DOWNTOWN WALKING TOURS PRESENTED BY THE SANTA MONICA CONSERVANCY

Explore more than 130 years of Santa Monica history in approximately two hours and six blocks on a docent-led walking tour of downtown. Learn about Santa Monica from its Wild West frontier beginnings to the sophisticated metropolis of today.

Take a closer look at the civic leaders whose vision built the growing city, and experience downtown’s diverse architectural heritage, including the 1875 Rapp Saloon, which opened the year the city was founded and later served as the first city hall. Having passed through many adaptive reuses in its long life, today it is incorporated into the Hostelling International facility; the Majestic Theatre, later the Mayfair, the city’s first theater built to showcase the nascent film industry, which used the city for film locations; the Keller Block, a splendid example of Romanesque Revival architecture; the Builders Exchange, a restored Churrigueresque/Spanish Revival building, with intact decorative interiors, and more!