Conservancy News

Conservancy docents (Michelle, Ellen, Anita) at the outreach table at State of the City, before hosting tours of the Historic Miles Playhouse.

[FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE] Santa Monica, CA – The Santa Monica Conservancy is looking for volunteers to tell the stories of Santa Monica’s most iconic and beloved sites in celebration of the city’s 150th anniversary.  

Volunteer opportunities range from conducting guided tours of historic places like Main Street and the Marion Davies Guest House (at Annenberg Community Beach House) to writing stories about the city’s colorful history for the Conservancy newsletter. 

“Working with volunteers has been one of the most meaningful parts of my journey,” says Alissa Reid, the Conservancy’s community outreach coordinator. “Each person brings their own story, passion, and reason for wanting to preserve the history of this city. I’m constantly reminded how deeply people care about the places that have shaped their lives.” 

Community Outreach Coordinator Alissa Reid and Communications Association Melina Castorillo host check-in member event including a guided tour of a historic Cecil Gale home.

Volunteers who complete at least four events annually are eligible for a complimentary Conservancy membership, which includes access to member-only events and special guided tours of historic places throughout Los Angeles and beyond. 

Volunteers are needed at the following Conservancy events: 

• Doors Open California: Explore a Tiny Home Turned Local Landmark! | Sept. 13–14, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. (2520 Second Street)
  Tour the Historic Shotgun House during Doors Open, a statewide celebration of over 70 historic sites. Built in 1897, the tiny house was saved from demolition by local community members and now serves as the Conservancy’s headquarters.
• Route 66 Centennial Exhibition | POSTPONED TO 2026 (2520 Second Street)
  Commemorate 100 years of Route 66 with a special exhibition at the Shotgun House. 
• Untold Stories: The History of the Marquez-Reyes Family with Sharon Reyes | Oct. 8, Reception: 5:00 p.m. (2520 Second Street) • Talk: 6:30 p.m. (Ocean Park Library) An evening of storytelling with Marquez-Reyes family member Sharon Reyes and historian Nina Fresco, highlighting the impact of Mexican American families in Santa Monica through rare photos and family stories. 

 The Conservancy has many ongoing volunteer opportunities: 

• Guided tours, highlighting Santa Monica’s architectural and cultural landmarks, including the Main Street Walk, Downtown Walking Tour, Shotgun House Tour, and Tour of Marion Davies Guest House at Annenberg Community Beach House. 
• Gardening at the historic Shotgun House Native Plant Garden, led by garden expert and docent Hilda Weiss, who also brings volunteers on field trips to local nurseries! 
• Writers’ Circle, where volunteers collaborate with the Conservancy’s communications team to craft stories and relay news on architectural preservation, local history, and cultural events shared with over 4,000 subscribers.

To learn more about volunteering at the Santa Monica Conservancy, contact Community Outreach Coordinator Alissa Reid at alissa@smconservancy.org. 

Docent Patty Godon-Tann shows a visitor a miniature version of the Shotgun House (Doors Open California 2024).

Hilda and Mya host a Seedball workshop at the Shotgun House Garden dedication to Doris Sosin.

About the 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. 

The Historic Shotgun House and the Marion Davies Guest House (located at the Annenberg Community Beach House a.k.a. the Beach House) are both open for extended hours during Doors Open California, a statewide celebration of design, architecture, and history, featuring over 70 historic sites.

From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on September 13th and 14th, you can tour two local landmarks and learn about various aspects of coastal living in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

If you miss Doors Open, the Shotgun House is open for tours on the second Saturday and Sunday of each month from 12 to 2 p.m. And the Marion Davies Guest House is open for tour Friday through Monday from 12 to 2 p.m.

Tour the Historic Shotgun House

The Historic Shotgun House is located in Ocean Park, just a couple of miles from its original location in Sunset Park. Built in 1897, the tiny home served various families for nearly a century. In 2002, the Shotgun House garnered support from community members to resist its demolition. Through an adaptive reuse plan, the Santa Monica Conservancy rehabilitated and reopened the site in 2016, serving simultaneously as a museum for local history and the headquarters for Conservancy staff. Learn More About the Shotgun House in Our Historic Resources Inventory

What to Expect:

At the Shotgun House tour, a docent will guide you through the house’s history and explore some of the house’s original features. You can also view a miniature model of the house in the Victorian era and immerse yourself in Ocean Park history through existing exhibition panels.

How to Get There: The Shotgun House is located on Second Street next to the Ocean Park Library, parallel to Main Street in Ocean Park.

Address: 2520 Second Street, Santa Monica, CA 90405

Parking: Please allow extra time to park, especially in the summer months. Metered parking is available along Norman Place and Main Street. The nearest parking lot is city lot #10 at 111 Hill Street, just south along Main. Better yet, take the bus or use a rideshare service! Big Blue Bus #1 will drop you off near the corner of Main and Ocean Park Blvd (by Ocean Park Library).

Tour Marion Davies Guest House

The Marion Davies Guest House is located at the Annenberg Community Beach House, which stands at the site of the now-demolished 110-room, Georgian Revival Mansion—designed by architect Julia Morgan, and built for actress Marion Davies by publisher and politician William Randolph Hearst. Davies became Hollywood’s premier hostess in the late 20s and 30s. She and Hearst resided here for portions of their 35-year-long relationship, and together they welcomed hundreds of celebrities, politicians, artists, and other notables to their luxurious paradise by the ocean. Learn More About the Marion Davies Guest House in Our Historic Resources Inventory

What to Expect:

Santa Monica Conservancy docents will be on hand to share the rich history of the Annenberg Community Beach House site from the 1920s into the Present Day.

How to Get There: The Marion Davies Guest House is located at the Annenberg Community Beach House on Pacific Coast Highway.

