Bodybuilders of Yesterday Salute First Site of Famed Muscle Beach

Muscle men of yore joined younger acrobats Sunday on the sands of Santa Monica to dedicate a plaque marking the original site of Muscle Beach, hailed by some as the birthplace of today’s physical fitness fanaticism. Bodybuilders started working out on a platform just south of the Santa Monica Pier in the mid-1940s, but the site was closed 30 years ago.

While Venice now lays claim to the title of Muscle Beach, a group of the ever-faithful--including exercise guru Jack LaLanne and Steve (Hercules) Reeves--fought to have the Santa Monica site remembered. The Muscle Beach Alumni Assn. sought and obtained approval for the 2-by-3-foot sign erected Sunday. Among those on hand were LaLanne, flexing his muscles, and George Sunby, with microphone.

“Muscle Beach was like a Roman holiday,” said George Eiferman, a former Mr. America who was one of a group of muscle men who joined Mae West in a Las Vegas review in the 1950s. “We’ll never have that again.”