Annenberg Community Beach House Tour
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Yes, you can go to this beach and spend little to no time on the sand. You can purchase passes on the day of your visit on a first-come-first-served basis starting an hour before the pool opens. Guest services will start a waitlist if passes sell out. The pool at the Annenberg Community Beach House is open to the public and accessible with a pool pass.
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Even though there was a large age difference, she was a teenager, and him in his 50s. To further Marion’s acting career Hearst moved both of them to Los Angeles, leaving his wife and family behind. He started Cosmopolitan Pictures just for Marion and built her a beach house to be closer to Hollywood while he continued the work on Hearst Castle.
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TOURS OF THE GUEST HOUSE
Davies, a movie star, was a pre-eminent Hollywood hostess; she and Hearst reigned as virtual royalty, hosting film luminaries and heads of state. This structure, the guest house, is all that remains of the once palatial estate. Tours of the house are led by knowledgeable docents who share stories about Davies’ life at the house.
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The Beach House grounds are open daily, including the playground, splash pad, beach area, courtyard, view deck, and volleyball courts. You can also take a sunset swim (adults only) on select evenings during the summer. The historic pool and deck area, with restored tile mosaics and stone paving, is within a landscaped enclosure below the beach level. Facing the pool is a freestanding white colonnade that defines the location and scale of the mansion's façade. The footprint of the huge structure is delineated on the parking lot behind the Pool House. Behind the colonnade, a series of 14 concrete pillars, each 30 feet high,[2] is the new Pool House with changing rooms, restrooms and built-in cabana areas lined with wood stained in colors taken from the pool tile.
The Pool
The beach house was sold to a hotelier, and once they couldn’t turn a profit, it was donated to the city to cut their losses. This was when the Annenberg Community Beach House was born. Marion’s beach house was famous for its costume parties. Sometimes, with little notice, Hearst’s people would call costume departments from area studios, like MGM, and a few hours later, truckloads of period or themed costumes would arrive to outfit famous guests. These included a long list of Old Hollywood who’s who, like, Marlene Dietrich and Charlie Chaplin. William Randolph Hearst discovered Marion Davies when she was a Ziegfeld Follies girl in New York.
Transforming a Private Beach Manor into a Public Paradise
The Beach House is open year round (hours and admission) with summer weekends obviously drawing the biggest crowds. Staff at the Beach House offer fall and winter activities too, including bird walks and tours. Organizations and individuals may also rent out the space for meetings, weddings, and other special events. The estate was sold in 1945 and the property was run as a hotel. After that venture failed, the mansion was demolished and the property sold to the State of California in 1959.
History
Located on five acres of oceanfront property in Santa Monica, California, the first-rate public beach facility serves as a popular site for recreation, tourism, and relaxation. The Annenberg Community Beach House is the site of many company parties, family reunions, and other events. There are also paddleboard rentals, volleyball courts, surf lessons, and event spaces you can reserve through its website. If you’ve never been, the Annenberg Community Beach House is a special place.
Location and Nearby Landscapes
Here, Davies and Hearst often hosted lavish parties for their famous Hollywood friends like Clark Gable, Charlie Chaplin, Samuel Goldwyn, and Greta Garbo, among others. The facilities were thoughtfully rehabilitated and designed by Frederick Fisher and Partners, Architects. At the direction of Wallis Annenberg, the Annenberg Foundation provided major funding for the restoration and repurposing of a five-acre beachfront property at 415 Pacific Coast Highway, in Santa Monica, California. 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 William Randolph Hearst for actress Marion Davies.
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William Randolf Hearst used the same architect for Hearst Castle to design the beach house, Julia Morgan. She worked simultaneously on both residences 230 miles apart from each other in the early years of the 19th century. That meant no company jet to fly Morgan back and forth to deal with a very hands-on Hearst.
Parking rates vary depending on the month, but are generally $3/hour and either $8 or $12 per day. A variety of special events are held throughout the year including classes (such as yoga, youth and adult volleyball, and swimming), lectures, and more. Be sure to check the website for upcoming events, dates, and fees where applicable. It’s one of the best things about Summer in Los Angeles, and since Summer is right around the corner, it’s time to plan those family trips to the beach. You’ll find everything you need to know right here, from parking to dining to special activities, in our Guide to the Annenberg Community Beach House.
Members of the public should not come to the Beach House if experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms or under a quarantine or isolation order. Public spaces will provide instructions for safe distancing, but the public’s support in being mindful of COVID-19 best practices, including frequently washing hands and using hand sanitizer, is appreciated. Originally developed in the 1930’s by William Randolph Hearst for actress Marion Davies, the property was the site of an elegant 110-room mansion designed by architect Julia Morgan. The estate hosted a wide range of stars, including Charlie Chaplin, Clark Gable, Cary Grant and Gloria Swanson.
The Davies estate featured a mansion of 100-plus rooms and an ornate marble swimming pool. As with many Hearst projects, the vision of architect Julia Morgan provided a cohesive grace to the rambling estate. Once a hot spot for Old Hollywood, the Annenberg Community Beach House is now a favorite destination for many SoCal locals. The five-acre oceanfront estate sits next to Santa Monica State Beach and offers guests a historic swimming pool, a splash pad and play area for kids, an art gallery, and a boardwalk leading down to the water. In 1947, Joseph Drown purchased the property from Davies and converted into Oceanhouse, "America's Most Beautiful Hotel," along with the Sand & Sea Club, a limited-membership beach club.
A neighbor and friend’s studio wasn’t too far from her, Thomas Ince’s, Inceville. Admission to the Annenberg Community Beach House is free. $10 for adults, $4 for youth (ages 1-17), and $5 for seniors (60+). On Mondays, excluding holidays, families can visit for half-price. The swimming pool is open seasonally; however, throughout the year, there are Pop Up Pool Days when the pool is open.
The mansion's original pool was rehabilitated by the Annenberg Foundation and opened to the public on a fee-for-entry basis in 2009. One of the mansion's original guest houses also still exists and is used for events. The Annenberg Community Beach House property has served as a vibrant cultural and artistic hub in Santa Monica for nearly a century.
This grant money allowed the city to build the new public Beach House. A team of architects and builders rehabilitated the Marion Davies Guest House and the marble swimming pool. They also constructed new, modern facilities—including changing rooms and family-friendly amenities like the splash pad, playground, and boardwalk, which is a great feature for the stroller-pushing crowd. When the beach club suffered damage in the 1994 Northridge earthquake, the City of Santa Monica sought to repurpose the property as a public beach facility, but officials had trouble securing funding. In stepped the Annenberg Foundation chairman/president/CEO Wallis Annenberg, who supported the transformation of the property into a sustainable, accessible, public recreational center with a beachside pool. The facility offers classes, community events, and group activities including volleyball, yoga, and paddle-boarding, and it hosts countless conferences, weddings, parties, and social events throughout the year.
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