Thursday, September 15, 2011

Selected Santa Monica City directories available in microfilm!





Several historical Santa Monica City directories are now available on microfilm in the Periodicals' stacks at the Main Library. The City Directories, particularly the older editions, offer wonderful information about individuals and businesses in the City. Holdings include - 1911-1914 - 1915-1918 - 1919-1924 - 1925 - 1927-1928 - 1930- - 1940-, 1947- - 1952-1953 - 1958-1961. Print copies of selected Santa Monica City directories are available for use in the Santa Monica Collection Room.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

California Incline to undergo major rebuild

California Incline in the 1960s



California Incline in the 1940s



California Incline n.d. with horses and carriages



The California Incline is scheduled to undergo a complete rebuild. The Incline is considered to be a bridge joining Ocean Avenue at Palisades Park to Pacific Coast Highway. It started out as a dirt path linking the bluffs to the ocean and a train at the end of the Long Wharf. The Incline has not changed significantly since the 1940s. Take a look at earlier versions of the California Incline, which was originally called Linda Vista Drive. You can view these and additional images in the Santa Monica Public Library Image Archives through the Library website.

Thursday, September 1, 2011

No plastic bags for groceries in 1902

Santa Monica's historic plastic bag ban, which passed the City Council in January 2011, took effect on Thursday, September 1, 2011. The City's sustainable mandate will result in reliance on reusable bags for grocery shopping. City officials believe 26 million plastic bags have been used annually in Santa Monica. In 1902 groceries were delivered to many. Shoppers at James R. Snow grocery located at Second and Hill Streets used baskets as well as knit, crocheted and cloth bags to carry their purchases home.

Civil defense in Santa Monica circa 1963

Following the end of World War II, tension heightened between the United States and Soviet Union. As the Soviets developed nuclear weapons, U.S. citizens became anxious about the potential for nucelar attacks. Under President Eisenhower, the federal government created the Federal Civil Defense Administration (FCDA), which later became the Office of Civil Defense. Instructive information about building fallout shelters and how to survive a nucelar attack were distributed. Santa Monica created a Civil Defense Adminstration. The 1963 -1964 annual budget included the costs to build eight fallout shelters to protect firefighters from radioactive fallout in the event of attack, two each at fire stations 1, 2, 4, and 5, which would house 80 firefighters as key civil defense personnel. Additonal special funds amounting to $1,895 were included for training for radiological monitoring, communiations and shelter management.


The photograph included shows city workers stocking civilian defense survival supplies. Supplies considered necessary for survival in a fallout shelter, according to the FCDA, included; food, sanitation, medical, water, portable ventilations kits, and shelter radiation kits.