which Looff's factory stood to build a park, Looff packed and moved his business to Riverside, Rhode Island. His carousel business boomed there and he soon expanded into the production of other amusement rides and fun houses. He soon became a self-made millionaire.
"Charles Looff decided to expand his business in 1910 by moving his entire factory, wife Anna and his six children to Long Beach, California. He set up his factory near the harbor and installed another showcase carousel at The Pike, Long Beach's amusement zone. The family live in a second floor apartment in the carousel's hippodrome building . . . An earlier carousel venture at Ocean Park's Million Dollar Pier ended with a disastrous pier fire in 1912." pp. 26 and 29
"Looff said he chose Santa Monica to build his amusement pier because, "the bathing beach at Santa Monica is well-known as one of the finest on the Pacific Coast, it attracts the highest class of people, and transportation facilities afforded are unequaled."
"Charles Looff didn't waste time in starting the mammoth project. He began buying all available creasoted wood pilings in Southern California including salvaged piles from the Long Beach Wharf that was being dismantled. The first load of 75 stout pilings arrived just three days after his announcement at the Chamber of Commerce meeting. He also contracted with Hammond Lumber Co. of Los Angeles for delivery within thirty days of forty-seven carloads or a half million feet of lumber for the pier platform. Additional piles were shipped from the northwest. He also increased his ocean frontage to 247 feet with an additional purchase from Benjamin at $250/foot. By March 7th there was a sign at the corner of Ocean and Colorado Aves. that announced the development of a "Refined Amusement Center."
"Edward Benjamin and his partner B.N. Moss, who retained 350 feet of beach frontage north of the pier and the property east of Looff's ocean frontage, had filled and graded the entire east half of the property. They improved access to the Municipal Pier and Looff's construction site with a wide graded approach from Colorado Av.
"They also built a roadbed for the extension of the Pacific Electric's Air Line route from Sixth and Main Streets in downtown Los Angeles. The track, which passed under the extension of Appian Way, allowed passengers to arrive at Santa Monica's beach adjacent to the pier. The trolley route was the old Southern Pacific route used to haul freight from the Long Wharf to Los Angeles and the shortest route to the beach.
"The trolley line also made it easy to transport pilings the length of two flat cars to the pier. Initially a single track was laid down the center of the roadbed so that cars carrying materials could make the wide turn under the Appian Way viaduct. A two track roadbed replaced it by early summer. The first train on the Air Line extension arrived Saturday March 12th with a troop of one hundred Hollywood Boy Scouts. They were treated to lunch by Benjamin and Moss.
"Looff and his two sons Arthur and William arrived on Monday March 13, 1916 to supervise construction. Arthur, who was born in 1889, was Charles' youngest son. Although he only had an eighth grade education, he took a correspondence coursee in engineering and drafting. When he was sixteen he built a roller coaster at Crescent Park in Rhode Island. His father recognized his talent and gave him full rein on numerous family amusement projects. He was given the job of civil engineer and superintendent of the Looff Pier Project. William, an older son, had managed the family hippodrome in San Francisco before he was summoned south.
" . . .
"Charles Looff on March 27, 1916 made a formal written application to the City Council for a twenty year pier franchise. He said he was willing to abide by the decision of City Attorney Heney that all amusement piers must obtain a franchise and after the first five years of the franchise, he would pay the city 2% of gross receipts." p. 30
" . . .
"Carl Schrader, a local businessman, tried to derail Looff's pier project on April 5th by offering the city $5000 for a franchise to build a pier west of the mean tide line and the right to connect with the Municipal Pier. He then protested at the City Council's next meeting that it didn't protect the public's interest if Looff were allowed to connect his pier to the Municipal Pier via a steel apron. He felt that the close proximity of Looff's wooden pier, in the event of fire, endangered the city's Municipal Pier. His calculation was based on the amount of yearly interest the public paid for the pier's bonds.
"Several others opposed joining the two pier structures because it would make it difficult to repair the sewer pipe and electrical outlets on the Municipal Pier's south side. There was also the precedent of allowing Looff to build without a permit since the pier franchise had not been granted yet.
"Mayor Berkley declared that he was in favor of Looff's pier project. Commissioner Carter added, "We have talked for twenty years about Santa Monica being a dead town and now we have the opportunity to establish an important project. I don't think we should let one or two men spoil it."
"Neil Nettleship on behalf of the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce went even further. He regretted that the beach had been permitted to lie idle for so many years without erecting a pier, and that the first effort to give the city its pier was met with opposition. "I believe that the majority of people are in favor of even going beyond strict legal limits to encourage the construction of this pier."
"But opposition among a small minority of citizens continued to smolder. Schrader publically challenged Looff's project with a large advertisement in the April 15th editions of the Evening Outlook and The Daily Sun newspapers. he claimed Looff didn't hold title to his beach property, that he was building his pier without a franchise, and that by connecting his pier to the city's Municipal Pier, he was turning it into a commercial pier at the taxpayer's expense.
"First Looff had to dispel rumors that he didn't actually hold clear title to his property. On April 15th he stated that he purchased the first 200 feet of frontage for cash and received the deed, which was a matter of record. Further, he was currently taking title to the 47 feet balance of beach frontage that he paid Benjamin $250 per frontage foot." p. 35
"Letters began arriving at city hall supporting Schrader and urging the city to get $5000 per year for the pier franchise. Local preachers, obviously riled up by Schrader, demanded that all gambling concessions and the sale of liquor be prohibited by the terms of the franchise. Schrader said that he only wanted a pier with proper amusments and no liquor.
"Despite Looff's intention not to sell liquor or allow gambling on his pier, he initially opposed the insertion of a clause in the franchise prohibiting the sale of liquor on the pier during the life of the twenty year franchise. He felt that it discriminated against his pier and did not apply equally to others in the amusement business.
