Mottoes & Slogans
"Zenith city by the Sunset Sea"; used at the first auction of lots in SM, July 15, 1875. "Gem by the Sea"; used in late 1880s to advertise East Santa Monica. "A
fortunate people in a fortunate city"; on Municipal Seal. "Populus felix in urbe felici"; on the city seal inlaid in floor of central hall of City Hall.
Steere's Opera House
In 1887 John Steere erected a two-story brick block on the northeast corner of Utah (now Broadway) and Third, with a frontage of 50 by 75 feet. The second floor contained a large hall which for many years was known as "Steere's Opera House," and which served as a theater and public meeting space.
Gambling Ships
Names of gambling ships operating off the coast of California: Bunker Hill;
Aroostock; Lux; Luxury; Rex; Star of Scotland; Showboat; Tango; and Texas.
Woman's Christian Temperance Union
In the summer of 1885 a few earnest women organized a W.C.T.U. in Santa Monica. Their purpose was to support a reading room and library and improve the town's moral tone. Thier headquarters from 1887 to 1961 was a two-story frame building on 3rd St.
Street Names
Present name: Olympic Blvd. old name was Pennsylvania Ave.; 14th St. was
Cemetery Rd. (From Broadway to the cemetery, this street had beautiful
pepper trees on both sides.); Hollister Ave. was Bonty St.; Pico Blvd. was Front St. and, at one time, Fremont Ave.; Lincoln Blvd. 9south of Olympic) was
Compton Rd.; Hampton Drive was Washington Blvd.
Pink Elephant
Gay bar, now defunct located at 2810 Main St., Santa Monica.
Skydiving
Details on the First West Coast Parachute Jump. ALthough it is well documented
that ALbert Berry made the first parachute drop, several books report that W.W.
"Grant" Norton made the first parachute drop over Venice Beach in 1911.
According to Bailout; the story of parachuting and skydiving by Don Dwiggins (New York: Crowell-Colllier, 1969) ALbert Berry made the first drop March 1, 1912 and "Grant" Norton made his drop on APril 28, 1912. Also, according to the Santa Monica Evening OUtlook, W.W. "Grant" Norton's drop was the first drop from an airplane ever witnessed on the Pacific Coast.
Flowers
The bougainvillea became the official flower of Santa Monica in 1935 following the adoption of a resolution by the borad of directors of the Chamber of Commerce upon the recommendation of Samuel G. McClure and Hugh Evans.
Joe Gold
Born in Los Angeles in 1922, Joe Gold began working out at age 12 and built a
home gym while still a teenager. He started spending time at Muscle Beach as
a bodybuilder. During World Was II, Gold joined the Navy. He injured his hip when bombs rocked the ship he was on during the Battle of Leyte Gulf, in the Phillipines in 1944. Despite his injury, he became a merchant marine and sailed on commercial ships for 30 years, starting in 1948. With a business partner, Gold opened Ajax's Gym in New Orleans in 1951. He joined Mae West's Las Vegas revue, a song-and-dance skit show, that featured some of the best male physiques in the world. In 1963, Gold proposed an indoor gym to the Muscle Beach Weightlifting Club in Santa Monica, which at the time had
only an outside pit. When the proposed partnership didn't work out, Joe
created Gold's Gym. It was completed in 1964 and opened in 1965 on Pacific Avenue in Venice. Joe sold Gold's in 1970. Under its new owners, Gold's
eventually became a franchise operation and one of the largest gym chains in the world. Gold has relocated his new flagship World Gym twice, once to
Venice in 1987 and again to Marina del Rey in 1999.
Block Size
In Santa Monica the number of blocks to the mile are as follow: North-South: 7.7 blocks to the mile, including streets; East-West: 13.2 blocks to the mile, including streets.
