Santa Monica History Museum: Broadway to Freeway: Life and Times of a Vibrant Community

Built by African American, Mexican American, and immigrant communities, the Broadway neighborhood was a haven for those who were excluded from other parts of the city by racist and anti-immigrant policies and practices. Santa Monica History Museum’s Broadway to Freeway: Life and Times of a Vibrant Community tells the story of how residents built Broadway into a flourishing community of color – and how the Interstate 10 freeway destroyed it in the 1960s. The vibrant lives of pioneering individuals – like the first African American teacher and social worker hired in Santa Monica – are knitted into the neighborhood they built together. The community populated Broadway with welcoming schools, homes, and businesses – from beauty parlors and jazz clubs, to the malt shop, tortilleria, and Jewish deli.

Students at Garfield Elementary School in Santa Monica participate in a toy refurbishment project, 1935. Photo: Bill Beebe Collection.

Featuring period photographs, advertisements, oral histories, and songs, the exhibition draws on the wealth of archival material collected by the Quinn Research Center, which is dedicated to preserving the history of African American life in Santa Monica.

The exhibit will be available through December 23, 2022. To plan your visit to the SMHM, visit their website.