"Eventually Looff conceeded the point pressed by preachers and others and he consented to the insertion of a clause in the franchise forbiddding the sale of intoxicating liquors on the pier. By appeasing his opponents, it enabled the City Council on April 28th to pass a resolution advertising the sale of the pier franchise. While it was unusual for an entrepreneur to build a pier before the franchise was granted, Looff had to proceed without one if he was to complete his pier for the 1916 summer season.
"The auction for the pier franchise was held on May 31, 1916 . . . Looff submitted the only written bid . . . Loof paid $200 cash for the right to erect a pier 900 feet into the Pacific and connect it to the Municipal Pier. He agreed to maintain a twenty foot wide public promenade belonging to the city between the two piers, install a large capacity pump for fire protection, and pay the city 2% of the pier's gross receipts after the first five years." p. 36
". . .
"A beautiful brand new three row menagerie carousel . . . . operated on the ground floor [of the hippodrome] when it opened Saturday June 10th. It had goats, giraffes and camels on it in addition to horses. A Wurlitizer Band organ provided the music. . . .The ride was so popular that by fall Looff extended the platform and added an outer row of 24 horses to make it a four abreast merry-go-round.
"On the Hippodrome's second floor, surrounding the center dome, were sixteen rooms that served as offices, storerooms and quarters for carousel employees. The office occupied the largest tower. Eventually many of the rooms would be rented as apartments.
" . . . the longshoreman's strike at San Pedro hit in mid June. . . Work abruptly stopped until July 3rd when a lumber schooner carrying piles arrived and anchored offshore on July 3rd. The piles were tossed overboard and towed shoreward. Chains were attached and the timbers were pulled ashore by teams of horses.
" . . .
" . . . The Blue Streak Racer opened on the evening of August 3rd.
"Both The Whip and the Aeroscope were installed on the pier in early August . . .
" . . . When the [Aeroscope] reached its 35 mph top speed passengers were pasted to their seats . . . at night a thousand colored lights hung from the crown and down the cables. When it spun it created a whirling blaze of color that could be seen for miles.
"Looff's pier was . . . crowded throughout the remainder of the summer, and on weekends throughout the fall . . . .
" . . . His single story bowling and billiards building immediately west of the Hippodrome opened as a concession on January 17, 1917. Eight Brunswick-Balke maple bowling alleys with patented pin-setting devices occupied the rear fifty foot width of the building. The front twenty five feet was devoted to billiards: one billiard and seven pocket billiard tables.
"J.L. Ferris, the billiard hall's manager, scheduled as the opening event, a bowling tournament between the Los Angeles City All Stars and the Santa Monica Home Guard. Five hundred spectators watched the home team beat the All Stars, and Police Chief Ferguson out bowled Mayor Berkley two games out of three. . . .
"In May Looff opened a . . .fun house called What Is It? . . .
"A large picnic area, supplementing the one provided in the center of the roller coaster, was added along the pier's southeast corner. Rows of tables were shaded by a large . . . redwood lathed pergola. Picnickers could use its electric stoves free of charge.
"The beginning of the pier's summer season featured Professor Caesare La Monica and his Royal Italian Band. They performed concerts to large enthusiastic crowds at the new pier bandstand adjacent to the Promenade. The pier's 12% incline entrance opposite the bandstand enabled Looff to build rows of tiered seats that could accomodate 1600 people. The pier's buildings behind provided both shelter from the wind and afternoon shade. After the Royal Italian Band performed their last concert on June 29, 1917, the local businessmen demanded music everyday because it was good for business. They filed a petition with the City Commissioners asking that the city's municipal band be stationed on the Looff Pier half time and play alternate days at Ocean Park.
"The city government as usual stalled on the issue of providing a municipal band for the Looff Pier. Two weeks later the businessmen contributed $1600 to hire the Santa Monica Ladies Symphony Orchestra to play for the following eight weeks.
"Fourth of July weekend brought the largest crowd ever to visit the Santa Monica Bay district: over 100,000 people. The Pacific Electric ran three car trains from Los Angeles at three minute intervals, while others arrived in a steady stream of 20,000 automobiles along Pico and Santa Monica Blvds.
"As far as the eye could see, the beach was black with people and the Ocean Front Walk was a mass of surging humanity. 60,000 bathers used the area's four bathhouses. The hotels were full and also every rooming house and apartment in the area. Since many had no place to stay, Santa Monica and Venice permitted people to sleep on the beach under police protection.
" . . .
"It was fitting, when Santa Monica voted in December 1918 for Prohibition of alcoholic beverages, that the pier required no changes since drinking and gambling were never allowed. In fact, it pleased the town that the Looff Pier was a resort of character and refinement lacking the "honky-tonk' ribaldry that characterized many other sea side resorts. . . .
"The initial 475,000 raised from the sale of stock was used to build a first class restaurant . . . on the seaward side of the bowling pavilion. . . Construction began . . .in time . . . to finish for the Christian Endeavor Convention on March 15th.
" . . .
" . . . Arthur Looff, president and general manager of the Santa Monica Pleasure Pier Corporation, . . . . wanted to complete the attractions by the end of the year.
"The Beach Marine Band under the direction of Signor Chiaffarelli was hired for the summer. . . . The twenty five member band opened at the pier's bandstand on June 15th.
" . . . Charles Loof . . . died at his home in Long Beach on Saturday July 1, 1918. He was 66. . . . .
{Page 36 1917 Photo of Professor Caesare LaMonica and his Royal Italian Band which played from the bandstand adjacent to the Promenade in 1917 to widespread acclaim.}
{The page 40 photo of the Looff Pier shows the Whirlwind Dipper, an announcement that the La Monica Ballroom is under construction and a sign for Webster's Cafe}
Chapter3 Pier Expansion and Rebuilding (1919-1928)
"The United States' triumph in World War I brought a spirit of infectious patriotism to the nation. . . . When the Pacific Fleet visited Santa Monica Bay on the weekend of August 16-17, 1919, thousands came to the area's three large amusement piers to board navy transports bound for tours of the fleet.
