A Walking Tour of Historic Santa Monica

A six-block walking tour of downtown Santa Monica takes about two hours and passes by many of the city's oldest landmarks, some of them over 130 years old. It includes the Third Street Promenade, with its 60 stores, 25 restaurants and landmark Mira Theatre converted into a mall, as well as historic buildings that have survived growth and urban renewal.

"A Walk Through History," otherwise known as "A Walking Tour of Historic Santa Monica," is conducted each Saturday from 10am till noon by docent guides of the Santa Monica Conservancy. Tours begin at the International Youth Hostel on 2nd Street, which is housed in the old Rapp Saloon building, constructed in 1875, the year of the city's founding.

The tour identifies such attractions as the Majestic Theatre, which was created to show the first "moving pictures" of Hollywood's fledgling film industry. There is the Keller Block featuring Romanesque Revival architecture, the Building Exchange with its decorative interiors restored in the Churrigueresque/Spanish Revival style, and the Bay Cities Guaranty Building, the city's first skyscraper, topped by a soaring Art Deco clock tower.

A fee of $10 per person is charged for the guided tour to help support the Santa Monica Conservancy, an all-volunteer community organization. A Walking Tour of Historic Santa Monica can also be self-guided using a tour booklet with detailed information and a map, available for $3 at the Hostelling International Travel Store. The address is 1436 2nd Street, Santa Monica, California 90401.