Conservancy News

Santa Monica Mosaic previews a commemorative walking and biking tour tracing the city’s role in global aviation, with stops at the Museum of Flying, Barker Hangar, and the landmarked Compass Rose.

SANTA MONICA, California — Santa Monica Mosaic premieres “Steps to Remember: Charting a Course through Santa Monica Airport’s Dynamic History” live on Zoom on Sunday, November 22, at 5 p.m. The free livestream offers a first look at the Clover Field Trail, an end-to-end commemorative walking and biking tour that traces Santa Monica’s role in advancing global aviation.

Despite numerous attempts, Santa Monica Airport (SMO) has never had an official tribute to its history. The Santa Monica Conservancy plans to change that.

Community journalist Libby Motika hosts the program with four guests. Historian Nina Fresco, author of First Around the World, returns to reflect on earlier efforts to establish an on-site tribute. Santa Monica Conservancy Board President Mario Fonda-Bonardi shares how the trail came together and how its stops were chosen. Ben Marcus, chairman of the board of directors of the Museum of Flying, and SMO history buff Jack Abrams bring selected stops to life.

“I was born and raised a block from Santa Monica Airport, and my passion for flight was ignited as a child by hours upon hours at the perimeter fence and observation deck, watching takeoffs and landings,” said Marcus. “I’m thrilled that the Santa Monica Conservancy is including the Museum of Flying and paying tribute to the legacy of this historic airport, the site of iconic takeoffs from the first flight around the world to the maiden flight of the Douglas DC-3, the airplane that launched the commercial airline industry.”

The Clover Field Trail traces the city’s aviation legacy, from Clover Field to Douglas Aircraft and the groundbreaking Ninety-Nines women pilots’ organization. “Steps to Remember” is the final installment of Final Approach: The Past and Future of Santa Monica Airport, this fall’s Santa Monica Mosaic series.

Event Details 
When: November 22 @ 5 pm
Where: Online on ZOOM
Register for free at smconservancy.org/clovertrail.

Media Contact:
Melina Castorillo
melina@smconservancy.org.

About Santa Monica Mosaic
Santa Monica Mosaic is a livestream series celebrating our city’s historic cultures and diverse communities. Like a colorful mosaic, the program seeks to convey the fascinating stories, various perspectives, and multiple legacies that have shaped today’s Santa Monica. The 2025 Santa Monica Mosaic series, covering the rich history and brave recovery of Pacific Palisades from the devastating January 2025 fire, was recognized by State Senator Ben Allen. View all three installments on smconservancy.org.

About Santa Monica Conservancy
The Santa Monica Conservancy is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to celebrating the city’s historic places and cultural heritage. Through walking tours, educational programs, and community events, the Conservancy helps foster deeper connections between residents, visitors, and the stories that shape Santa Monica.

Architect Fred Fisher to receive Special Tribute Award at November 8 celebration hosted by architecture and design analyst Frances Anderton

SANTA MONICA, CA | October 2026 — The Santa Monica Conservancy will celebrate the people, places, and projects shaping the city’s architectural and cultural legacy at its 2026 Preservation Awards, taking place Sunday at the historic Santa Monica Bay Women’s Club. The program begins at 2 pm with the Taste of Santa Monica reception, with culinary offerings from local restaurants. The awards program begins at 3 pm.

This year’s program recognizes the many forms preservation can take, from reimagining historic buildings for contemporary use to restoring Santa Monica’s coastal landscapes and cultivating community connections through its historic places.

A highlight of the afternoon will be a Special Tribute Award honoring Fred Fisher & Partners, whose work over five decades has demonstrated how thoughtful architecture can connect a place’s history with its future. Through projects including Bergamot Station, the Annenberg Community Beach House, and City Hall East, the firm has helped transform significant Santa Monica sites into vibrant spaces for public life while respecting their architectural and cultural histories.

The tribute will be hosted by Frances Anderton, acclaimed architecture and design commentator, former host of KCRW’s DnA: Design and Architecture, and author of Common Ground: Multifamily Housing in Los Angeles. Anderton, who currently teaches at USC, will lead a special conversation with architect Fred Fisher exploring the ideas, projects, and enduring impact of his work.

The Conservancy will also recognize two projects that demonstrate the importance of preserving Santa Monica’s natural and community landscapes.

The Bay Foundation will be honored for its work restoring coastal dunes, helping to revive native habitats and strengthen the ecological resilience of Santa Monica’s shoreline.

Hilda Weiss will receive a Volunteer Service Award for developing a garden tour highlighting California native plants at the Conservancy’s historic Ocean Park headquarters, creating new opportunities for visitors to connect with the region’s natural and cultural history.

