Exploring the Coast from the Perspective of Communities of Color |
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Explore the Coast (ETC) is the Conservancy’s latest partnership with Alison Rose Jefferson, PhD and Outward Bound Adventures (OBA). The program, which builds on day-trips the Conservancy and Dr. Jefferson have been developing for years, brings youth from underserved inland areas to locations across Santa Monica Bay. Participants come to enjoy the simple pleasures of beach fun and to get a comprehensive education in local history, preservation, environmental stewardship, and civic engagement, with an emphasis on the heritage and experiences of communities of color.
(Photo: Participants pose together at the end of the Santa Monica Pier)
Funded by a grant from the California Coastal Conservancy, participants have the opportunity to camp in the Santa Monica Mountains, experience introductory surf lessons at Nick Gabaldón Day, and learn the story of Bay Street Beach and other sites significant to Santa Monica’s African American community. In addition, they tour our Preservation Resource Center, the Santa Monica Pier, Heal the Bay Aquarium, the Adamson House, and more.
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One goal of the program is to provide coastal access to youth from neighborhoods where travel to the beach is infrequent. Despite successful efforts by the Coastal Commission and local activists that have kept Southern California’s beaches free and open the public, beach access is not equitable. Today, Black, Indigenous and other People of Color (BIPOC) youth are less likely to enjoy the coast due to distance, affordability, lack of public transportation and the potential for not feeling welcome. (Photo: National Park Service interpreter Allison Frye talks to youth at the Adamson House in Malibu.)
Dr. Jefferson is in a unique position to deliver much of Explore the Coast’s educational message. Her work as a publicly engaged historian and heritage conservation consultant sits at the intersection between heritage conservation, spatial justice, and cultural tourism.
Explore the Coast also offers participating youth an opportunity to imagine and connect with future career opportunities. This is important on many levels, not least because of what Jasmine Islas succinctly calls out in a 2022 essay for Heal the Bay, “Our oceans face challenging and complicated global threats that will need diverse minds to mitigate, and diverse support to fund and manage. Our oceans depend on us.” The same idea applies to the needs of historic preservation, a field which also requires many different minds to help conceptualize the future.
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Summer Has Arrived in the Garden
at the Shotgun House
by Hilda Weiss
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Photos from left to right: A ladybug crawls on the Coyote Mint, the Desert Willow's spring bloom, and a chrysalis hangs beneath the siding of the Shotgun House |
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Spring is gone except for a few straggling blossoms reminding us that we had an absolutely, gorgeous Spring bloom this year with an abundance of bright orange California poppies plus two new annual wildflowers--the diminutive yellow Beach Evening Primrose and the taller Mountain Phlox.
If you’re intrigued by the garden’s aroma, pinch a leaf from the Coyote Mint that snuggles up to the front porch or crumble some of the thin gray-green leaves from the California Sagebrush on the other side of the walk. Both these plants have been nicknamed Coyboy Cologne. But only one of them makes good tea—the mint (sagebrush is bitter!).
Fall is the preferred time to plant California natives, but the Santa Monica Conservancy was able to get a couple of new additions started this Spring in weather which seemed to be endlessly cooler than normal and even gave us rain, including a Cleveland Sage next to the front porch and a Desert Willow on the south side of the house.
One more thing that’s always a delight to see in the garden is the onslaught of Monarch butterfly caterpillars that happens every summer. We have a little forest of milkweed plants in the garden bed on the south side of the house that today look like spindly, denuded stick figures. Several of the caterpillars have hung up their chrysalises along the bottom of the house. Come by and see how many you can count, but please don't touch!
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We are excited to welcome longtime Conservancy Business Member Greg Morena to the Advisory Council! Greg is an entrepreneur, former City Council member and currently serves a multitude of local nonprofit and civic organizations. As a member of the Conservancy’s 21st Century Task Force in 2020, he advocated for the needs of legacy businesses. |
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"My family has been in Santa Monica for more than 45 years. We started our SM Pier Seafood restaurant in 1977, we know our culture and legacy are the cornerstones in our community. As the current chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Conservancy’s Advisory Council, we are joining efforts to make our city better. I am honored the Conservancy is a Non-profit Business Member at the Chamber and look forward to our bright future, together." |
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Conservancy Tours & Events |
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Save the Date!
Preservation Next:
Thursday, August 10 from 6-7 p.m.
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The visit includes a tour of the 18th Street Campus with Senior Director of Public Programs & Engagement Michael Ano, followed by a studio visit with artist-in-residence Dan Kwong. After the visit, we will walk to the Buffalo Club for conversation and refreshment. Preservation Next events are generally reserved for folks between 21-45 years of age. RSVP
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Friday-Monday, from 12-2 p.m.
July 21-24 & 28-31
August 4-7, 11-14, 18-21 & 25-28
415 Pacific Coast Highway
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Enjoy a free tour led by Conservancy docents and learn about the rich history of the Marion Davies Guest House, which was built by William Randolph Hearst for actress Marion Davies. The hottest spot on Santa Monica’s Gold Coast during the 1920s, guests included Charlie Chaplin and Greta Garbo. The 20-minute tours are available on a walk-up basis. Learn more
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First and third Saturdays
of the month at 10 a.m.
August 5 & 19
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Discover the architectural gems and rich history of Downtown Santa Monica on our highly rated guided tour. From Art Deco to Victorian and Romanesque Revival, you’ll explore the various styles that fill the streets of our city. Tours are approximately two hours and cover six blocks. Free for members and $10 for the general public. Register
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2520 2nd Street
Wednesday, August 16
Saturday & Sunday, August 12-13
Open from 12-2 p.m.
Live Virtual Tour
Sunday, August 27 at noon
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Come and visit the last intact shotgun house in Santa Monica this weekend! Discover the journey of this incredible little house, which was saved from demolition and moved–on wheels–three times before being adapted into our modern-day Center. Learn more
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Coming Out West: LGBTQ+ Elders Share Their Stories
Santa Monica History Museum
Through December 17, 2023
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This exhibition presents oral histories, images, art, and ephemera from well-known LGBTQ+ elders with ties to Los Angeles and the Santa Monica Bay area. Created in collaboration with The Outwords Archive, the exhibition is a unique opportunity for the Santa Monica History Museum to share a history of the LGBTQ+ community through the lens of eight people who shaped it. More information
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California African American Museum
Reopening
August 4, 7:00-11:00 p.m.
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Celebrate CAAM’s reopening in style! Enjoy a warm night and cool vibes with CAAM and KCRW, featuring live sets from KCRW DJs Francesca Harding and Tyler Boudreaux, food trucks, a beer garden, and more! Explore all six new exhibitions (one day before the official opening date), including Black California Dreamin’: Claiming Space at America’s Leisure Frontier, curated by Alison Rose Jefferson. RSVP
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Seaside: Art by Kenton Nelson
Exhibition through August 20
California Heritage Museum
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This is a solo exhibition of paintings by Pasadena-based painter Kenton Nelson. In Nelson’s work, the mundane is glorified, reality is heightened and perfection possesses a disturbing undertone. The painter plays with the idyllic implications of a by-gone era and uses those symbolic aspects of the collective past that activate a sense of longing, wonder, sadness or joy. More information
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Santa Monica Conservancy
310-496-3146
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