From Preservation Online, the online magazine of the National Trust for Historic Preservation

www.preservationonline.org

Once known as the "Gold Coast" because of its rich and famous residents, a five-acre stretch of Santa Monica State Beach in California will soon become more accessible to a less glamorous but equally deserving public.

With a thumbs-up from the Santa Monica City Council in January, construction will begin on June 1 for the Annenberg Community Beach Club at 415 Pacific Coast Highway, on the former site of the Marion Davies Estate.

Built in the roaring 20s by newspaper baron William Randolph Hearst for Marion Davies, his blonde silent-film-star lover, the estate hosted stars like Cary Grant. Gloria Swanson and Clark Gable once roamed the 100 rooms of the Georgian revival mansion, and Charlie Chaplin enjoyed a splash or two in the 110-foot, Italian-marble saltwater swimming pool.

Today the swimming pool, along with the guesthouse known as the North House, are the only structures that remain of the jazz-age house of pleasure. But, with time and a lot of money, the site of the Marion Davies Estate will once again become a place of frolicking and fun, but this time not only for the elite. "

This will be the first time that there will be full public access to these five acres of the beach, and as far as we know, there is no other public beach club like this, at least not on the West Coast," says Barbara Stinchfield, the director of community and cultural services for the city of Santa Monica. "It will be a beach club experience that is traditionally only found in a private beach club environment."

The idea behind the Annenberg Community Beach Club is to take the beachfront property that has been unused since 1994, rehabilitate and adaptively reuse the historical elements, and add new structures to offer facilities and services that create a community-oriented destination.

"It's the combination of uses that will make it really wonderful," says Joel Brand, Chairman of Friends of 415 PCH, a committee of the Santa Monica Conservancy. "If it was just a historic renovation open to the public, it would receive a fair number of visitors, but because we are marrying it with the beach facility and pool, which serve a whole different constituency, we will reach far more people and be able to introduce the history of the estate, the history of the beach, and the history of the region."

After World War II the property was sold for a pittance�\approximately $600,000, roughly the cost of the house�fs 37 fireplaces. In the 1950s the mansion was demolished. In 1959, the state purchased the land and leased it to the City of Santa Monica. In turn, the city leased the estate to the privately owned Sand & Sea Club, which operated from 1960 to 1990. When the private club�fs lease expired, the city ran a public day-use facility until 1994, when the Northridge Earthquake ripped through, leaving the City no choice but "red tag" all of the structures on the site. Since then, the site has remained closed and vacant.

Wallis Annenberg, vice president of the Annenberg Foundation, has fond memories of childhood summers spent at the Sand & Beach Club. Thus, when she became aware of the bleak state of the property after the earthquake, she stepped in with a $30 million grant from the foundation, hoping to preserve the site for enjoyment and use by all.

While the City of Santa Monica is in charge of operating and developing the project, it consults with the Annenberg Foundation, which gives frequent input.

Abatement and demolition of several non-historically significant and non-contributing structures, including a locker building and a public restroom, began in mid-April.

"Everything that needs to be demolished is demolished at this point," Stinchfield says.

Plans for existing structures on the site include the rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of the Georgian-style North House as a public meeting space and an interpretative center. The North House, originally a guesthouse designed by California architect Julia Morgan and built in 1929, was designated a city landmark in 1980.

The historic swimming pool and deck area, which have been designated by the Landmarks Commission as of "special interest," will also be rehabilitated along with the development of outdoor spaces for recreation and leisure, including gardens, sports courts, picnic areas, a children�fs play area and a boardwalk.

Aside from the rehabilitation of old structures, several new buildings will also be constructed, including an entry pavilion and a two-story pool house with lockers and changing rooms.

Despite the beach club's benefits to the community of Santa Monica, there were some who were not initially supportive of the plan.

A group of beachfront property owners filed a lawsuit in June of 2006 in attempt to stop the project before it started, saying they were concerned for their safety. The homeowners demanded that the city put down in words exactly what safeguards it would to establish against traffic problems and other safety issues.

"My concern was that if the city did not manage the site properly, it would become a giant homeless enclave," said one property owner, Jonathan Ornstein.

The city responded to the conditions of the homeowners, agreeing to place fencing around the pool and picnic areas, employ night guards, install security cameras, and reduce the size of public meeting areas, among other things. The homeowners dropped the lawsuit in September 2006.

Today the homeowners who originally filed the lawsuit seem pleased with the project.

"The city made significant changes in order to help preserve our neighborhood," says Ornstein, who is pleased with the final proposal.

Will he take advantage of the public beach club? Ornstein says that while the facility wasn't really designed for people like him and his family, they chose to live on the public beach, and they enjoy it.

"We are happy for other people to be able to take advantage of the environment we have," Ornstein says.

The Annenberg Community Beach Club is set to open in January 2009. Many await opening day so that they can enjoy what Stinchfield hopes will be "just an easy day at the beach"�\with a historical lesson thrown in, of course.

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