"It was a large fleet that anchored in the bay. The key ships included the U.S.S. New Jersey, Virginia, Texas, North Carolina, Arkansas, Nebraska, and the flagship New Mexico. The battleship, Texas, the supply ship Prairie, destroyers, Wicks, Woolsey, Anthony, and Sprotsum, anchored directly off the Santa Monica Pier.
"A large crowd, awaiting transport to the fleet, had gathered at the end of the Municipal Pier on Sunday afternoon when the north side at the end of the pier suddenly trembled, groaned and slowly slumped seaward.
"Within seconds it settled two feet lower than the main deck. . . . Mayor Berkley, who was on the pier at the time, tried to reassure those involved. The police moved to evacuate the pier. those already on the battleship were returned to Venice's Windward Pier.
"W.H. Carter, commissioner of public works, made an immediate statement to the press that he thought the pier had been damaged several years earlier when wreckage from the Long Wharf battered the end of the pier. He also felt that the unusual weight of the spectators didn't help. Carter, declaring the pier unsafe and the city liable if anyone were hurt, ordered the pier closed on Sept. 4, 1919 for at least sixty days . . .
"In early November, the engineers condemned the Municipal Pier. . . Their report showed that sixty piles were rusted in their reinforcement, six were utterly gone, ninety-one were cracked above the water line, and thirty cracked below the water line. . . .
". . . in the December election . . . voters . . . approved the bonds, 2042 to 599."
Jeffrey Stanton Venice of America: 'Coney Island of the Pacific,' Donahue Publishing: Los Angeles, CA, 1987. 176 pp., 1916, 1912, 1911, 1910
Chapter 2; Coney Island of the Pacific (1907-1912)
"Meanwhile, Alexander Fraser, Kinney's old partner, formed the Fraser Million -Dollar Pier Company. Their intent was to build the world's largest amusement pier in Ocean Park. It would be 285 feet wide, incorporate the existing pier and extend 1000 feet into the ocean. The pier alone without the buildings and concessions would cost $175,000. It would have a Dancing Pavilion, Revolving Cafe 110 feet in diameter, Thompson Scenic Railroad, Palace of Mysteries, Carousel, Mountain Roll Railroad, Trip to Mars, Vaudeville and Scenic Theaters. the grand opening would be June 1911.
"They were serious this time. The contract was awarded July 29, 1910. Half the pier piles were in place by December, and they had extended the pier to almost 1500 feet. By the time the buildings were under construction the following February the payroll was running at $10,000 per week." p.38
"Ocean Park's Million-Dollar Pier was rapidly nearing completion. The L.A. Thompson Company, who had acquired the property south of the pier, was building the Dragon Gorge Scenic Railroad parallel to Ocean Front Walk. The building took up several blocks and contained several attractions like the 'Grotto Cafe', a revolving restaurant, and the 'Auto Maze'. The Loof family was building an ornate carousel in the Hippodrome building on the site of the old Toboggan Railway between the Dragon Gorge and the Casino. It was a 50 foot diameter pit machine with horses four abreast.
"The Grand Canyon Electric Railroad out on the pier was one of the first attractions to open. Its centerpiece was a 135 foot mountain peak with a waterfall at its summit. At night the electric lights gave it the appearance of an erupting volcano. The $100,000 ride built by Paul D. Houshi had a third rail to power the four car trains around curves and up steep inclines. A motorman had control of the car's speed and often added unexpected thrills by powering down the hills as well as up. It is remarkable that there were no serious accidents as the cars often exceeded their safe speed limit on turns.
"Apparently the builder wasn't initially satisfied with the attraction, for he began extensive renovation after it was open only one month. The ride turned out to be too short because of the high speed of the cars. In an attempt to make it the longest scenic railroad in the world, he added 200 feet of additional track, put in nine more dips and a scenic tunnel. The new improved ride was nearly a mile in length.
"Fraser's Million-Dollar Pier officially opened the weekend of June 17th, 1911. Tens of thousands attended the two day gala event. They danced in the huge ballroom at the end of the pier, watched vaudeville at the 1000 seat Starland Theater, or visited the pier's many rides, show and exhibits. The 'Third Degree' advertised 'a smart show for smart people', when in reality it featured a moving sidewalk that transported people past snow and mountain scenery. There was a Crooked House to explore, the City Jail to escape from and the Society Whirl. One of the more interesting exhibits was the 'Infant incubators' which showed the latest in medical technology. Premature infants were given free care by trained nurse in an era when it wasn't readily available at local hospitals.
"Additional attractions opened later that summer and into the fall season. Another hippodrome opened on the pier adjacent to the dance hall. It featured an ornate Philadelphia Toboggan Company carousel. The Mystic Maze and Panama Canal exhibit also found space on the pier." pp. 42 and 43
{pp. 44 and 45 photo of Fraser's Million- Dollar Pier}
{p.46 postcards 1912 Carousel; Front of the Dragon Gorge Scenic Railroad; Dance Pavilion; Night Scene of Ocean park and Santa Monica from the Pier.}
{p.47 postcards of Fraser's Million-Dollar Pier Auditorium, 1911; entrance to the Frasier Pier, 1912.}
"The new Neptune Theater, an early nickelodeon, and the Merryland penny arcade opened for business on Ocean Front Walk across from the Thompson Scenic Railroad. By 1911 penny arcades were becoming amusement park mainstays. For a penny, people could drive slot cars, have their strength tested, or watch historical events in a hand cranked kinetoscopes(sic). Couples could have the emotion of their kiss measured, and men could look at what at that time were considered rather erotic shots of women clad in bathing suits.
" . . .
"That fall it began to look like the Ocean Park area would soon have two additional piers. Jones sued Fraser and won the franchise to build a small 400 foot by 100 foot pier next to the Million-Dollar pier. He wanted Fraser to tear down the small portion of the pier on his side of the property line.
