The latest Conservancy newsletter is now available online, as well as past editions. Our newsletter covers upcoming preservation events, preservation issues, features on the people and places of historic Santa Monica and much more. The newsletter is published four times... read more

Join, renew or make a donation of $50 or more by November 15 and be entered into our drawing for restaurant gift cards! Your donations to the Conservancy go directly to our work to preserve the architectural and cultural heritage... read more

The Santa Monica Conservancy has been awarded a $7500 grant by the National Trust for Historic Preservation from its Los Angeles County Preservation Fund. The funds will be used to to support a portion of the rehabilitation costs for the... read more

The house where Bertolt Brecht resided between 1942 and 1947 is the first landmark designation in Santa Monica recognizing the home of a major cultural figure. Brecht resided here at a time when our city and adjacent communities became a... read more

The Conservancy’s plans for the relocation and rehabilitation of the Shotgun House as a Preservation Resource Center moved another step forward with approval of project plans at a joint meeting of the Landmarks Commission and the Architectural Review Board on... read more

The Santa Monica Conservancy’s 2011 Preservation Awards were presented to a host of projects at its Annual Meeting in the historic Church in Ocean Park on January 23. “It is very gratifying to see the efforts of so many giving... read more

The Planning Commission has approved the Conservancy’s application for a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) and variance allowing the Santa Monica Conservancy to relocate the landmark Shotgun House to the parking lot across from the Ocean Park Library and operate... read more

The Spanish Colonial Revival house at 201 S. Rockingham is widely regarded as the project that launched the architectural career of John Byers. It was built 1919-1920 out of adobe bricks that were made on site. The house is an... read more

In case you missed our most recent tour, "Adventures in Santa Monica," here's a chance to video highlights from the amazing afternoon. The Santa Monica Conservancy tour featured some of Santa Monica's most interesting destinations from the famous to the... read more

The Santa Monica and Los Angeles Conservancies need your help with an important preservation issue in Brentwood where a significant historic home is threatened with demolition. The Spanish Colonial Revival house at 201 S. Rockingham is widely regarded as the... read more

Historic preservation is gaining momentum in Santa Monica, and, as a result, the Santa Monica Conservancy announced, January 14, that it is giving out a record number of awards to local individuals, organizations and businesses for a host of projects... read more

Santa Monica –The City of Santa Monica and the Santa Monica Conservancy signed a 20-year renewable lease of the historic Shotgun House at City Hall, January 19th. This last remaining intact shotgun house will be rehabilitated by the Conservancy... read more

A big thank you to our members who attended our 2009 annual holiday party, December 7th. The party site was an English Tudor home built in 1927 and owned by the same family for three generations. With extensive woodwork, leaded... read more

Calling the foundation’s role critical to the revitalization of the historic beachfront Marion Davies Estate, the Santa Monica Conservancy presented their President’s Award to the Annenberg Foundation at a special event at the newly opened Annenberg Community Beach House... read more

The City of Santa Monica has selected the Santa Monica Conservancy as partners in setting up a docent-guided tour program for the Annenberg Community Beach House at 415 Pacific Coast Highway. Thanks to a generous grant from the Annenberg Foundation,... read more

The Santa Monica Conservancy is proud to be participating the Second Annual L.A. Heritage Day Sunday, March 22, 2009, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. The L.A. Heritage Alliance is hosting the event at Heritage Square Museum in Pasadena. L.A. Heritage... read more

The Conservancy was proud to present 2008 awards to two projects that represented significant milestones in local preservation: the restoration and rehabilitation of Barnum Hall, as well as the ongoing work towards saving Santa Monica's last intact shotgun house. The... read more

Following a competitive request for proposals aimed at nonprofit organizations, the Santa Monica City Council has voted unanimously to award the Santa Monica Conservancy a 20-year lease of the historic Shotgun House for use as a preservation resource center. The... read more

Looking for the perfect "Santa Monica" gift for friends and family? In addition to gift memberships in the Santa Monica Conservancy, we also offer gift certificates to our popular Downtown Walking Tour. "I have… wandered around this area many times... read more

The City of Santa Monica's Planning & Community Development Department is updating the City's Historic Resources Inventory and needs your help! Do you know of a building in Santa Monica that has a unique and undiscovered story that represents part... read more

The last intact shotgun house in Santa Monica, dating from the 1890s and designated a historic landmark in 1999, has been given a new lease on life. At a recent City Council meeting, Council members voted to let the house... read more

The City of Santa Monica is pleased to announce an important benchmark related to the construction of the Annenberg Community Beach Club at Santa Monica State Beach (415 PCH) . Demolition of the locker building will begin on Monday, April... read more

There has been lots of good news about the former Marion Davies Estate in recent weeks. In late January, the Santa Monica City Council green-lighted the construction contract for the public beach club and historic renovation, christening the facility the... read more

The Santa Monica Conservancy was awarded a $2,500 grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The seed grant funds will be used to prepare a historic assessment report for one of the last remaining, intact shotgun houses (ca. 1890s)... read more

The public beach club proposed for Santa Monica’s coast took a giant step forward in September when city officials announced a settlement has been reached which will end a lawsuit filed by neighbors fighting to block the renovation and reuse... read more

A $28 million gift to the people of Southern California is under threat from four wealthy residents determined, through a law suit filed Friday, to scuttle a planned “everyman’s” public beach club at the former Marion Davies Estate built by... read more

Despite threatened legal action by five beachfront homeowners, the Santa Monica City Council unanimously approved the nation’s only public beach club at the historic Marion Davies and William Randolph Hearst estate, Thursday night. More than 125 people spent part of... read more

