On Tuesday evening, July 23, the Santa Monica City Council voted 6-0 to designate the 4th Street Corner Historic District, supporting the Santa Monica Conservancy’s position that the 14 contiguous and intact historic residential structures qualify as a historic district under the Santa Monica Landmarks Ordinance. The buildings represent an important period in the early residential development of Ocean Park following the western extension of what is now Ocean Park Boulevard to Main Street and the beach. Like the neighboring Third Street Neighborhood Historic District, a variety of architectural styles found in Ocean Park in the first third of the 1900s are represented in the district.
Contributors to 4th Street Corner Historic District.
In supporting the designation, Council voted to reject the assertions by planning staff and the City’s consultant that the district was not large enough to qualify as a district, a criterion which is not defined anywhere in the Santa Monica Landmarks Ordinance or in the National Register’s recommendations. Also rejected were claims that the properties were not distinguishable from any other small grouping of historic properties in Ocean Park. More background on the district and the controversies are outlined in this article.
Finally, the Conservancy thanks the neighborhood organizations and the many individuals who responded to an email petition and came out to speak in support of the district, demonstrating once again the importance of preserving these reminders of our history for our own well being and that of future generations!