"But the big news was Great Western Amusement Company's pier project across from the Decatur Hotel immediately south of Fraser's pier. Plans showed a pier 1000 feet long, 263 feet wide with a gigantic entrance arch 113 feet wide, 94 feet high and 60 feet deep. The Tivoli Cafe was to be on the south side of the arch in a 50 foot square tower, 135 feet high. A large 105 foot high racing roller coaster with 13,000 feet of track would occupy an area of nearly two acres. A casino, ferris wheel and several other concessions would be built on the remaining space, and at night 10,000 light bulbs would illuminate the entire pier. Work didn't start on the pilings until mid May 1912, and by then there was no rush to finish it for the coming summer season." p.47
{p. 48 photo and postcard Along Ocean Front Walk just north of the Dragon Gorge Railroads, 1911; Dragon Gorge Scenic Railroad car on a high turn, 1911}
{p. 49 photo Ocean Front Walk at the Fraser Pier. The Dragon Gorge, the large ornate structure with the towers, was an early roller coaster. The white hippodrome building in the center housed a Looff carousel.}
{p. 50 a schematic map of Fraser Pier, 1912}
{p. 51 photos: The Crooked House on the Fraser Pier; the Tombs, 1911; Castle Court on the Fraser Pier, 1911.
"The Venice/Ocean Park area had become the finest amusement center on the west coast . . . Besides the innovative rides, dance halls, theaters, plunges, and bowling alleys, there were a dozen places for a game of chance. Hype and innovation were the rule , and it was on the Venice Pier that Felix Simmonds, a concessionaire, claimed to have invented the hamburger. In 1912, the bathing beauty contest was started as a promotional feature for the Los Angeles Examiner newspaper.
" . . .
"Venice was , in those days, a place of wonder. It was a dream of genteel good come to life. . ." p. 52 {which also has a photo of 1912 Hippodrome Carousel.}
" . . . shops included a wide selection of picture postcards, plaster of paris Italian stautes, coral beads and mother of pearl necklaces. Outside on the piers and on Ocean Front Walk, vendors pushed little carts. "Hokey-Pokey's - two for five," they called. They sold little squares of ice cream. Others sold candied apples, endless twists of long pearly white salt water taffy, clouds of pink cotton candy, strawberry phosphates, and cream puffs filled with custard. . . " p. 53 {which has a photo of the aftermath of the September 3, 1912 Fraser Pier fire.}
"The Ocean Park amusement area seemed to be awash in new pier proposals when the Mountain Roll Company announced their plans in July 1912 to build yet another pier. This one was to be medium in size;. 225 x 900 feet. An eight track mountain roll feature was planned as the main attraction and the remaining space to be used for concessions.
"Jones and Fraser meanwhile continued their squabble until that summer the court finally ruled in Jones' favor. It seemed that when Jones and Fraser were partners there was a transfer of 100 feet of property, which had become the entrance of the Million-Dollar Pier. Jones claimed half of it, so the pier entrance would have to be cut in half. He could then build a larger pier, 150 x 400 feet.
"Unfortunately, most of the new Ocean Park pier projects were prematurely derailed when fire broke out on Fraser's Million-dollar Pier at 5 p.m. on September 3, 1912. Diners first noticed flames in the Casino restaurant. The cause was thought to be either a cigarette or a defective flue in the kitchen. A stiff shore breeze, fanning the flames, spread it quickly to other structures on the pier and to the buildings across Ocean Front Walk. Seven hundred firefighters from twelve municipal fire companies, some as far away as downtown Los Angeles, took three and one half hours to get the fire under control. The problem in fighting the fire was a lack of water pressure. They managed to stop the fire at the Ocean Park Bathhouse when the wind shifted to an offshore breeze.
"The fire totally destroyed the pier, all of the amusements and six square blocks of businesses including many nearby hotels on Pier and Marine Streets. In all 225 structures burned. The loss was set at $3,000,000 with little of it covered by insurance. The business outlook for Ocean Park was bleak that fall, especially when Fraser, who was having a dispute with Santa Monica, talked of selling his beach property and moving out of town." p.53
"Electric tram service on Ocean Front Walk between Venice and Ocean Park began operation in 1916." p. 51
Jeffrey Stanton Venice of America: 'Coney Island of the Pacific,' Donahue Publishing: Los Angeles, CA, 1987. 176 pp., 1919, 1918, 1917, 1916, 1915, 1914, 1913
Chapter 3: Growth through the Teens (1913-1919)
"Ocean Park businessmen were systematically rebuilding their burned out business district. . . .
"Fraser was discouraged and ready to leave when local businesses persuaded him to proceed with his new pier. . . .The State Amusement Company, run by Ernest Pickering, signed a long term lease to operate the pier's amusements.
" . . .
"In April Santa Monica filed an injunction to stop Fraser from building his pier. The city claimed that they owned 42 feet of ocean frontage at the foot of Pier Avenue, which in their eyes was merely an extension of the street. Fraser had previously given the city an easement to extend a sewer outfall there, but didn't deed them the land. Actually the injunction only prevented Fraser from building his pier entrance buildings adjacent to Ocean Front Walk. He was able to continue construction by setting the pier pilings further out than he had inteded on the sand beyond the disputed property line.
"The pier was rushed to completion and reopened on May 30, 1913. It was a much simpler design with a broad boardwalk running down the center of the pier. Various rides, booths and concessions were on either side. The pier, with is salt water fire prevention system using ten hydrants and a powerful steam pump, was supposed to be essentially fireproof.
"Many of the attractions on the old pier were rebuilt. The 200 x 230 foot Dance Hall stood on the the ocean end. Harry Hines directed his orchestra in the $50,000 structure. The bowling alleys and billiard hall were adjacent to it, and beyond them was the Rosemary Theater. A Parker carousel opened on the south side of the pier next to the Crazy House. Other attractions included the Breaker's Cafe, Crooked House, La Petite Theater, Roller Skating Rink, City Hall, Baby Incubators, Puzzletown and Mystic Maze. The pier lacked thrill rides its first season, but it did attract its share of tourist dollars.
" . . .
"Venice and Ocean Park businessmen were constantly campaigning for lower Pacific Electric trolley rate. . . . The Pacific Electric company . . . finally obliged and began offering special twenty-five cent half-fare days to the beach, mostly on summer Thursday.
