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Lighthouse on Will Rogers' Estate, Santa Monica, California

 
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Title
Lighthouse on Will Rogers' Estate, Santa Monica, California
Description
A view of the Roosevelt Highway looking north towards Will Rogers' estate and lighthouse and the Santa Monica mountains. Automobiles drive along the six-lane highway while many others are parked along the beach and the cliffs; tourists line the sandy beach.
Format Extent
1 postcard : Color ; 9 x 14 cm.
Subject
Beaches--California--Santa Monica; Bays--California--Santa Monica; Lighthouses--California--Santa Monica;
Note
By the early twentieth century, tourists and residents were traveling to the beach in private cars rather than by mass transit. A popular travel route was the beach road that ran along the beach along the Santa Monica Bay, once known as Sunset Beach. This road was widened by the city of Santa Monica in 1914 and was named Palisades Beach Road in 1915; the beaches beside the road became known as Palisades Beach. By 1916, the two lane road was paved and reinforced with concrete. Palisades Beach Road later became known as Roosevelt Highway and is part of the California State Route 1 that extends 548 miles along the Pacific Coast line, beginning near San Juan Capistrano on the South and extending North through Mendocino County. In the 1940s, the road along the Palisades beaches was expanded into a six-lane highway. The road later became known as Pacific Coast Highway, or, more commonly, PCH." The lighthouse beside the Pacific Coast Highway was erected in the early twentieth century at the original landing site for the Long Wharf at Portero Canyon (which had been removed by 1920)" In 1942, a stretch of beach three miles North of Santa Monica Canyon was named as the Will Rogers State Beach, in memory of the comedian/actor Will Rogers. Rogers, who died in 1935, had owned a small portion of the beach and a large stretch of land in the Santa Monica Mountains. The lighthouse served as the lifeguard headquarters for Will Rogers State Beach. However, by the 1970s the building beside the lighthouse (dating from the 1920s) was in poor condition, and in 1972 the structure was torn down. Although the lighthouse tower was meant to be saved and used on the Pepperdine University campus in Malibu, the tower did not survive the attempted removal and was demolished with the rest of the structure.
Collection
Werner von Boltenstern Postcard Collection
Type
Geographic Location
Pacific Coast Highway; California Highway 1 (Calif.); Santa Monica (Calif.); Santa Monica Bay (Calif.)
Language
eng
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