July 6, 2025 Breaking News, Latest News, and Videos

Constructing History: Museum Being Built at Library

The newly renamed Santa Monica History Museum is well underway in building out the 5,000 square feet of raw space that has been waiting for it on the ground floor of the main library building at the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and 7th Street.

When it opens in about April 2010, it will feature a permanent exhibit gallery that will include interactive displays so visitors can walk into a life-size section of a World War II Douglas C-47 transport aircraft or “ride” the 1920s Whirlwind Dipper roller coaster on the Pier, a changing exhibit gallery that will rotate displays from the museum’s collection and the personal collections of others, and a research library that can be opened into the lobby to create a welcoming space for community gatherings and special events.

As the song has it, “Everything old is new again,” and the new museum will celebrate the considerable history, art, and culture of the Santa Monica Bay area, from Venice and Ocean Park to Pacific Palisades and Malibu. But even the new museum has a history of its own.

Founded in 1975 as an outgrowth of the Santa Monica Centennial Committee, the Santa Monica Historical Society has been looking for a permanent museum home since its birth. In 1988 it established the Santa Monica Historical Society Museum, which is now quartered at 1539 Euclid Street under the watchful eyes and energies of Director of Operations Ho Nguyen. The prospect of a permanent home was given a substantial boost when the City set aside space for the museum in the new main library building and then entered into a 20-year lease for the space in 2006.

But that was just raw space. Enter the Permanent Home Capital Campaign, which for five years now has been working to raise $5 million dollars to build out the museum and endow its operations. Through the generous contributions of Morley Builders, Macerich-Santa Monica Place, the Employees Community Fund of Boeing (successor to Douglas Aircraft), museum spearheads Bob and Louise Gabriel, innovative Santa Monica ophthalmologist Dr. John E. Gilmore, the Evening Outlook’s Ron Funk and his wife Ann, a memorial to bodybuilder/wrestler Baron Leoni, and many others, the museum project raised almost $1.5 million of the $2 million needed for the build-out and installation of exhibits.

After some discussion among the museum board as to whether to hold off until the fund-raising was completed or move forward with construction, the museum – under the simpler name of Santa Monica History Museum and a new logo – decided to forge ahead with the build-out and continue with the fund-raising effort at the same time. “We had to pour a concrete foundation to bring it up to level,” said museum president and CEO Louise Gabriel of the construction “groundbreaking” in October.

Of course, contributions to the nonprofit museum, including some with naming opportunities at various levels, are still being accepted; there will even be a Legacy Tree on which the leaves will bear the names of donors.

The new museum will open with Cirque du Soleil in the changing exhibit gallery. “We have costumes from the original show 10 years ago,” Gabriel told the Mirror, when the performers were given a one-way ticket to Santa Monica, stayed in the homes of local residents, and were told they would have to find their own way home.

The permanent exhibit gallery will feature a timeline containing “artifacts in cases, photos, text, and graphics which trace the origins and inhabitants of Santa Monica from the earliest Native Americans through the 1930s,” according to the museum. There will also be themed rooms depicting Santa Monica’s history At Work, At Play, In the Arts, and In the Headlines, said Gabriel.

The new space will enable the museum to achieve its mission “to collect, preserve, and make available the history of the Santa Monica Bay area; to advance historical knowledge and information; and to impart to residents and others, particularly children, a sense of community and appreciation for the diverse, multi-cultural past of Santa Monica.”

As museum visitors stroll through the exhibits come next April, they may be humming along to the music of Peter Allen and Carole Bayer Sager,

Don’t throw the past away

You might need it some rainy day

Dreams can come true again

When everything old is new again.

in News
<>Related Posts

Hama Sushi Hosts Weekly Music and Comedy Open Mics

July 5, 2025

July 5, 2025

The venue, a Venice Beach staple since 1979, has recently expanded its legendary happy hour to the entire patio Hama...

Connections Breakfast to Network Local Business Professionals in Malibu

July 5, 2025

July 5, 2025

The event, sponsored by Malibu Country Mart, will feature a breakfast mixer where attendees can meet new contacts  A Connections...

12th Annual Gopher Scramble Golf Tournament to Benefit Venice Heritage Museum

July 5, 2025

July 5, 2025

The museum opened to the public in March 2024 at the Main Street Design Center with its inaugural exhibition, “This...

Michael Madsen, Star of Reservoir Dogs and Kill Bill, Dies at 67 in Malibu

July 4, 2025

July 4, 2025

Actor Remembered for His Intense Performances and as a Poet  Actor Michael Madsen, known for his distinctive gravelly voice and...

Ruskin Group Theatre to Stage ‘The Fantasticks’

July 4, 2025

July 4, 2025

A timeless tale of young love and life’s bittersweet beauty, the show is reimagined with modern flair for contemporary audiences...

Film Review: F1: The Movie

July 4, 2025

July 4, 2025

FILM REVIEWF1: THE MOVIERated PG-13155 MinutesReleased June 27th F1: The Movie will envelop you in a racecar. You will be...

Big Blue Bus Launches Prohibition Order Program to Bolster Safety

July 4, 2025

July 4, 2025

The orders, which can range from 30 days to one year, target offenses that threaten the safety and comfort of...

Col. Eric Swenson Honored by LA for Historic Debris Removal Effort

July 3, 2025

July 3, 2025

Swenson, with a distinguished military background including a Ph.D. and multiple master’s degrees from Penn State and other institutions, has...

(Video) A visit to New York Bagel & Deli in Santa Monica

July 3, 2025

July 3, 2025

Authentic NY Style Bagels with Extra Creamy Cream Cheese and Multi-Cultural Desserts. Located at 2216 Wilshire Blvd. A visit to...

(Video) Legacy, Reimagined: Architecture, Design & Construction by Home Front Build Los Angeles

July 2, 2025

July 2, 2025

Go To Homefrontbuild.com For More Information @home_front_build Legacy, Reimagined: Architecture, Design & Construction by Home Front Build Los Angeles. Go...

(Video) Gladstone’s Malibu Prepares for Reopening after Surviving Palisades Fires

July 2, 2025

July 2, 2025

With One Half of its Structure Slightly Charred and Undergoing Repairs, Gladstone’s Malibu is Reopening its Patio Space Just in...

Santa Monica Public Library Launches Community Mapping Survey

July 2, 2025

July 2, 2025

The initiative aims to shape the library’s programs and services to better meet community needs, fostering an inclusive and accessible...

Third Street Promenade Loses Bibibop Asian Grill

July 2, 2025

July 2, 2025

Bibibop opened at the Santa Monica location in 2017 after taking over a former ShopHouse space Bibibop Asian Grill, a...

Proposed Rebuilding Authority for Wildfire Recovery Sparks Local Control Debate

July 2, 2025

July 2, 2025

Plan Aims to Streamline Rebuilding but Raises Questions Over Community Input A proposed “Resilient Rebuilding Authority” to oversee recovery from...

Pentagon Orders Troop Drawdown in LA: 150 National Guard Members Reassigned to Wildfire Duty

July 2, 2025

July 2, 2025

Federal Forces Begin Partial Withdrawal From Protest Response as California Leaders Push Back U.S. Northern Command announced Tuesday that 150 National Guard...