Civic Auditorium

As we look forward to the upcoming remodel of the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium which opened on June 15, 1958, we can take some time to look back at this landmarked structure. Designed by Welton Beckett, who also designed the Music Center in Los Angeles, LAX, and the beach facilities and life guard station in Santa Monica, the renovation will be handled by Brenda Levin with Levin and Associates. The Civic Auditorium has hosted untold concerts and trade shows and was home to the Academy Awards from 1961 to 1968. The digital images included are from the Santa Monica Public Library's Image Archive from the 1957 construction phase to just before landscaping and opening in 1958.

Halloween celebrations during World War II in Santa Monica

Although trick-or-treating by children did not take off until after the War in the late 1940s, Halloween was celebrated by children and adults. Sugar rationing during the war may have impacted the availability of sweets on Halloween. Here are photos of Halloween celebrations from the 1940s for Douglas Aircraft and the Fairview Branch Library.