" . . .
"A new round of competition between the two pier areas occurred during spring 1914. Fraser won his court case against the city of Santa Monica and was now able to build at his pier entrance at Ocean Front Walk. He decided to go ahead and rebuild the Casino.
"Promoters managed to successfully raise the capital to begin construction of the Ben Hur Racer on the north side of his pier. The three-in-one project contained a big racing roller coaster designed by William Labb, a 7000 seat bandstand on a broad plaza and a 56 foot diameter carousel within the structure. An immense electric sign with the picture of Ben Hur driving a chariot adorned the top of the bandstand. The coaster was 75 feet high, 4200 feet in length and extended 700 feet over the ocean. It took much longer to build than expected, but it did manage to begin operation in late summer." p.55
"Pickering joined Kinney in 1914.
" . . .
"Venice 's fascination with new forms of transportation extended to the automobile as well. road racing, the most exciting spectator sport of the era, captured the public's fancy and also that of the Board of Trustees, who authorized the 1915 Venice Grand Prix on the the streets of Venice. It was roughly a triangle course down Electric Avenue, Rose Avenue, and Compton Road (Lincoln Boulevard). The curves were banked for high speed turns. Eight thousand dollars in prize money was offered.
"A Saturday afternoon St. Patrick's Day crowd of 75,000 watched the 300 mile road race from the bleachers and anywhere they could find a view. Seventeen drivers entered some of the fastest racing machines of their day; Bugatti, Simplex, Stutz, Mercer, Peugeot, Maxwell, Napier, Chevrolet, DeLage and Hercules. Mechanical problems plagued most of the drivers as one after another dropped out of the grueling race. Dave Lewis was in the lead on the 80th lap with just 17 laps to go when engine trouble forced out of the race. Barney Oldfield's Maxwell went on to an easy victory. Billy Carlson, also driving a Maxwell, finished second just 41 seconds behind Oldfield. Only eight of the seventeen entries finished the race. Average speed of the winner in the four and one-half hour race was 68.5 mph.
"The race was considered a success despite injuries to bystanders when a scoreboard toppled, and the death of an elderly spectator who wandered on to the course and was struck by a car. However, the city lost $10,000 due to gate crashing and the sale of 1000 counterfeit tickets by con men. Despite 40,000 paid admissions, thousands rushed the gates and sneaked in when ticket takers were unable to handle the large crowd." p.60
"Venice was beginning to play an important part in the motion picture business which was quick to take advantage of the town's unique architecture and colorful amusement district. Nearby studios like Biograph and Bison in Santa Monica and the Ince Studio in Culver City sent film crews to Venice. Charlie Chaplin starred in the 'Kid at the Auto Races', while Mary Pickford and Harold Lloyd each played the lead in movies along the Venice canals. Movie companies became so numerous and disruptive to local business that for a time in 1915 there was talk of banning them. However no action was taken and in later years movies like 'The Camera Man starring Buster Keaton and several 'Our Gang' comedies were filmed along the beach front and on the pier." pp. 62 and 63
" . . . The Venice/Ocean Park area had four permanent movie theaters: the California and Neptune Theaters on Ocean Front Walk near Windward, and the Dome and Rosemary Theaters on the Ocean Park Pier. Also, Venice's large auditorium on the pier was often used to show movies. Sound from its fine organ was a welcome addition to those silent films. Admission then was ten cents for all seat, although some theaters charged only a nickel for children." p. 63
"Ocean Park amusement interests suffered another setback that winter when a fire broke out in the Dance Pavilion on the Ocean Park Pier at 1 a.m. just as Christmas ended. The night watchman discovered the blaze in the check room and immediately called for help. The fire, fanned by a slight sea breeze, began its march up the pier. It consumed the Pioneer Bowling Alleys, Eskimo Village, Paris by Night, numerous small concessions and half the lofty Ben Hur Coaster before the combined fire brigades of three beach cities stopped it behind the Rosemary Theater. One-third of the pier was in ruins. The water-soaked Indian Village survived, but its merchandise was stolen when it was put out on the pier sidewalk.
"The origin of the fire was thought to be arson. A concessionaire saw two men in a boat rowing away from the pier shortly before the blaze spread, but nothing was ever proven. When the firemen were cleaning up, they pulled down some of the Japanese gambling game wheels and found intricate electric wiring on the under side of the spindles. The games were rigged!
"The first priority of the State Investment Company, operators of the Fraser Pier, was to build a temporary dance hall. Dance halls were more essential to nearby business interests than most people realized. Once their small 60 x 80 foot hall opened on February 12, 1916, other business' receipts improved dramatically." p. 64
"However, the company had much more ambitious plans. Obtaining the lease on the Jones Pier gave them control of 500 feet of beach frontage. They planned to rebuild the pier, erect a big first class cafe at the northwest corner of Ocean Front Walk and the pier entrance, add a big parking lot similar to the one on the Abbot Kinney Pier, . . .
"By April work on their new concrete dance hall near the end of the pier was nearing completion, and it looked like they would make the Easter Sunday opening. H.W. Schlueler leased space on the Great Western Pier at Ocean Front Walk. He razed the Pier Athletic Club where many famous boxers trained and the adjacent shooting gallery to make space for a 165 foot square building. It would be part dance hall and part concert hall. The dance hall section would be under an enromous 100 foot diameter concrete dome.
"Tom Prior and Fred Church leased space on Ocean Front Walk between the Fraser Pier's two entrances. They planned to introduce a new concept in amusement park rides, a racing carousel. They called their ride the 'Great American Racing Derby'. The inside portion of the ride was a standard carousel with 62 jumping horses and menagerie animals. However, on the outside rim of the 72 foot diameter machine were forty racing horses grouped four abreast in ten distinct races. The horses, which were set in six foot long tracks, would move back and forth as the side rotated, sometimes nosing ahead to gain the lead, other times suddenly falling back. The ride would slowly gain speed until it reached 25-30 mph, then the bell signifying victory for each of the lead horses would ring and the ride would slow down to a stop. The winners of each race would receive free repeat rides.
