A Classy Old Gal

Built in 1914, the imposing two story Classical Revival building was once a focus of Santa Monica’s high-end cultural and civic set. Like Dumont, this classy old gal has endured her number of indignities over the years.

It has been made-over, re-designed, re-configured, re-painted and remodeled. It has survived -- and served its part -- in two World Wars. Its wires are glitchy, its plumbing leaky. It has caught fire, sat empty, been reopened and sat empty again.

Thankfully, Darlene Bahr, an energetic retiree and current president of the Club, is not only leading a revival of the organization itself, but also spearheading a massive rehabilitation of its stately headquarters.

She recently took me on a tour of the grand dame of 4th Street.

Three oak-framed glass entrance doors set into a marble façade open into a large foyer. Here light pours through three magnificent stained-glass transom windows. These are among the few original features which remain unmolested.

Inside, most of the hand detailed surfaces are buried under countless coats of white paint. Doors to cloak rooms are shut with padlocks. A white-washed board covers up the box office window.

”This will all be fixed,” says Ms. Bahr, who clearly loves this building and its proud history.

Past the foyer the interior opens to a giant, cathedral-like ballroom dominated by an arch-framed stage. There are acres of polished, honey-colored original wood flooring throughout the place.

Second story balconies surround the ballroom. Ms. Bahr points out to where, just beneath the balcony railing, there was once mezzanine-level opera seating.

“Back some time in the '50s it was walled up,” explains Ms. Bahr. Like so many of the alterations to the building, nobody seems to remember the reasoning for it.

There are doorways that are oddly sealed off. Many of the original glass doorknobs have been replaced with mismatching, Home Depot specials. Original cast iron pendant lamps share space with cheap knock-offs.

But perhaps the greatest outrage of all was committed in the design-blighted ’70s when someone decided to cover the sculpted ceiling and huge skylight with the kinds of white perforated acoustic tiles found in DMV offices.

It is clear, however, that its flaws are only skin deep. When I followed Ms. Bahr up the nearly 100-year-old steps, they didn’t creak. The banisters are worn smooth by countless hands but don’t wobble under one’s grip. The place has good bones.

The building currently sees lots of use. The Club rents it out to a dance studio, for piano recitals, bar mitzvahs, lectures, weddings, reunions. Ralph Nader, the perennial presidential candidate, spoke here recently. The ladies play canasta each Monday. On Fridays tango dancers take to the floor.

The Club uses these funds to keep the building operational and build its restoration fund. Ms. Bahr and her fellow Club members are armed with determination, the building’s original blueprints, and an official landmark designation from the city.

Perhaps, unlike Margaret Dumont, the old building will have the last laugh.