On September 9, 1909 the Santa Monica Pier was officially graced with the first eager footsteps of a welcoming public. Since then, it has grown, thrived and survived to become a treasured historical landmark. In order to give Pier visitors... read more

Santa Monica's Planning Commission approved the visionary historic renovation and public beach club propsed for the former Marion Davies Estate, Wednesday, April 5th, on a 6-to-0 vote following a large surge of community support for the project. Only two days... read more

Some 326 Santa Monica residents signed an online petition supporting the public beach club proposed for the former Marion Davies Estate at 415 PCH within just 36 hours. Friends of 415 intiated the online petition, available here, to educate residents... read more

The Santa Monica Conservancy has recently created Friends of 415 (www.friendsof415.org), a committee including a broad coalition of community leaders and residents interested in building awareness of the historic renovation and public beach club proposed for the former Marion Davies... read more

The last remaining, intact shotgun house in Santa Monica, built in the 1890s, was moved to a city-owned property which was formerly Fisher Lumber on November 13th. The unassuming, wood-frame shotgun house, formerly located on private property at 2712 Second... read more

The California Council for the Promotion of History (CCPH) recently awarded the Santa Monica Conservancy of grant of $750 toward the completion of its Discovering Our Past, historic resource online catalog. Historian, author and Conservancy member Paula Scott has been... read more

The City of Santa Monica is soliciting the community's ideas and thoughts on revitalizing one of the city's premier historic resources, the famous Marion Davies Estate at 415 PCH through a series of workshops, tours and an interactive website. Explore... read more

More than 200 people attended the Conservancy's July 13th screening at the historic Aero Theatre and participated in a follow-up discussion with Academy Award-winning film director Sydney Pollack and Pulitzer-Prize winning film critic Joe Morgenstern. The screening featured the 1969... read more

The Stanton McDonald-Wright 38-paneled mural, specifically painted for the original Main Library, will be returned to the newly built Main Library, after being in storage for 30 years at the Smithsonian Institution. The City was one of 13 recipients awarded... read more

The 1920's gas station on Entrada Drive in Santa Monica Canyon has been declared an historic-cultural monument by the City of Los Angeles, after almost a year of work by the Santa Monica Canyon Civic Association, with support from the... read more

The Santa Monica Conservancy awarded local developer Jim Rosenfield and past president Tom Cleys the organization’s highest honors for their outstanding accomplishments in promoting preservation in the city, at a March 6th event at the landmark Embassy Hotel Appartments.... read more

More than sixty Conservancy members turned out for the organization's annual meeting at the landmark Embassy Hotel Apartments and elected five candidates to the Board of Directors. The elected directors included real estate visionary Mike Deasy, current board member and... read more

A $21-million grant from a private foundation is set to save what remains of one of California’s most prized architectural treasures, the languishing beachfront property, formerly owned by 1920s-era film star Marion Davies, at 415 Pacific Coast Highway. The generous... read more

Time literally stood still atop Santa Monica’s first skyscraper following the Northridge earthquake in 1994. For the following ten years, the clock on the stepped tower of the 12-story Bay City Guaranty and Loan Association Building at 225 Santa Monica... read more

The City of Santa Monica is in the process of soliciting public input for a major rewrite of the community's development rules. The Conservancy encourages all residents to let their voices be heard on a host of issues, including preservation.... read more

The Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission has voted to recommend designating the Canyon Gas Station on Entrada Drive as a cultural-historic monument. The Los Angeles City Council will have final approval. The Santa Monica Conservancy sent a representative to the... read more

The Aero Theatre will reopen January 6th under the management of American Cinematheque with the showing of its first film, a sneak preview of "In Good Company." The film's star, Dennis Quaid, will appear at the opening. The theater was... read more

The rich legacy of former local premier architect, John Byers, has been protected for posterity thanks to its next door neighbor and current owner, Joy Jones. Her application for landmark designation of her home at 404 Georgina Avenue was confirmed... read more

The latest Santa Monica Conservancy newsletter features a candidates forum where those seeking a slot on the next City Council weigh in on a range of preservation issues. "It is very encouraging to see such broad enthusiasm for preservation among... read more

The bungalow court at 125 Pacific Avenue was unanimously approved by the Landmarks Commission for landmark designation on June 14th, after several months of review. The property owner had applied for a demolition permit in order to construct a... read more

As the City of Santa Monica Planning Department worked to develop and refine guidelines for new buildings in the Downtown area over the past year, the Santa Monica Conservancy has been paying close attention to ensure that new development... read more

Five new board members were elected at the Conservancy's Annual meeting in May: Joel Brand, Nina Fresco, Ruthann Lehrer, Jill Riseborough and Anne Troutman. Additionally, the Board elected new officers at the June meeting. The current board is: Joel Brand... read more

The Santa Monica City Council cites the Santa Monica Conservancy's work in declaring May to be Preservation Month 2004. read more

The Santa Monica Mirror has been awarded the Conservancy's first annual Preservation Award for the newspaper's ongoing series of articles on both famous and little-known Santa Monica historic sites. The award was presented to Santa Monica Mirror Publisher Michael Rosenthal... read more

The Los Angeles Conservancy recently released the Los Angeles County Preservation Report Card and Santa Monica was near the top of the class with an "A-" grade. The LAC reviewed the preservation policies of 89 jurisdictions in LA County and... read more

We're happy to announce the launch of our website. There is plenty more in the works that will be unveiled in the coming months. For now, we'll regularly update the news section with Conservancy and preservation related news from Santa... read more

Once again the Santa Monica Conservancy played a role in saving another historic landmark--this time an early 1900s beach cottage in Ocean Park. read more

The Landmarks Commission will discuss the future of the Marion Davies Estate at 415 PCH, built in the 1920s by William Randolph Hearst. read more