"I was impossible to determine ahead of time which horse would win since the cables that moved the horses back and forth criss-crossed beneath the platform. The cable pulling the outside horse in one row might be pulling the second horse out in the row ahead. . . .
{Prior and Church opened their ride February 4, 1917.}
"The Dome Dance Pavilion, however did open on time for the Fourth of July weekend. Ben Laietsky's Orchestra provided the music. The dance hall did record business on July 4th. 34,000 tickets were sold at five cents each to 68,000 dancers during the all day and evening dance sessions. Dance sessions in those days ere usually three slow numbers long; combinations of fox-trots, one-steps and waltzes. When it was over they would clear the floor for a new group. In the evening Tex La Gronge entertained pier spectators with a thrilling daredevil aerial show surrounded by fireworks." p.65
{page 66 photo Main promenade on the rebuilt Fraser Pier, 1913.}
{page 67 photo of the opening of the Ben Hur Racer roller coaster in Ocean Park, 1914}
{United States entered the Great War on April 6, 1917.}
"The Venice Vigilance Committee was formed and sought out anyone making disloyal remarks. Sometimes they were over-zealous and harassed shopkeepers of Germanic origin. Slackers and idlers, also considered disloyal, were picked up in periodic raids on the pier." p. 66.
" . . . Venice was almost the only place in the vicinity of Los Angeles where drinking was still legal. . . .
"Nearby Santa Monica voted to go 'dry' on January 1, 1918. Venice's election of the liquor laws was to be that April. Both sides were campaigning for their cause, sometimes fighting unfairly. Just days before the election the Grand Jury began to dig into alleged fraud and false voter registration in Venice. It was an open secret that almost anyone who would vote 'wet' could obtain free lodgings in Venice. . . . The 'wets' carried the April 7th election by 509 votes. Venice and Vernon were now the only places in Los Angeles County where one could buy a drink or a bottle of liquor.
"The war effort did little to restrict additions in the amusement zone. Church- Prior installed another Great American Racing Derby on the Venice Pier between the Auditorium and Melodia. It was a larger machine, 315 feet in circumference with 64 horse in rows of four set on the racing rim. It was a much more efficient design with no inner carousel. . . . "
"Tom Prior, who operated the business, seemed to be at odds with the politicians in both Venice and Santa Monica. When the trustees insisted that he cease playing his Race Thru the Clouds calliope, he severed relations. He scheduled a religious music concert one month later to prove to his foes that his calliope could play reverent and subtle music.
"He also sued the city of Santa Monica for unreimbursed expenses incurred in the building of a bandstand in conjunction with his Racing Derby on the Ocean Park Pier. In January 1918 he removed the ride from the pier and attempted to demolish the building. Fraser called in the police to stop him. Prior claimed that Santa Monica's restrictions, particularly those against games of chance, were bad for business. This was hard to fathom since just the previous season his ride had 211, 993 customers during the period from June 1 to Sepember 16.
"W.H. Labb and William Ellison . . . took over the management of the Fraser Pier . . . they had ambitious plans . . .
"When the Armistice was signed November 11, 1918, California was in the midst of a killer influenza epidemic. At first the flu epidemic wasn't feared, for county health officials like Dr. J.L. Pomeroy were certain that Southern California's sunshine would prevent it. But by late October the flu spread and the health department overseeing Venice and Santa Monica was forced to close schools, theaters, saloons and all places where soft drinks and ice cream were sold. The latter places had to establish a sanitation and sterilization system for glasses before they were allowed to reopen. Regulations were quirky and often silly. Music and liquor were allowed in restaurants, but no dancing. Bars and saloons had to shut down but not package liquor stores.
"At first the flu seemed to spare Venice. Perhaps washing down the streets with salt water did the trick, or due to the lack of medical facilities the afflicted just went elsewhere. Regardless, Venice was well enough to lift the quarantine for the Armistice Day celebration. Only one dance hall and two theaters were closed, while nearby Santa Monica was shut down tight. Everyone thought the epidemic was over when an alarming increase occurred - 169 new cases and six deaths were reported the week of December 12th. Everyone wore flu masks on the streets, and the flu bandits were having a splendid time robbing businesses. The influenza epidemic was still around but abating by the end of January 1919.
" . . .
"That summer the district attorney clamped down on all the so called 'games of chance' in both pier districts. It affected all those games where a prize was given, but not amusement games where admission was charged like skee ball and bowling. While there had been previous crackdowns on gambling style games, this time it looked like the games would have to change to those involving skill only. . . .
"In Ocean Park concessionaires were becoming extremely unhappy with pier management. They and the local business owners demanded that Labb and Ellison advertise, put in real attractions and decent entertainment on the pier. The American concessionaires felt that the Japanese concessionaires were getting a better deal. . . . Ernest Pickering purchased the Fraser Million-Dollar Pier on July 2, 1919. . . . the Rosemary Theater's move{d} into the old Racing Derby building along Ocean Front Walk. . . . " p.69
Kevin Starr Inventing the Dream: California Through the Progressive Era Oxford University Press, 1985, p 87-9, 1933, 1929, 1912, 1910s
"A genial journalist and a dreamy poet of the lo! hark! school, John Steven McGroarty had come to Southern California in his late thirties after qualifying for the bar in his native Pennsylvania. As a type, McGroarty was typical of the sort of journalists Otis attracted to the Times and dominated once they got there: intelligent but not overly critical, politically conservative, genial, genteel, appreciative-and most importantly, a booster, someone who wanted into the fast-forming oligarchy of Southern California. McGroarty wrote for the Los Angeles Times for forty years: Sunday essays of chitchat, poetry, and Emersonian encouragement, penned in his house in the Verdugo Hills. (He was known popularly as "the Poet of the Verdugo Hills.") A facile writer, McGroarty compiled a number of official histories of the Southland; his California of the South (1933), in fact, five volumes fat, is perhaps the last of the great commissioned mugbooks glorifying local worthies willing to underwrite the cost of publication. Reveling in Southern California's growth, McGroarty looked forward to the day when the Southland would be the most densely populated region on earth. Like his chief on the Times, the General, he invested heavily in real estate so that he might profit by the growth he promoted through speaking, journalism, poetry and his Mission Play.
