Conservancy News Feed | Santa Monica Conservancy

Discover the Neighborhood: The Architecture of John Byers

May 11, 2020

The Santa Monica Conservancy will be providing a weekly newsletter while much of our world is shut down due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Each week, we will bring you digital resources related to preservation with the aim of helping you connect with our community and beyond. Sign up here, if you’re not already on our mailing list.

As part of our weekly offerings, we are bringing you Discover the Neighborhood, free digital downloads of our tour brochures and booklets so that you can explore our city from the comfort of your home.

The Armstrong-Cobb residence.

Discover the Neighborhood

The Architecture of John Byers

Discover six historic locations built in Santa Monica by master architect John Byers. Inspired by the traditional architecture of Latin America, Byers was self-taught and opened his own tile factory at 26th Street and Colorado Boulevard. Byers designed more than 200 homes in Southern California, influencing the architectural landscape of Santa Monica and the Westside.

The brochure includes early homes exemplifying Byers’ mastery of the Spanish Colonial Revival style and his private residence on La Mesa Drive, where he lived for nearly 30 years before he died in 1966.

Our digital downloads enable you to view architectural and historical highlights and learn about the evolution of Santa Monica from the comfort of your home. If you do go outside for a walk to view the sites listed, please remember to put six feet of distance between you and others. The latest COVID-19 updates for Santa Monica can be found here.

Downloads are free. Donations are welcome and appreciated.

2101 La Mesa Drive.

Discover the Neighborhood John Byers

Discover the Neighborhood: South Beach

May 4, 2020

The Santa Monica Conservancy will be providing a weekly newsletter while much of our world is shut down due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Each week, we will bring you digital resources related to preservation with the aim of helping you connect with our community and beyond. Sign up here, if you’re not already on our mailing list.

As part of our weekly offerings, we are bringing you Discover the Neighborhood, free digital downloads of our tour brochures and booklets so that you can explore our city from the comfort of your home.

Discover the Neighborhood

South Beach

This seaside neighborhood features an eclectic mix of architecture from American Foursquare, Craftsman and Dutch Colonial to Italian Revival, Mission Revival and more. Constructed largely between 1901 and 1905, this section of Ocean Park was the impetus for a seaside housing boom on our City’s south side. Learn why much of the area was razed in the 1960s and how residents successfully advocated to protect the properties that remain today. See how these historic homes have been updated for modern life.

Our digital downloads enable you to view architectural and historical highlights and learn about the evolution of the city from the comfort of your own home. If you do go outside for a walk to view the sites listed, please remember to put six feet of distance between you and others. The latest COVID-19 updates for Santa Monica can be found here.

Downloads are free. Donations are welcome and appreciated.

Horatio West Court at 140 Hollister Street was designed by architect Irving Gill.

Discover the Neighborhood

Discover the Neighborhood: Adelaide Drive

April 27, 2020

The Santa Monica Conservancy will be providing a weekly newsletter while much of our world is shut down due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Each week, we will bring you digital resources related to preservation with the aim of helping you connect with our community and beyond. Sign up here, if you’re not already on our mailing list.

As part of our weekly offerings, we are bringing you Discover the Neighborhood, free digital downloads of our tour brochures and booklets so that you can explore our city from the comfort of your home.

Photo: Steve Loeper

Discover the Neighborhood

Adelaide Drive

Explore the contemporary and historic homes of Adelaide Drive, built in the early 20th century by wealthy pioneer families. Early residents included silent screen star Anita Stewart as well as Roy Jones, son of Santa Monica co-founder Senator John P. Jones. Today, five of these residence are still standing as designated landmarks, and the area remains popular with artists and writers, including architect Frank Gehry, cartoonist Matt Groening and author Mona Simpson.

Our digital downloads enable you to view architectural and historical highlights and learn about the evolution of the city from the comfort of your own home. If you do go outside for a walk to view the sites listed, please remember to put six feet of distance between you and others. The latest COVID-19 updates for Santa Monica can be found here.

Downloads are free. Donations are welcome and appreciated.

Discover the Neighborhood

Virtual Tour + Free Brochure: Our 1897 Shotgun House

April 13, 2020

Step inside our 1897 Shotgun House, the last intact one in Santa Monica. Our virtual tour takes you through the three board-and-batten rooms where you can explore Santa Monica history and learn about preservation. Look behind the walls and flooring to reveal vintage materials, and see if you can find the one original window in our Shotgun House.

Tips for Navigating

Click the “360” icons to rotate your exterior view of the house.
Click the “Walking Person” icon to enter the house.
Press the “Play” button in the bottom left to start a guided tour.
Click on the orange dots to access more information about a feature.

The 3D scan of the house was created by Lucas Preti of Coral Climb Productions, a boutique company based in Santa Monica with expertise in documentaries, virtual reality and augmented reality.

Shotgun houses originated in the Caribbean and quickly sprang up in the rural South and became popular during the Civil War as field housing. In the West, they sprang up in mining towns to shelter railroad workers and families of limited means. In Santa Monica and other resort areas, they were used as vacation cottages.

Our Shotgun House began its life near the Santa Fe Railroad Depot and was moved three times before settling at 2520 2nd Street. The Conservancy rehabilitated and transformed the house into a Preservation Resource Center, which opened in 2016.

Discover the journey of our tenacious little Shotgun House by downloading our free brochure below. Donations welcome.

Preservation Resource Center Shotgun House

Discover the Neighborhood: Downtown Santa Monica

April 6, 2020

The Santa Monica Conservancy will be providing a weekly newsletter while much of our world is shut down due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Each week, we will bring you digital resources related to preservation with the aim of helping you connect with our community and beyond. Sign up here, if you’re not already on our mailing list.

As part of our weekly offerings, we are bringing you Discover the Neighborhood, free digital downloads of our tour brochures and booklets so that you can explore our city from the comfort of your home.

Discover the Neighborhood

Downtown Santa Monica

Downtown Santa Monica’s first theater, the Majestic Theater, was built in 1929.

Explore a lavish Art Deco hotel that doubled as a speakeasy during Prohibition, Downtown’s first theater and more! Our beautifully illustrated Downtown Santa Monica booklet offers 28 pages of early Santa Monica history, 24 architectural sites, 3 lost buildings, a convenient walking route and a helpful glossary.

Our digital downloads enable you to view architectural and historical highlights of the district and learn about the evolution of the neighborhood from the comfort of your own home. If you do go outside for a walk to view the sites listed, please remember to put six feet of distance between you and others. The latest COVID-19 updates for Santa Monica can be found here. Downloads are free. Donations are welcome and appreciated.

We thank our sponsor Downtown Santa Monica Inc., a private 501c(3) non-profit that promotes economic stability, growth and community life within Downtown Santa Monica and the Third Street Promenade.

Discover the Neighborhood Downtown Santa Monica