Camera Obscura

Santa Monica's camera obscura,originally located on the northern portion of Santa Monica's beach was built and donated by Robert F. Jones, the nephew of one of Santa Monica's early founders, Senator John P. Jones and open to the public on APril 21, 1899. The camera obscura was moved to Palisaded Park in 1902 due to weather conditions down at the beach. The instrument was last moved to a specially built room in the Seniro Recreation Center at 1450 Ocean Avenue in November 1955.

The idea of a 'pin-hole' camera originated before Aristotle, which he used to observed the sun during a partial solar eclipse. The camera obscura works by creating an inverted image of the scene outside the darkened rooms window through a small hole. Camera obscura were found on coasts for the amusement of beach-goers in the Victorian era. A 360 degree view of the surrounding area is possible when you visit Santa Monica's camera obscura.



    Camera Obscura in Pacific Palisades showing an image of the Deauville Club in the  

                                                               mid to late 1950s

Gertrude "Gussie" Moran

Gertrude Moran was born and grew up in Santa Monica. Her family lived in a Queen Anne-style home, circa 1891 at 1323 Ocean Avenue. The house was designated a local historical landmark in the 1980s. Gussie began playing tennis at the age of 11 and was a member of the Santa Monica High School Girls' Team. in the 1940s. Ms. Moran was notable in the tennis world for being a style-setter with her tennis garb at the championship tournament in 1949 at Wimbledon. Ms. Moran died on January 16, 2013 at the age of 89 in Los Angeles, California/

Donated Borrower's Card from Santa Monica Public Library

Our thanks to the family of Mrs. Isabell K. Leitch who donated her library card for Santa Monica Public Library from February 1940. The card is quite fragile and paper. The card indicates that the fine per day in 1940 for an over-due book was 2 cents! Two cents from 1940 would be 33 cents today.

Images of Christmas past - Pacific Palisades

Palisades Historical Image Collection

The Santa Monica Public Library is proud to host this historical image collection since 2010. Approximately 3,000 images are available to view online illustrating the history of Pacific Palisades through unique photographs, postcards and other visual records encompassing 1885-1980.

To highlight the collection this month, we are showcasing some holidays images from the collection.

Basil McKinely as Santa Claus dressed for a Christmas play in Santa Monica Canyon, California, 1916

Christmas Play at Pacific Palisades Elementary School, 1938

Christmas decorations at night in the Pacific Palisades, 1960

Santa Monica City Hall trees of note

The Santa Monica City Hall that we recognize was built in 1938-1939 by architects Donald B. Parkinson and Joseph M. Estep in the Deco Moderne style with WPA funds. Landscaping of the Civic Center included Greek Junipers on either side of the entrance and Windmill Palms in the front of the building. The roads on either side were planted with Carob Trees. At the north end of roads Mexican Fan Palms and Canary Island Dates were placed.A Tonyon (California Holly) was located at the northeast corner of the City Hall building. Near 4th Street, on the lawn, a rare Yucca (Yucca elephantipes) and Spanish Bayonet were located. Source: Trees of Santa Monica (1956) by George T. Hastings,

This photo is from the Santa Monica Image Archives, Imagine Santa Monica Collection. It shows planting of this mature speciment on July 1, 1949, on the lawn facing RAND

Now, notable landscape architects, Field Operations, are working on the Ken Genser Square and Santa Monica Commons in front of City Hall, which will create two parks for the City.





Child star and longtime resident, James Bristow

Mr. Bristow was born in Santa Monica on May 19, 1931 to Mrs. Frances Bristow. He was notably the grandson of Mr. and Mrs. G.B. McCarroll of  Santa Monica. His grandmother, Beatrice McCaroll founded the first African-American women's Masons group in Santa Monica and helped establish the first African-American chapter in Hawaii.

Mr. Bristow attended school at St. Anne's, Garfield Elementary, and graduated from Santa Monica High School. He worked on the Pier for the Harbor Department, at Point Dume Elementary School as a custodian and in Culver City at the pool, known as the Natatorium. Mr. Bristow worked for 7 years at the University of San Francisco Medican Center's laundry function.

Mr. Bristow recalls being in 5 films as a young child living in Santa Monica:

- Parole Fixer (1940) was written by J. Edgar Hoover as an expose of the U.S. parole system, with Anthony Quinn appearing in the cast

- The Lady's From Kentucky (1939) is about a good-natured gambler who falls on hard times, starring George Raft. He recalls working with actress of film and television, Louise Beavers on this film. 

-  2 Snickerdoodles productions with Billy Barty (dates unknown)

- One other film (title unknown)

When The Lady From Kentucky opened on May 17, 1939 at the Cristerion Theater in Santa Moncia, James "Jimmy" Bristow's performance was noted to be acclaimed by critics. (Evening Outlook, Wednesday, May 17, 1939, p. 16, microfilm). Below is the photo of Jimmy that appeared in the Evening Outllook at age 7 in the announcement of the film showing in Santa Monica.

                                                                       

Fun facts about 50s films set in Santa Monica

You can have a great time looking for films so many different ways using the AFI database at the Santa Monica Public Library. The American Film Institution catalog makes is possible to search for detailed information about films from the beginning of film-making through 1972. Amazing facts are searcheable for the top 10 movies from 2,000 to the present year. You will need to visit the library to use this gem of a database. Have fun!

I was interested in finding information about 1950s era films set and filmed in Santa Monica. Here are some of the results:


Everybody's Dancin' (1950)

A dancehall owner relied on the Colonel (played by Dick Lane) to bring in big name acts to save the business, or face loss of the Waltzland Ballroom on the Santa Monica Pier. Spade Cooley, fiddler and band leader, who actually broadcast from the Santa Monica Pier from the late 1940s to the 1950s helped save the day!

Quicksand (1950)

After 'borrowing' $20 from his employer's cash register to impress a dame, car mechanic Dan Brady (played by Mickey Rooney) gets caught up in a series of events that drag him to the bottom, due to his poor judgement. The lovebirds first date and other action take place on the Santa Monica Pier.

Hard, Fast and Beautiful (1951)

Florence Farley, an 18 year old Santa Monica tennis prodigy, is torn between romance and her mother's (played by Claire Trevor) ambition. Love - Love. This was Ida Lupino's third directing job in a film.

The Story of Will Rogers (1952)

Biopic based on a magazine article about Will Rogers by his wife, Betty Rogers. Will Rogers, Jr. plays his father and Jane Wyman his mother. There are so many Santa Monica connection with Will Rogers.

Phantom from Space (1953)

An invisible alien in a spacesuit (because he can't breath oxygen) crashes his spacecraft in Santa Monica, accidentally killing two people with dire consequences.