“I LIVED I N TH E TH I RD STREET neighborhood 35 years ago when Main Street was like the Wild West: Knifings in the Circle Bar, fist fights with bikers at the Oar House. That has changed, but not the pleasant neighborhood architecture, unlike everywhere else in Santa Monica. An example, the north of Montana McMansions with their nouveau riche phonies, the Mid-City almost endless glut of architectural condo blight, the Pico neighborhood’s law abiding, but boring housing. Sunset Park still has a lot of one-story housing that looks very nice, but Third Street still retains the charm of an early Santa Monica beach town. The only unease I have is with another comrade committee dictating to private property owners. Still, if you buy into an historic district, and Ocean Park is the most charming in this town, you then must accept their terms and be happy that City Hall hasn’t ruined another area of this town.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 24, 2007. Read the original PDF.