The afternoon will begin with Taste of Santa Monica, a reception celebrating the city’s local culinary community, featuring offerings from Bun & Mi, Lula’s, SURO Sushi, Vucacious Catering, Dolcenero, and Divine Vintage.

Together, this year’s honorees reflect a broader vision of preservation, one that embraces architecture, environmental stewardship, adaptive reuse, and the people whose dedication keeps Santa Monica’s history relevant and accessible.

Funds raised at this program support the Santa Monica Conservancy’s leadership in advocacy, education, and community engagement to protect significant places and share our stories. Participation in the 2026 Preservation Awards helps advance efforts to protect significant historic places, encourage thoughtful reuse, and share the stories that give Santa Monica its distinctive identity.

Event Details

What: Santa Monica Conservancy 2026 Preservation Awards
When: Sunday, November 8, 2026 | 2 pm – 4:30 pm
Where: Santa Monica Bay Women’s Club, 1210 Fourth Street, Santa Monica, CA
Tickets and Information: www.smconservancy.org/2026preservationawards

The 2026 Preservation Awards are made possible with the generous support of our Silver Sponsors,  Matt Construction and Worthe Real Estate Group, and Bronze Sponsors, USC School of Architecture’s Heritage Conservation Program, jAdis and KCK Architects.










 

About the Santa Monica Conservancy

The Santa Monica Conservancy is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the city’s architectural, historical, and cultural heritage. Through advocacy, education, tours, and community programs, the Conservancy works to protect the places that tell Santa Monica’s story and ensure they remain meaningful for future generations.

Media Contact
Melina Castorillo
melina@smconservancy.org
Digital Communications Specialist

Advocacy Alert! Write to the Landmarks Commission in Support of 1921 20th Street

Please write to the Landmarks Commission TODAY! Tell them you want them to designate 1921 20th Street as a landmark. We have less than two hours left. Letters must be received by 12 noon today, September 14, to be on the record! Send your letter to planningcomment@santamonica.gov with the subject line, “Designate 1921 20th Street as a Landmark.”

Send a Prewritten Email

Tonight, the Santa Monica Conservancy Landmark application for 1921 20th Street will have its public hearing, where the Commission will decide whether to approve the application and designate the property.

1921 20th Street, The Unfried House

1921 20th Street is a 1913 Craftsman Airplane Bungalow. Today, these bungalows are a very rare type in the City of Santa Monica, with only two or three still standing. And this one was a pioneering structure in the Pico Neighborhood, built by one of the first families to settle there when the neighborhood was subdivided in 1904. It is a very significant structure.

1921 20th Street remains almost unaltered, making it an even more precious resource with an unbelievable ability to show us what life was like in the Pico Neighborhood during its first phase of development at the beginning of the 20th century.

The city hired an impartial outside consultant to study the property, who agrees with the Conservancy’s evaluation that this building is a stunning example of its type and a terrific representation of the early days in the area.

The staff report asserts that because the building is in poorly maintained condition, it should not qualify as a landmark. But that is not how evaluation works. If the building tells the story and its original features are there, it qualifies.

To bring it back to ship-shape condition, there are special guidelines from the National Park Service to ensure the significance of the structure remains intact even after extensive rehabilitation. The Mills Act also gives landmark owners a property tax break so they can redirect those financial resources into rehabilitating the landmark.

Read the reports here: https://www.smgov.net/departments/pcd/agendas/Landmarks-Commission/2026/20260914/a20260914.htm

Please write to the Landmarks Commission TODAY! Tell them you want them to designate 1921 20th Street as a landmark. Letters must be received by 12 noon today, September 14, to be on the record!

Send your letter to: planningcomment@santamonica.gov with the subject line, “Designate 1921 20th Street as a Landmark.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Santa Monica Conservancy’s Mosaic program examines the evolution of Santa Monica Airport from Clover Field to the present day in a two-part livestream series.

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — On March 17, 1924, a fleet of Douglas World Cruisers lifted off from Clover Field, now Santa Monica Airport (SMO), on the first successful flight around the world. That single takeoff set the stage for a series of aviation firsts rooted in Santa Monica, and it’s the starting point for Final Approach: The Past and Future of Santa Monica Airport.

Part One, titled “Where Legends Took Flight”, premieres September 27 and brings together special guests to trace SMO’s role as a cradle of flight, then later as a base for robust nonprofit, creative, and instructional communities. Host Libby Motika will be joined by Nina Fresco, historian and author of First Around the World; Gregg Chadwick, a founding artist-in-residence at Santa Monica Airport’s Arts Center; and Cheri Cimmarrusti, associate executive director at Angel Flight West.

