Marion Davies estate may be open to public by 2008
SM BEACH — The Annenberg Foundation will donate $21 million to help City Hall restore an historic estate built in the 1920s by newspaper giant William Randolph Hearst, it was announced late Tuesday.
Originally a 100-room mansion lived in by Hearst’s mistress, actress Marion Davies, the property at 415 Pacific Coast Highway on Santa Monica Beach was bought by the state in 1959, which leased it to a private beach club for three decades. It has languished in disrepair since 1994.
Philanthropist Wallis Annen-berg took a personal interest in the site after reading a Santa Monica newspaper article detailing City Hall’s desire to repair the remaining historical components, but the local government lacked funding. With the foundation’s donation in hand, officials hope to have the site open to the public by November of 2008.
“Certainly this is a real partnership, we believe, made in heaven,” said Paul Romero, chief deputy director of the state’s parks department. “We have a project that has had some difficulty because of earthquakes, because of limitations. We now see an opportunity for great success.”
Tentative plans for the site call for preserving the property’s original guest house and swimming pool, designed by famed California architect Julia Morgan. The plans also call for refurbishing a three-story locker building later added to the site, along with a beach cafe, and paddle tennis and volleyball courts. A banquet center with ocean views would be available for public and private events, and pathways and a promenade would allow visitors to enjoy the property and learn its history, according to the plans.
Officials from the Annenberg Foundation said they were eager to get started on the redevelopment.
“This particular project happens to fall into a new emerging area of interest for Wallis and the foundation, with respect to preserving historic facilities and supporting programs that serve families, educators and students in creative and new ways,” said Leonard Aube, a managing director for the foundation.
Established by Walter Annenberg, a distinguished publisher, broadcaster, diplomat and philanthropist, the Annenberg Foundation granted nearly $200 million to 40 different groups throughout the country last year. Walter Annenberg founded journalism schools at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Southern California. Wallis Annenberg is the daughter of Walter Annenberg and vice president of the foundation, which is headquartered in Pennsylvania. She lives on the Westside of Los Angeles.
The gift to City Hall is the third of its kind from the Annenberg Foundation. In September of 2003, the foundation announced a $25 million matching grant to help develop a science center on an historic Los Angeles armory at Exposition and Figueroa boulevards. The foundation had already given that project $6 million. In June of this year, the foundation announced a $15 million grant to convert the Beverly Hills Post Office, now defunct, into a community center.
“All of the trustees of the foundation feel this deep-felt commitment to improving the quality of life in our community and to make a lasting contribution to that,” Aube said after the new grant was announced. “We also recognize, however, that the foundation can’t function or operate in a vacuum.”
City officials said Santa Monica already has garnered approximately $1.4 million in state and federal grants to support the project, and has contributed an equivalent amount of local dollars. Before Annenberg expressed an interest in the site, the city was poised to approach private developers.
Mayor Pam O’Connor said the $21 million gift was unprecedented in the history of Santa Monica. O’Connor and every other council member during a Tuesday night meeting thanked Wallis Annenberg and the foundation for the generous grant.
“It’s such an extraordinary gift,” City Councilman Bob Holbrook said. “It’s unbelievable, and to think that a private family foundation would seek to make a gift of this size to the community … is just astounding, and I’m so appreciative. Thank you.”
City Councilman Bobby Shriver, who worked on the project as chair of the State Parks Commission, said he has long known and admired the Annenbergs.
“They’re a tremendous family, they’ve done amazing philanthropic things throughout the country, Pennsylvania and here in California,” Shriver said. “I’ve worked myself in philanthropy half my life, and to see a family of distinction and discipline and rigor come into Santa Monica and (fund) this project is a great moment.”
Barbara Stinchfield, who heads City Hall’s community and cultural services department, said if the project passes the environmental review stage, the two-year construction process will begin in November of 2006.
An opening celebration could then be held in November of 2008, nearly 15 years after the property was red-tagged and fenced off due to damage sustained in the Northridge Earthquake. After being operated for decades as the Sand and Sea Club, the property was at the center of a battle between local restaurateur Michael McCarty, who won approval from the City Council to build a hotel there, and residents determined to prevent new beach hotels in Santa Monica.
When an initiative passed that squashed McCarty’s project, the City Council voted to terminate the Sand and Sea lease and take control of the grounds. From 1990 until 1994, the estate was open to the public for recreational use and was often rented for various film shoots, including for the popular TV series “Beverly Hills 90210.”
Wallis Annenberg, who confirmed the foundation’s gift in a letter to City Manager Susan McCarthy that was received Tuesday afternoon, said she admired the property and was eager to preserve it for future generations.
“This is an especially exciting project because this property will offer residents and families extraordinary access to a lovely stretch of beachfront property and will contribute to the quality of life in the area by providing a wide range of recreational opportunities,” she said in a prepared statement. “The project will also help restore and preserve a spot that has a unique place in California’s history.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 16, 2004. Read the original PDF.