By Lookout Staff
May 12 – The Annenberg Foundation – which donated some $30 million to turn the historic beachfront Marion Davies Estate into a public beach club -- received the Santa Monica Conservancy’s President’s Award last weekend.
The award was presented during an opening event Saturday evening at the Annenberg Community Beach House at 415 PCH attended by some 300 hundred local residents.
"We are delighted to give this award to the Annenberg Foundation, whose visionary support, under the leadership of Wallis Annenberg, has revitalized this historic treasure and turned it into an asset for the entire community,” said Santa Monica Conservancy President Carol Lemlein.
Shut down two decades ago and battered by the 1994 Northridge Earthquake, the old Marion Davis estate reopened to the public last month with beach club amenities, modern event rooms overlooking the sand and a pool with colorful historic tiles.
The rehabilitated site also features volleyball and beach tennis courts, the Back on the Beach Café, children’s play areas, gardens and an accessible boardwalk extending westward toward the ocean.
Originally known as the Marion Davies Estate, the original 110-room mansion dominated Santa Monica’s prestigious “Gold Coast” lined with the homes of movie moguls and screen stars in the 1920s and 1930s.
It was at the palatial home where media baron William Randolph Hearst and his companion, actress Marion Davies, hosted some of the era's most lavish parties.
The original mansion was torn down in 1957, leaving only the large guesthouse and tiled swimming pool. These historic structures have been restored and enhanced with additional new facilities for public recreation by the design team of Frederick Fisher & Partners.
The Conservancy’s docent-led tours of both the new and historic portions of the facility -- including the Julia Morgan-designed guesthouse -- are free and offered throughout the week. To find out more about tours visit www.smconservancy.org.
To learn more about opening hours, facilities and activities at the Annenberg Community Beach House, please visit http://beachhouse.smgov.net/.
