The Annenberg Community Beach House at 415 PCH is going to re-open to the public, and is looking for a few good people to show some folks around.
The City of Santa Monica has selected the Santa Monica Conservancy to design and operate a docent-guided tour program for the newly renovated Beach House. Thankfully, from a generous grant from the Annenberg Foundation, the historic site has been renovated as a multi-faceted public beach club, which will be open in late-April, 2009.
The Santa Monica Conservancy would like to invite you or anyone you might know who would be interested in volunteering to be a docent to apply. Docent training classes will be offered on four Saturday afternoons, from 1:30- 4:30 pm, beginning March 7- March 28, at the Ken Edwards Center, 1527 4th Street. Topics will include Santa Monica History; the architecture and history of the site (past and present); Hollywood culture; and the beach’s natural environment. Early April there will be practice tours as well. However, when guiding the tours, if you choose to, there will not be a memorized script but rather a personal narration will be given, created by the volunteer themselves.
The Beach House was once a magnificent 110-room mansion designed by Julia Morgan for William Randolph Hearst and his companion, actress Marian Davis. The Beach House was a “hot-spot” on the Santa Monica Coast, where Hollywood celebrities came to have fun in the sun, and enjoy parties at the Davies’ estate. Davies and Hearst were the cream of the crop when it came to hosting film luminaries and heads of state. These historic assets have been fully restored and enhanced with new facilities for public recreation.
To be considered to be a docent all you have to do is contact the Santa Monica Conservancy and express your interest. Go to smconservancy.org/mtnews/000112.shtml and download the application form.
