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History of Santa Monica
The city
was named in 1769 by Father Juan Crespi a Franciscan in Gaspar de
Portola’s Spanish exploration party. The priest was inspired by a
free-flowing spring near present day Wilshire Boulevard that reminded
him of the tears Saint Monica wept for her wayward son Augustine, who
ultimately dumped both his wife and mistress, to become a saint
himself.
The United States took control of California in
1848. Santa Monica’s roads and parks were laid out in 1875. The
1880 census recorded the population as 417. Today it has swelled to
88,000.
In 1893 Santa Monica built a mile long wharf
which acted as Los Angeles’ major port for ten years. In 1909 the
Santa Monica’s Pier opened. It’s the oldest pleasure pier on the
West Coast still offering amusement rides, bay views and restaurants,
with free concerts by major groups on summer nights. During
prohibition, speedboats used to run patrons from the pier to gambling
ships anchored three miles off the coast, then outside the
territorial limits of the United States. If you’ve seen the movie
“The Sting” you’ve watched the pier’s carousel, now a
National Historic Landmark.
With
it’s proximity to Hollywood, Santa Monica became a popular seaside
playground for the stars. 1934 saw the establishment
of Muscle Beach which ignited a national fitness craze.
In
1945, Santa Monica City College launched the Community Radio
Workshop, CRW to teach returning WW II vets broadcasting. Today radio
station KCRW is one of the gems of National Public Radio, well worth
a listen at 89.9 FM.
Description of Santa Monica
Santa
Monica is a compact, 8.3 square mile seaside city in Los Angeles
County 13 miles west of downtown LA. It is
surrounded on all sides, except the West by the City of Los Angeles.
The city is renowned for its environmentalism
75% of
the city’s public vehicles are powered by alternative fuels. All
public buildings rely on renewable energy. Over the last 15 years
Santa Monica has cut its greenhouse gases by 10%. Street runoff that
would otherwise pollute the bay is captured and. Santa Monica is at
the northern end of the LA Beach Bike path that runs 26 miles south
to Redondo Beach. (If you use it, keep a wary for scofflaw roller
skaters or the occasional fool that sits down in the middle to put on
his sandals.) The city is served by its own bus line, the Big Blue
Bus, although with no rail links, expect to own a car.
Santa Monica was the home for the TV series “Baywatch” and
“Three’s Company.” Within the city you can also find the Rand
Corporation, Lion’s Gate Films, UCLA Santa Monica Hospital, St.
John's Hospital and Santa Monica College.
Residents of Santa
Monica
The city’s demographics have changed in the last 30
years. Back then it attracted a lot of retirees. Today the age has
shifted younger. The city is 78% White, 7% Asian, 4% Black with an
estimated 50 gang members. The crime rate is slightly less than the
nation as a whole. About one of out four residents are college
graduates. Median income in the city is $69,000.
Rentals in Santa Monica
Rentals in Santa Monica are in great demand. Rent control in the city is strict so many
tenants simply do not leave. A good source for rental information is here at LA Rentals as well as obituaries in the Santa Monica Daily
Press. Rentals start at $1500 for a one bedroom apartment but as
a rule, rent is more expensive north of Wilshire Blvd and closer to
the beach where you can expect to spend $2200 and up for a similar
unit.
Fun Things to do in Santa Monica
The
Third Street Promenade, stretching from Broadway to Wilshire Blvd.,
is the center of much of the city’s shopping, first run movies and
restaurants. It’s a pedestrian only walkway
and a great place for people watching and observing street
performers. Along Montana Avenue you can find high end
shopping.
Palisades
Park is a must see, overlooking the Pacific Ocean with sweeping
vistas. The park features a working
camera obscura projecting images of the world outside onto a
darkened, interior viewing screen. The park was also the Western
terminus of historic Route 66 immortalized in both a TV series and
song. If you saw the 1963 classic movie “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad,
Mad World” the treasure chase ended at the park. Today some call it
the “home of the homeless.”
On Wilshire Blvd,
there’s a great Wednesday farmers’ market that offers a wide
array of organic food.
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