Beyond the round-the-world flight, the conversation will cover SMO’s distinction as home to the first Women’s Air Derby, nicknamed the “Powder Puff Derby”, in which twenty of the world’s top female aviators participated, including Amelia Earhart and Pancho Barnes. The race captured the nation’s attention, drawing tens of thousands of spectators to Clover Field. The segment will feature historic photographs of the pioneering pilots who once took off from SMO’s runway, offering a rare visual journey through its rich past and spirited present.

The program will then move forward to discuss the significance of the airport complex in modern Santa Monica, including the growth of a vibrant on-site artist colony and the founding of Angel Flight West, where volunteer pilots set out to fly families in need of medical care, regardless of distance.

“Angel Flight West started with a handful of pilots completing 15 missions in 1984. Our network has now grown to over 2,000 pilots, each of whom flies their own plane and covers all costs so families can take these important journeys,” said Cimmarrusti

The episode will also feature a filmed visit to the airport Arts Center and a conversation with Gregg Chadwick.

“I have created my light-filled paintings in a converted hangar at the Santa Monica Airport for the past 22 years. My studio is more than a workspace—it is a daily catalyst where the momentum of flight feeds directly into my explorations of time, history, and fleeting encounters,” said Chadwick

Part Two premieres on November 15, with a special inside look at city planning for the storied airport and the future of its beloved historic resources.

Event Details 

When: September 27 @ 5 pm
Where: Online on ZOOM

Register for free at smc.givecloud.co/airportlegends.

Thank you to our sponsor, BXP! We are able to offer this program for free to our attendees due to their support.

Media Contact:

Melina Castorillo
melina@smconservancy.org.

About Santa Monica Mosaic

Santa Monica Mosaic is a livestream series celebrating our city’s historic cultures and diverse communities. Like a colorful mosaic, the program seeks to convey the fascinating stories, various perspectives, and multiple legacies that have shaped today’s Santa Monica. The 2025 Santa Monica Mosaic series, covering the rich history and brave recovery of Pacific Palisades from the devastating January 2025 fire, was recognized by State Senator Ben Allen. View all three installments on smconservancy.org.

About Santa Monica Conservancy

The Santa Monica Conservancy is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to celebrating the city’s historic places and cultural heritage. Through walking tours, educational programs, and community events, the Conservancy helps foster deeper connections between residents, visitors, and the stories that shape Santa Monica.

Santa Monica Conservancy and Annenberg Community Beach House host special exhibitions at Doors Open California 2026
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SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA – Throughout September, the California Preservation Foundation invites the public to Doors Open California 2026, a month-long, statewide celebration of historic architecture, design, and cultural heritage.

On September 26 and 27, the celebration comes to Santa Monica, highlighting two historic landmarks: the Historic Shotgun House and Marion Davies Guest House. This year, in addition to docent-led tours held at each site, Santa Monica Conservancy and Annenberg Community Beach House are offering special exhibitions exclusive to Doors Open.​

The  Shotgun House, built in 1897, housed generations of Santa Monicans for over a century, and was so beloved by community members that it was saved from demolition. On-site, Santa Monica Conservancy hosts permanent exhibitions about the history of Ocean Park, including historic photos of Shotgun House tenants living in the bungalow. During Doors Open, visitors can view original samples of period-era wallpaper that were found in the walls of the Shotgun House during its rehabilitation in the 2010s

Just under three miles from the Shotgun House, on the California Coast, stands the Marion Davies Guest House at the Annenberg Community Beach House. The Guest House structure and marble-edged pool are the only surviving remnants of an opulent estate demolished in the 1950s that featured a 110-room Georgian Revival Mansion, designed by architect Julia Morgan, and built for actress Marion Davies by publisher and politician William Randolph Hearst. For the first time, attendees will examine historic Beach House artifacts on exhibit, including original wood floor detail, historic wallpaper, ephemera, and a personal item belonging to Marion Davies: her handkerchief. For parking information when visiting the Marion Davies Guest House at the Beach House, please visit here or call Guest Services at (310) 458-4904.

No purchase is required to visit either Santa Monica site. Just stop by during active hours on Saturday, September 26, or Sunday, September 27. The Shotgun House at 2520 Second Street will be open from 12:30 to 3:30 pm. The Marion Davies Guest House at 415 Pacific Coast Highway will be open from noon to 4 pm.

Attendees who wish to purchase an all-access pass to the 70+ additional historic sites participating in the statewide Doors Open California celebration may do so at https://californiapreservation.org/doca/.

About Santa Monica Conservancy
The Santa Monica Conservancy is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to celebrating the city’s historic places and cultural heritage. Through walking tours, educational programs, and community events, the Conservancy helps foster deeper connections between residents, visitors, and the stories that shape Santa Monica.