Paradise, Pre-Pavement

At a time when surfing its bay can expose you to chemical poisoning and any termite-riddled lean-to 10 blocks from the beach sells for $1 million-plus, this might be an apt historical moment to get some perspective on Santa Monica. Just out from Angel City Press, “Santa Monica Beach: A Collector’s Pictorial History” is an elegantly designed compendium of mostly sepia-toned and black-and-white photos from the days before the SUV and the cellphone. The book was written and assembled by Santa Monica native Ernest Marquez, a great-grandson to original holders of Rancho Boca de Santa Monica, the Mexican land grant that became the city of Santa Monica. Yes, there’s an elegiac glow to the stately resort hotels, the Victorian bathers and the Japanese fishing village that once nestled on the coast just north of Santa Monica Canyon. But the author, who now lives in the San Fernando Valley, reminds us that development is nothing new in Santa Monica Bay, which nearly became the Port of Los Angeles and has been the site of one commercial scheme and grandiose real estate project after the next since the mid-1800s.

We’ll try to bear it in mind the next time we’re gridlocked on Pacific Coast Highway.