Conservancy News

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.

Photographs Courtesy of Rich Schmitt Photography

Thank you to all of those who attended the 2025 Annual Meeting on May 8th, 2025. We hosted 75 attendees, including Conservancy members, volunteers, Santa Monica residents, and public officials – Senator Ben Allen and Councilmember Ellis Raskin.

The meeting began with our Board President, Mario Fonda-Bonardi, introducing organizational business: Board elections. In a unanimous vote, Laurel Schmidt was appointed to the 15th seat of our Conservancy Board. We are honored to have a Santa Monica resident who is incredibly active in our community join our leadership. Since moving to Santa Monica in 1990, Laurel has served as a teacher at Santa Monica Alternative School House, the principal of Franklin Elementary, and the director of Student Services for SMMUSD. Her commitment to our community extends to her service on the Landmarks Commission and Santa Monica Public Library Board. She previously served five years on the Conservancy Board during the renovations of our historic Shotgun House.

After Board elections, Board Member Morgan Sykes Jaybush and Executive Director Kaitlin Drisko, described our affinity groups and future programs including:

• Preservation Next: Our affinity group for emerging and mid-career preservationists is gearing up for the second event of the year, Discover DTLA Broadway: Two Cases on Adaptive Reuse, on May 28th.
• Fourth of July Parade: We’re coordinating with our community heritage partners to celebrate Santa Monica’s 150th anniversary.
• Preservation Awards (November): We’re planning a special event to honor the recent preservation projects and all those who advance​ heritage conservation in ​Santa Monica.
• Member Activities: To get more involved in events like the Annual Meeting, join the Events & Hospitality working committee. Email melina@smconservancy.org for more information.

As a member-led organization, we must honor our volunteers. According to our Community Outreach Coordinator, Alissa Reid, we’ve recruited over 30 new volunteers, excited about heritage conservation.

At the Annual Meeting, we also took the opportunity to celebrate Santa Monica Mosaic co-producers Steve Loeper and Libby Motika with proclamations from the State of California Senate. Our March 16th Santa Monica Mosaic livestream event, The Way We Were: Shared Memories of a Village Lost, was recognized by Senator Ben Allen.

The Way We Were was a record-breaking program with over 400 registrants gathering to discuss the origins of the Palisades. We were honored to host four community leaders for this event: Randy Young, curator, Pacific Palisades Historical Society; Roberta Donohue, longtime Palisades advocate; Vanessa Pellegrini, founding family member of Vittorio Ristorante; and Bill Bruns, former editor of the Palisadian-Post.

“I was able to join [the March 16th] Mosaic program and just wanted to commend [the Santa Monica Conservancy and Pacific Palisades Historical Society] for putting together such an informative and moving tribute to your community. All of [the] presentations were excellent and beautifully captured the distinctive history and community spirit that has made the Palisades so unique.”

– Ken Bernstein, Manager of the Office of Historic Resources & Principal City Planner at Los Angeles City Planning

In our next Mosaic installment, A Cultural Landscape: The Treasured Trees of Pacific Palisades, we’ll discuss Pacific Palisades’ horticultural heritage. Save the date for July 27th, 5:00 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. More details to come!

Finally, the event closed out with a keynote speech from the president and CEO of L.A. Conservancy, Adrian Scott Fine. His talk was titled “Reframing Preservation to Meet the Moment”. Adrian brought up relevant themes to our mission at the Conservancy: sustainability, housing, cultural heritage, and climate change.

At the Annual Meeting, we celebrated a lot of wins! In the past year, we landmarked the Tucker House and Philomathean Hall. We’ve also shown our support for the rehabilitation of the Santa Monica Auditorium. However, we know our work isn’t done. We want to do our best to conserve Santa Monica’s local heritage, but also act as a resource for our legacy business owners and the coastal community.

That said, we’d like your input – submit feedback to this form.

The Tucker House

Edit: On February 10th, 2025, the Tucker House nomination was passed for Santa Monica landmark designation, in a unanimous vote, by the Landmarks Commission.

The Santa Monica Conservancy and Quinn Research Center have nominated the home of Dr. Marcus O. Tucker, the city’s first Black physician, as a Santa Monica Landmark. The nomination of 1958 20th Street, the Tucker House, will be heard at Landmarks Commission on Monday, February 10th at 7 p.m., Item 6A. We are happy to share that City staff and its historic resource consultant have also recommended landmarking the residence, acknowledging its architectural, cultural, and historical significance associated with Santa Monica’s African American community.

Designed by Paul Revere Williams, a distinguished architect and first Black member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), built in 1937 by prominent African American general contractor Wince V. King.

The house at 1958 20th Street is architecturally notable as a distinguished example of the American Colonial Revival style applied to a single-family residence.

Meet the Tuckers

The Tuckers (left to right) – Dr. Marcus O. Tucker Sr., Marcus O. Tucker Jr., and Essie McLendon Tucker | Source: History Makers

In recognizing the historical and architectural significance of the Tucker House, the nomination raises awareness of the community impact of Dr. Tucker and his family, including his wife Essie McLendon Tucker, his son Marcus O. Tucker Jr., and his son’s wife, Indira Hale Tucker.

Dr. Tucker began his medical schooling in Missouri, but since Black people weren’t allowed to work in that state’s hospitals, Marcus finished his training at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee, where he met Essie.

Tucker Medical Office Building at 424 Pico Boulevard was designed in the Mid-century Modern style. Source: Photograph by Jason Abraham Belmar History + Art – Public Art Archive

They moved to Santa Monica in 1931 and Dr. Tucker soon opened a practice in the Murrell building at 402-404 Pico Boulevard. In 1940, he built his own medical office building up the street at 424 Pico Boulevard about a mile west of the Tucker’s home.

Dr. Marcus O. Tucker served on the staffs of Santa Monica, Culver City, and St. John’s Hospitals, where he treated patients until his passing in 1944. In addition to his substantial medical practice, Dr. Tucker engaged in civic and community projects to make life better for African Americans in Santa Monica and the region.

Essie McLendon Tucker
Source: Quinn Research Center

Essie McLendon Tucker was an elementary school teacher, businesswoman, and property developer. After earning her teaching credentials at UCLA, she taught in Los Angeles while running the family real estate business, including the development of two apartment buildings at the corner of 20th Street and Virginia Avenue.

Essie also owned the Shore Hotel in Downtown Santa Monica from 1957 until she sold it in 1986. As her husband did, Essie sought to improve the lives of Black people. In the 1940s, she served as president of the NAACP Santa Monica-Venice branch. Her work housing visiting African students at UCLA earned her an invitation to Nigeria’s independence celebrations in 1960.

Judge Marcus O. Tucker with his daughter Angelique Stephens and wife Indira Hale Tucker.
Source: Santa Monica Public Library

The Tuckers’ son, Marcus Jr., became the first Black deputy city attorney in Santa Monica (1963-1965) and the first Black judge appointed to the Long Beach Municipal Court (1976). His wife, Indira, was a community activist and historian who later co-founded the African-American Heritage Society in Long Beach and established the Marcus O. Tucker Jr. Collection at Santa Monica’s Main Library.

Learn More

• Visit the Bel Mar + Art commemoration at the corner of Pico and 4th Street to experience the heritage of Santa Monica’s African American community.
• Discover more about Black History in Santa Monica, by reading Reconstruction and Reclamation by Dr. Alison Rose Jefferson.
• See more projects by architect Paul Wiliams at the Paul Revere Williams Project, dedicated to expanding public knowledge about his extraordinary accomplishments.