Like other inhabitants of the greater Los Angeles area, residents have a particular terminology for this phenomenon: the 'May Gray', the ' June Gloom' and even 'Fogust'. Because of its location, nestled on the vast and open Santa Monica Bay, morning fog is a common phenomenon in May, June, July and early August (caused by ocean temperature variations and currents). It enjoys an average of 310 days of sunshine a year. Santa Monica has a coastal Mediterranean climate ( Köppen Csb).

Wilshire Boulevard in downtown Santa Monica at twilight communities of West Los Angeles and Brentwood. To the west, Santa Monica has a 3-mile coastline fronting Santa Monica Bay, and to the east of the city are the L.A. neighborhoods of Pacific Palisades to the north and Venice to the south. High bluffs separate the north side of the city from the beaches. Santa Monica rests on a mostly flat slope that angles down toward Ocean Avenue and toward the south. Santa Monica has several local newspapers including Santa Monica Daily Press, Santa Monica Mirror, Santa Monica Star, and Santa Monica Observer. Santa Monica has two hospitals: Saint John's Health Center and Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center. The completion of the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in 1958 eliminated Belmar, the first African American community in the city, and the Santa Monica Freeway in 1966 decimated the Pico neighborhood that had been a leading African American enclave on the Westside.īeach volleyball is believed to have been developed by Duke Kahanamoku in Santa Monica during the 1920s. RAND acquired a 15-acre (61,000 m 2) campus across the street from the Civic Center and is still there today. The RAND Corporation began as a project of the Douglas Company in 1945, and spun off into an independent think tank on May 14, 1948. To defend against air attack, set designers from the Warner Brothers Studios prepared elaborate camouflage that disguised the factory and airfield. ĭouglas's business grew with the onset of World War II, employing as many as 44,000 people in 1943. The main Post Office and Barnum Hall ( Santa Monica High School auditorium) were also among other WPA projects. The federal Works Project Administration helped build several buildings, most notably City Hall.

In the 1930s, corruption infected Santa Monica (along with neighboring Los Angeles). Hotels and office building owners went bankrupt. One report gives citywide employment in 1933 of just 1,000. The Great Depression hit Santa Monica deeply. The Douglas Company (later McDonnell Douglas) kept facilities in the city until the 1970s. Two planes returned after covering 27,553 miles (44,342 km) in 175 days, and were greeted on their return September 23, 1924, by a crowd of 200,000. In 1924, four Douglas-built planes took off from Clover Field to attempt the first aerial circumnavigation of the world. built a plant in 1922 at Clover Field ( Santa Monica Airport) for the Douglas Aircraft Company. Santa Monica has a history of developing environmental and sustainability strategies, with the most recent focus on community-wide carbon neutrality by 2050 or sooner.ĭonald Wills Douglas Sr. Popular tourists sites include Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier and Palisades Park atop a bluff over the Pacific Ocean.Īs in other coastal beach communities, coastal erosion, due to coastal infrastructure and high human usage, is an increasing challenge, and will become worse due to sea level rise. The city has experienced a boom since the late 1980s, through the revitalization of its downtown core, significant job growth, and increased tourism. Due to its favorable climate and proximity to Los Angeles, Santa Monica became a resort town by the early 20th century, attracting celebrities such as Marion Davies to build magnificent beach front homes on Pacific Coast Highway (PCH). Census population of Santa Monica was 93,076. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is bordered on five sides by different neighborhoods of the city of Los Angeles: Pacific Palisades to the north, Brentwood on the northeast, West Los Angeles on the east, Mar Vista on the southeast, and Venice on the south. Santa Monica ( Spanish for ' Saint Monica') is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, United States.

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