"Early twentieth-century California supported a number of outdoor drama-pageants: at the Forest Theater in Carmel, the Greek Theater in Berkeley, the Bohemian Grove in Sonoma County, the Ramona Pageant at Hemet, and the Pasadena Festival of Roses. The Mission Play, however, outdrew them all. It cost $1.5 million to mount. Seeing its promotional possibilities, Henry, E. Huntington helped underwrite the production. After founding the Mission Play Association as an umbrella organization, McGroarty and his backers built a playhouse near Mission San Gabriel outside Los Angeles. Costing $750,000 and done, naturally, in the Mission Revival style, the Mission Playhouse seated 1,450. Its giant pipe organ was a wonder to hear. A cast of 300 players was hired, together with a director, Henry Kabierske, who had extensive experience with historical pageants on the East Coast and in Europe. A local girl, the actress, Eleanor Calhoun, then married to a Serbian prince and acting in Europe under her married name, Princess Lazarovich-Hrebelianovich, returned to Southern California to take the female lead. On 29 April 1912 the Mission Play opened to a full and enthusiastic house. Front and center were Otis, Huntington, and Bishop Conaty. McGroarty's play combined music, mime, drama, pageant, choral singing, and dance to celebrate the work of the Franciscans in Alta California. The dialogue was spotty and sententious (Father Junipero Serra, to a Spaniard casting lustful glances at an Indian maiden: "If you shall but so much as touch this young creature with your vile polluting hands, upon your head shall I hurl the curse of the Church!"), but spectacle carried the day. Even the sophisticated and acerbic Willard Huntington Wright*, soon to damn the provinciality of Los Angeles in the cynical and glittering pages of The Smart Set, confessed himself moved on opening night by the Mission Play 's direct power of romantic myth.
"The Mission Play became a Southern California institution. It played to an estimated 2.5 million people between 1912 and 1929. In recognition of his services to the Spanish myth of Southern California, McGroarty was named poet laureate of California, knighted by the pope and the king of Spain, and twice elected to Congress.
"The levels of appeal tapped by McGroarty's Mission Play -and the mission myth in general-were multiple. Like Frank Miller of Mission Inn, and somewhat like Charles Fletcher Lummis of Land of Sunshine, John Steven McGroarty provided Southern California with a usable past, a revered founding time, at once escapist and assuring, linking a parvenu society with the rich ecclesiastical cultures of Mediterranean Europe. A Presbyterian, McGroarty fell so much under the spell of Franciscan California that he converted to Catholicism-which is a paradox, because the mission myth was an essentially Protestant creation for an essentially Protestant Southern California. McGroarty, for instance, used to give speeches in Protestant churches extolling the padres. For all its luxuriant imagery, the mission myth fundamentally celebrated the Protestant virtues of order, acquisition, and the work ethic. "They took an idle race," claimed McGroarty of the Franciscans' work with the Indians, "and put it to work-a useless race that they made useful in the world.""
Les Storrs Santa Monica Portrait of a City Yesterday and Today, Santa Monica Bank: Santa Monica, CA, 1974, 67 pp., 1910-1920
" . . . the public schools were advancing rapidly under the able direction of Horace M. Rebok, superintendent.
"So good was the reputation of the Santa Monica schools that by the time of World War I a simple recommendation from the principal of the high school, William F. Barnum*, plus the required prepatory courses would gain a student admission to college or university known for high scholastic standards.
"Indicative of this trend in education was the fact tht the old Lincoln High School at Tenth Street and Santa Monica Boulevard, was considered to be outmoded. Accordingly, land was purchased by the Board of Education on what was then known as Prospect Hill, the present site of Santa Monica High School."
"Santa Monicans, then as in later years, often felt tht their local government could be improved, and soon after 1912 agitation began for charter amendment which would give the community a totally new type of government, under which three commissioners would be both council and administration.
" . . ."
Pp. 30, 31[Photo captions: "The Roosevelt School, then at Sixth and Montana Avenue, as it looked in 1908. Weeds grew luxuriantly.""; "This was room 4, B-8th Grade, Lincoln Intermediate School, November, 1913 and some of us are still around. Back row, l to r, John Robertson, Leonard Lytle, Leonard Austin, Robert Hutton, Donald Day, George Healy, Gustaw Granstrom, Frank Harrison, Louis Benson, Les Storrs, Herbert Carter, Shirley Morphis. Front row, Adrian Head, Reuben Pollack, Mr. Hamilton (the teacher, fresh out of Stanford), Sybilla McKenzie, Arta Rogers, Mary Krause, Thelia Palmer, Mildred Schriver, Harold Carter, Ray Winterard, Ernest Schreiber."]
"In the fall of 1913 the new school received its first classes, and the graduating class of 1917 was the first to complete all four years in the new plant.
P. 33 [Photo caption: "Santa Monica High School as it looked soon after completion of the first buildings on the present site. The photograph probably was made in 1913."]
"The old building on Tenth Street became Lincoln Intermediate School, and it housed seventh and eighth grade classes from the entire community. It was the forerunner of the present Lincoln Junior High.
"Some of the teachers who held forth in Samohi classes in those days and who were responsible for its fine academic reputation, will be remembered by old timers and not so old timers of today.
"They included in addition to William F. Barnum, the principal, who himself taught algebra and trigonometry, such people as Noah D. Knupp, William P. Fetherohf, Vincent Shutt, Nathan Shutt, Caroline Lucy Judd, Ruby Beatrice Weigle, Ethel Robinson, Laura M. Carver, Clara Macomber, Laura Liddle and "Doc" Claffin, the only holder of a Ph.D, on the faculty.
