1955 (1954) (1956) (1950-1960) (1960-1970) Table of Contents
Reyner Banham Los Angeles: The Architecture of Four Ecologies, Pelican: NY, 1971(1976), 256 pp., 1976, 1971, 1955, 1925 See Text
Horace McCoy [1897-1955] See Wikopedia 2006 Obit
Amanda Schacter (ed.)
Santa Monica Landmarks Santa Monica Landmarks Commission,
1990.
8. Santa Monica Municipal Pier See
Text
Jeffrey Stanton Santa Monica Pier A History from 1875 to 1990, Donahue Publishing: Los Angeles, CA, 1990, 1955, See Text
Betty Lou Young and Randy Young Santa Monica Canyon: A Walk Through History Casa Vieja Press: Pacific Palisades, CA, 1997, 182pp., 1955 See Text
Documents
Reyner Banham Los Angeles: The Architecture of Four Ecologies, Pelican: NY, 1971(1976), 256 pp., 1976, 1971, 1955, 1925
"But an air of health and pleasure still attaches to the beaches, partly for good physiological reasons, and partly because the cultivation and cult of the physical man (and woman) is obviously a deeply ingrained trait in the psychology of Southern California. Sun, sand, and surf are held to be ultimate and transcendental values, beyond mere physical goods: . . . The culture of the beach is . . . a symbolic rejection of the values of the consumer society, . ." p. 38
{Once pointed out, this situation was quickly corrected.}
"There is a sense in which the beach is the only place in Los Angeles where all men are equal and on common ground. There appears to be (and to a varying degree there really is) a real alternative to the tendency of life to compartmentalize in this freemasonry of the beaches, and although certain high schools allegedly maintain a 'turf' system that recognizes certain beaches as the private territories of particular schools, it is roughly speaking possible for a man in beach trunks and a girl in a bikini to go to almost any beach unmolested-even private ones if they can muster the nerve to walk in. One way and another, the beach is what life is all about in Los Angeles.
{This neglects the history of segregated beaches. Was the Venice black ghetto a function of oil leased lands?}
" . . . the beach runs from the Malibu strip at the western extremity to the Balboa peninsula in the south . . . Craig Ellwood's Hunt house of 1955 at Malibu and Rudolph Schiindler's epoch-making Lovell house of thirty years earlier at Newport Beach, . . . Between the two the beach varies in structure, format, orientation, social status, age of development, and whatnot, but remains continuously The Beach." p. 39
Amanda Schacter(ed.) Santa Monica Landmarks Santa Monica Landmarks Commission, 1990.
8 Santa Monica Municipal Pier
West end of Colorado Boulevard
Built: 1909, 1917, 1924
Designated 17 August 1976
"The Santa Monica Pier was originally two separately owned, adjacent piers: the Municipal Pier built in 1909, and the Pleasure Pier, built in 1916 by Charles I.D. Loof and privately owned. While the Municipal Pier was for strolling and fishing, Loof constructed amusement and food establishments on the Pleasure Pier, including the exotic Hippodrome building to house the Pier's carousel. Loof sold the Pleasure Pier in 1924 to a corporation which lengthened it that year and built the famed La Monica Ballroom. Although the ballroom was demolished in 1963, in its hey (sic) day the massive structure could accommodate as many as 10,000 people. The City has owned both Piers since the 1950's and, in 1970, assumed direct management. Since the 1970's the Piers have been known collectively as the Santa Monica Pier.
"The Hippodrome has housed three carousels over the years. The first carousel, installed by Loof, remained until 1939, when it was replaced by a carousel that had previously been located at the old Pacific Ocean Park Pier. The current carousel was built by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company in 1922 and was moved from Nashville, Tennessee to the Santa Monica Pier in 1947. The Hippodrome building was designated a National Historica Landmark in 1988. In addition, the entire Pier was named a County Historical Landmark in 1975.
"Other buildings of interest on the Pier include the Billiard Building, constructed on the the Pier in 1923, and the building know today as Sinbad's, originally constructed next to the Billiard Building in the early 1920s. The building remained there until 1929, when it was moved to its present location, adjacent to the site of the La Monica Ballroom. It served as the home of the La Monica Dancing Company and Hoyt's Chesapeake Cafe until the use changed in 1955 to "Sinbad's" restaurant."
Jeffrey Stanton Santa Monica Pier A History from 1875 to 1990, Donahue Publishing: Los Angeles, CA, 1990, 1955
Chapter 5: Santa Monica Pier on the Skids (1941-1974)
"That summer [1954] was Spade Cooley's last year at the La Monica Ballroom. With his popularity waning, he moved to Ocean Park's Casino Gardens for his last year on television."
"In March 1955 Santa Monica's recreation director gave the Muscle Beach weightlifters an ultimatum. They either had to form a club that collected dues and carried liability insurance, or he would remove the weights from the beach. The problem started when a small boy picked up a barbell that was too heavy for him. It pull him forward and the barbell hit another boy on the head. the injured boy's parents sued the city for $200. The city carried no insurance on the playground.
"The Muscle Beach Weightlifters Club was formed with Dr. Paul Maclin as its president. Over one hundred members signed up and paid the annual two dollar membership fee. The club agreed to police the beach and get rid of troublemakers. The city was satisfied and made plans at a cost of $10,000 to rearrange the platforms and add bleachers for spectators.
"The city . . . decided to ban pinball games because they were considered games of chance . . . and it wasn't until the early 1970s that pinball games were allowed back on the pier.
"The Santa Monica Pier's new attraction for the 1955 summer season was the opening of the Hollywood Autocade in the La Monica Ballroom. It featured one hundred unusual automobiles ranging from a 1908 Moreland fire engine to Hitler's Auto-Union Hoch given to his fiance Eva Braun, to a $16,500 Dusenberg. One unusual car was a 1921 German Rumpler Drop Car, an amphibious vehicle designed to be dropped from dirigibles. the exhibit also included many motion picture star's cars like Jack Benny's Maxwell, Clara Bow's Rolls-Royce, and Rudolf Valentino's Lancia. . . . .
"Lamia's old charter boat office next to the Playland arcade . . . was leased to Gordon and Beryle Brunkow by Mrs. Newcomb. They operated a wholesale and retail gift shop that specialized in plaster of paris statues." p. 12
Betty Lou Young and Randy Young Santa Monica Canyon: A Walk Through History Casa Vieja Press: Pacific Palisades, CA, 1997, 182pp., 1955
"Higher education came to Pacific Palisades as enrollments increased. Paul Revere Junior High School opened in September 1955, on a portion of the Riviera Country Club's polo fields, and the remaining equestrian acreage was subdivided for housing. Palisades High School followed six years later (1961) in Temescal Canyon . . . "