Broughton Quarterly - Spring 2008 - (Page 27)

BEACH CLUBS AND HOTELS “Back in the day, there weren’t any hotels on the beach; there were beach clubs. Some were public and some were private, and one could go down there and have a place to congregate. Some of the beach clubs did have rooms where you could stay overnight if you were a member, but these weren’t hotels of the type where you could just rent a room for a night. You had to be a member to enjoy the amenities they had there…The members were mainly people from Los Angeles who didn’t live close to the beach…I wasn’t a member, and I wasn’t allowed to go in to those places. I was a kid then, so really I wasn’t interested in them. As a kid we played on the beach…We’d go fishing out on the pier, and La Monica Ballroom when I was a kid had a skating rink in it. I remember going there when they’d hold these marathon dances, when the people would literally dance until they dropped! (laughs) We used to go down to the beach early in the summertime, and Buster Crabbe (Olympic gold medalist turned Hollywood actor) would always come down. He’d swim from Santa Monica Canyon to the Santa Monica Pier and back every day. He lived up on Amalfi Drive. Anyway, we’d go out there and try and keep up with him. But you know, we couldn’t possibly swim like he did…The Great Depression had a tremendous effect on the area. Most of the beach clubs went out of business. People weren’t able to pay their dues, and so that was the demise of quite a few of them. They just closed up, and eventually the buildings were torn down. The only ones remaining today are, I think, The Beach Club up near Santa Monica Canyon and The Jonathan Club.” WHY SANTA MONICA? “Santa Monica was totally unique; there was no other place along the coast of California like it. As you go down the coast toward San Diego it’s totally different, and the same going up the coast toward San Francisco. There’s just no place that compares with it…These other [coastal cities] grew up differently. San Francisco was created by the Gold Rush, and they didn’t have the same kind of beach—the weather was different, the ocean was different. It just didn’t have the year-round warmth of Southern California, where people can go to the beach in December and January. Up there it’s not like that at all. And then as you go down the coast, people just had a different attitude. So they developed in different ways…Santa Monica is Q certainly unique.” Ernest Marquez has collected images and information that together define the history of Santa Monica. His book—“Santa Monica Beach: A Collector’s Pictorial History” by Ernest Marquez, published by Angel City Press—is the most authoritative record of this icon of Southern California style. For information, go to www.AngelCityPress.com. The Georgian Hotel retains the charm of decades past, yet every modern convenience is incorporated. Boasting a distinct architectural Art Deco style, the hotel is walking distance to Santa Monica State Beach, Palisades Park, Third Street Promenade, and the Pier. From $235, 1415 Ocean Avenue, 310.395.9945 or 800.538.8147, www.GeorgianHotel.com. Spanish Revival meets Downtown Palm Springs www.TheSpringsOfPS.com 888-327-5701 http://www.AngelCityPress.com http://www.GeorgianHotel.com http://www.TheSpringsOfPS.com http://www.TheSpringsOfPS.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Broughton Quarterly - Spring 2008

Broughton Quarterly - Spring 2008 Contents Contributors Plugged In Notes Destination 1000 Words Calendar Wine & Cuisine Of Gods and Monkeys Santa Monica Beach Chasing the Rain Donald Trump Marketplace Spotlight

Broughton Quarterly - Spring 2008

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