"A Harvard man whose command of English was perfect, he taught history and civics, and in addtion, coached highly successful debating teams.
" . . ."
" . . . before World War I . . . the Santa Monica Road Races.
"Around 1909, when the automobile remained something of a novelty, racing was getting a real start, ever moved by sporting instincts, were interested . . .
"Thus the Santa Monica Road Races came about, and a series of these thunderous events took place, the last shortly before war diverted the attention of all to more serious matters. The first races of the series started opoosite grandstands which were erected on Ocean Avenue near Marguerita Avenue, and followed a roughly triangular course down Ocean Avenue to Nevada (Wilshire), thence to Federal Avenue, from there to San Vicente Boulevard (the southerly side), and back to Ocean Avenue. For the last of the series, the course was shortened and went down Lincoln Boulevard.
"Cars of those days were short and high, powered as a rule by huge four cylinder engines which developed a great deal of noise and severely limited horepower. Even so, some could do 100 miles an hour, aided by the slight down hill run on San Vicente.
"Makes then prominent were Fiat, Mercer, Stutz, Pope-Hartford, Lozier, Peugeot, Sunbeam, Mercedes, Isotta-Fraschini, and some less well known brands. Drivers included Barney Oldfield, Teddy Tetzlaff, Earl Cooper, Eddie Pullen, Ralph de Palma, Peter de Paolo and other greats of the day.
" . . . "
Pps 24, 25 [Photo captions: "Miramar, then the residence of Sen. John P. Jones* and his family, undated"; "Teddy Tetzlaff and the Fiat rounding the corner of Ocean and Nevada Avenues in a cloud of dust and smoke in the 1912 Santa Monica Road Race";]
"Pp. 26. 27[Photo captions: "A dramatic production at the Women's Club. The man who is writing is the late Roy Jones and Mrs. S.J. Egleston is the acrtress looking over his shoulder. Mrs George H. Hutton is the one seated at the left."
Pp. 28, 29 [Photo Captions: "In 1910, the Fraser* Pier, later to become Pacific Ocean Park, looked like this"]
" . . ."
" . . . the council on October 5, 1914, unaminously voted . . . the appropriate ordinance . . . December 1, 1914, . . . the measure was approved, 1,021 to 782.
" . . . The new charter required what was known as a preferential ballot . . .
"[1915] . . . Samuel L. Berkley was elected commissioner of public safety, ex-officio mayor; William H. Carter, commissioner of public works; Maxwell K. Barretto, commissioner of public finance.
"Initially, the commissioner of public safely had jurisdiction over police, fire and health matters; the commissioner of public works was responsible for streets, water system, sewage disposal and public building; the commissioner of public finance was ex-officio city clerk and responsible for all fiscal matters.
"In practice, each commissioner operated his own fiefdom . . .
" . . ."
Pp. 38, 39 [Photo captions: "The Santa Monica Municipal Pier as it looked in about 1917. At that time it was built of concrete, and a roller coaster was on the site of the present [1974] Newcomb Pier. Photo courtsey of Donald Howland"
P. 46 [Photo captions: "Santa Monica's municipal pier was, at one time, all concrete, as shown in this 1915 photo. Unfortunately, salt water penetrated the concrete pilings, rusted the reinforcing steel, and caused the concrete to shatter. Rust requires more space than steel. It was replaced with wood about five years later";
Betty Lou Young Our First Century: The Los Angeles Athletic Club 1880-1980, LAAC Press: Los Angeles, California 1979, 176pp., 1910s
7. Seventh and Olive
" . . . the new building opened from June 13 through 15, 1912 . . . Twenty-five thouse people attended the opening . . . met by Garland, Garbutt, Kenny, Harry Haldeman and others . . . Arendt's orchestra played . . Harry Marston Haldeman-a gentleman of rare warmth and burly charm . . . joined in 1911 . . . appointed chair of the new Good Fellowship committee . . . given the disciplining of a member for being drunk and boistrous, Haldeman along with L. Frank Baum formed the "Uplifters" a club within the LAAC. . . . (1914) . . .
8. Spotlight on Sports
" . . .
"The LAAC began developing its own top-flight competitors in 1913 when they engaged the celebrated George Freeth as swimming instuctor. Born and raised in Hawaii, he was discovered in 1907 by Henry Huntington who brought him to Redondo Beach as the ideal attraction for his new Moorish-stype plunge and pavilion. Freeth revived the old Hawaiian custom of riding the waves stand up, using a shorter version of the heavy wooden surfboard. Throngs arrived on the Big Red Cars to watch him perform this magical feat twice a day, followed by an exhibition of fancy diving in the pool.
"Freeth was full of new ideas. He started swimming classes, developed the trudgeon stroke, organized water polo and water basketball teams. As the area's first official lifeguard, he assembled the first volunteer lifesaving corps in Southern California and developed the familiar cigar-shaped metal rescue kit which he mounted on a motorcycle sidecar.
"After leaving Redondo, Freeth taught at Venice, and by the time he reached the LAAC he had attracted an enthusiatic retinue of pupils. He taught spear-fishing and surfboard-riding, introduced the Australian crawl, . . .
"Duke [Kahanamoku] . . . recalled that Freeth had been awarded national honors for saving several Japanese fishermen from a capsized boat near Malibu. To express their appreciation, they named their fishing colony "Freeth Village" in his honor.
"Freeth moved to San Diego in 1915 . . . [He died in the 'flu epidemic of 1918.]
"Interest in motoring also remained high. George Retzer expanded the scope of his monthly hiking expeditions to include auto trips to such remote spots as Lake Tahoe and Yosemite . . . For the speedsters, road races to Santa Monica were inaugurated in 1910 . . . Oldfield wa a frequent contestant after his suspension was lifted in 1912 . . .
" . . .
" . . . Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn, who was an Uplifter and active LAAC member, proposed dancing as the best exercise to develop strong and virile young men."
" . . . (World War I) . . . The Retzer brothers were in motor transport, and Ted Shawn had his portrait painted in his soldier's uniform. . . ."