Address: 415 Pacific Coast Highway, Santa Monica, CA 90402

Parking: There is limited parking available at the Annenberg Community Beach House Lot. You may also park at the nearby Beach Parking Lot 9 North, located at 530 Pacific Coast Highway, or Beach Parking Lot 8 North (furthest from the site), located at 810 Pacific Coast Highway.

Doors Open California is hosted by the California Preservation Foundation (CPF). Every year, CPF invites historic sites throughout California to open their doors for this month-long, state-wide celebration. See other participating locations on their website.

On Thursday, August 14, the Santa Monica Conservancy gathered with Leadership Circle members in Santa Monica at a historic Cecil Gale home. Special thank you to Mary Ann Hays, long-time Conservancy supporter, for sharing her home with us; to our Silver Sponsor Kate Bransfield and Gold Sponsor Farrow & Ball; to Stacey Ravel Arbanel for presenting on Cecil Gale’s legacy throughout Southern California; and to all our Conservancy members, continuously advocating and investing in local heritage conservation.

Photo Credit for Above and All Following Photos to Liam Woods

[FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE] Santa Monica Conservancy presents the second installment of the 2025 Santa Monica Mosaic series focusing on the cultural heritage of Pacific Palisades. Airing Sunday, July 27 at 5 pm, A Cultural Landscape: The Treasured Trees of Pacific Palisades will explore the community’s horticultural heritage.

Learn how the Palisades’ enchantment with trees has defined it for decades and now serves as inspiration for the community’s reforestation and renewal after the devastating Palisades wildfire in January.

Those interested in attending the FREE online event should register online at https://smc.givecloud.co/mosaic-cultural-landscape

This 75-minute, photo-rich episode will explain how the town’s tale of the trees began with its Methodist founders and was cultivated by visionaries like Abbot Kinney and Will Rogers, who supplemented native trees with species from around the world.

Now, tens of thousands of trees have been impacted by the Palisades fire. Yet with devoted rescue, rehabilitation and replanting efforts rooted in the community’s arboreal beginnings, much of its suburban forest will live on as a source of strength for the Palisades’ regrowth.

Program participants include:

• Libby Motika (Moderator) – Palisades community journalist
• David Card – Landscape designer involved with Palisades replanting
• Suzanne Goode – Leading historic reforestation of Will Rogers State Historic Park
• Randy Young – Curator of the Palisades Historical Society
• Kaitlin Drisko – Santa Monica Conservancy Executive Director
• Kathleen Rawson – Santa Monica History Museum Interim Executive Director

“We’ll seek to convey how the town’s historic love affair with trees is at the very heart of its rebirth and future promise,” explains Mosaic co-producer Steve Loeper.

The first installment of Mosaic’s 2025 season, The Way Were: Shared Memories of a Village Lost, was our most-watched Mosaic and received state recognition from Senator Ben Allen. You can watch The Way We Were in the Santa Monica Mosaic archive.

About Santa Monica Mosaic

Santa Monica Mosaic is a Santa Monica Conservancy livestream series celebrating the preservation of our historic cultures. Like a mosaic, many fascinating stories, diverse perspectives and multiple legacies create the shape of today’s Santa Monica. Watch and discover these histories as shared by a variety of community leaders and storytellers. This episode is jointly presented by the Santa Monica History Museum.

About Santa Monica Conservancy

Santa Monica Conservancy is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to heritage conservation, from preserving cultural narratives to revitalizing historic places. The Conservancy provides free and low-cost place-based experiences, from tours and exhibitions, to listening sessions about our most pertinent local issues on heritage conservation.

For all media and press inquiries, please email melina@smconservancy.org.

Photo © Leslie Schwartz 2024 Rehabilitation Award: Bay Cities Guaranty Building, aka the Clock Tower, 225 Santa Monica Boulevard

It’s that time of year again! Since 2004, we’ve honored exemplary projects and contributors to the preservation of Santa Monica’s cultural and architectural heritage. We are now seeking nominations for our 2025 Preservation Awards.

Nominations are due Friday, June 13th. The winners will be announced later this summer.

Hangar in 1956 / Hangar Today. Images courtesy of Barker Hangar.

Submit a Nomination

To nominate a project, person, structure, or group, please download the 2025 Preservation Award Nomination form and email your submission to awards@smconservancy.org. You may also submit your nomination through this online survey. Not all questions apply to all categories, so answer as many as you deem appropriate for your nominee.

Winning projects have included residences as well as commercial and institutional buildings of all sizes. These projects have entailed restoration, renovation, rehabilitation, stewardship, and adaptive reuse, as well as additions to historic buildings and homes. Awards are also presented to individuals for their stewardship of historic properties, as well as to individuals and groups for community service as volunteers and advocates of preservation. Studies of historic districts and other preservation planning work are also eligible.

Volunteers tending to Kuruvungna Springs, Image courtesy of Kuruvungna Springs

Founding Philomatheans, Image courtesy of the Quinn Research Center

This year, as we celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the historic Shotgun House rehabilitation, we’re reminded again how sustainability is inherently tied to conservation. We echo our founder, Doris Sosin’s, passion for conservation when we say, “The future is determined by the people who show up.” We’re grateful to have this opportunity to recognize exceptional individuals and teams who work every day to exemplify the values of sustainability and cultural stewardship.

Be creative! The Conservancy has honored a series of projects from structures to media projects, including Kuruvungna Springs (2024 Cultural Heritage Award), Barker Hangar (2024 Adaptive Reuse Award), and Mark Gorman’s The Street Seen (2023 Media Award). View past awardees here!

Please email any questions to awards@smconservancy.org. 

Thank you for celebrating heritage conservation with us.