Annenberg Community Beach House (Santa Monica, California)

 beach, cafe, water park, volleyball court, historical building

415 Pacific Coast Highway
Santa Monica, CA 90402
(310) 458-4904
annenbergbeachhouse.com

The 5-acre oceanfront site upon which the Annenberg Community Beach House now sits was originally developed during the Gold Coast era of the 1920s by newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearst for actress Marion Davies. The Davies estate featured a mansion of 100-plus rooms and a large ornate marble swimming pool. Hearst and Davies entertained luminaries from the Hollywood set, including Charlie Chaplin, Louis B. Mayer, Samuel Goldwyn, Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, Gloria Swanson, Clark Gable and numerous other stars of the day.

In 1947, Joseph Drown purchased the property from Davies and opened the Oceanhouse, known as "America's Most Beautiful Hotel," along with the Sand & Sea Club, a limited-membership beach club. After the Oceanhouse venture ended, the main mansion was demolished in 1956. The popular Sand & Sea Club continued to operate.

The property was sold to the State of California in 1959, continuing to operate as the ever-popular Sand & Sea Club under a concession agreement. In the 1990s, the City of Santa Monica ran the facility, known as '415 PCH,' until the 1994 Northridge Earthquake severely damaged all structures on site.

Although a reuse plan was adopted in 1998, the project sat on hold while the City tried to secure funding. When Wallis Annenberg of The Annenberg Foundation learned of the City's struggle to identify funding to realize its vision for a year-round public beach facility, she enthusiastically offered to help, provided a $27.5 million grant that paved the way for the site's rehabilitation. The project involved restoration of the historic Marion Davies Guest House and pool, as well as construction of new recreation and event facilities.