Belmar History + Art

A Civic Commemoration Project

Belmar History + Art (BH+A) #BelmarHistoryArt

The Belmar History + Art (BH+A) project commemorates the history of the African American residents and business owners of the historic Belmar and surrounding neighborhoods. Once a thriving community, this area was razed through eminent domain in the 1950s in order to make way for the Civic Auditorium and the Civic Center campus. BH+A was founded upon three co-equal elements: art, community, and history, each working in concert to creatively and collectively celebrate the legacy of African American contributions to Santa Monica life.

Rich conversations and storytelling with community members, historical research, and a lengthy design process led to the lesson plans and resources on this website, and the onsite elements at the new Historic Belmar Park (opened 2021). The park contains a sports field, a series of historical interpretive signs along an encircling .4 mile walking path, and a monumental new sculpture near the entrance to the field. That entrance is located midblock on 4th Street between Olympic and Pico Blvds, at 1840 4th Street, Santa Monica CA 90404. For more about the sports field, click here.

Artist: April Banks

Historian: Dr. Alison Rose Jefferson

• Share Your Thoughts
• Site Guide/Guia del Sitio
• Stay up to date

Project Overview

In late 2019, the Santa Monica Arts Commission confirmed artist April Banks as the project artist to join Belmar History + Art project historian Dr. Alison Rose Jefferson. Utilizing themes gathered from the public engagement activities and historical materials, Banks collaborated with Jefferson to gather the stories, memories, and dreams of Santa Monicans and the descendants of those who were displaced from the neighborhood.

In-person activities with the community, and the development of the Belmar educational materials and public art design elements began in early 2020 and continued virtually after the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. The historical interpretive signs were installed at Historic Belmar Park in fall 2020, and the art sculpture is set to be installed in spring 2021. 

What began as an exploration of the history of a particular site, became a wider exploration of the African American neighborhoods of South Santa Monica and their contributions of African Americans to the city’s historical and cultural heritage.

Belmar History + Art (BH+A) is a project of the City of Santa Monica, commissioned through its Percent for Art Program and made possible by Santa Monica Cultural Affairs and the City of Santa Monica’s Public Works Department. We recognize and acknowledge the Gabrielino/Tongva peoples on whose lands we are gathering, celebrating, and learning.

Biographies

Events & Programs

Belmar Events

“RE/GENERATION is a series of events for the community. Below is a selection of the milestone events, both in-person and online, that took place during this project, as well as save-the-dates for upcoming events. A listing of events is available below. Leading up to the anticipated spring 2021 installation of the final physical elements of the field there will be other online events including a call for material to be included in the Belmar Time Capsule. Stay tuned!” 

City of Santa Monica Calendar

All events

The Site

Past

This aerial view shows Belmar, one of the first neighborhoods where African Americans settled when they migrated to Santa Monica. The Belmar area thrived with homes, culture and business until it was displaced in the 1950s by eminent domain.

"The City of Santa Monica has the oldest African American settlement of any seaside community in the region which includes their descendants and institutions from the early twentieth century. Seduced by the escapism of the sand and surf resort town, these pioneers came to seek their dream of “El Dorado,” just like the other migrants to the area. They were of the working class group who had faith in the promise of upward mobility." — Dr. Alison Rose Jefferson

Present

The project site, now the City’s newest park is located at 4th Street and Pico Blvd surrounding the new Civic Center Multipurpose Sports Field. The name Historic Belmar Park was approved by Santa Monica City Council on August 27, 2020. As part of the approval of the sports field, the Coastal Commission added a special condition requiring interpretive signage and an educational program that conveys the history of the African-American residents and business owners of the Belmar neighborhood that was formerly located here.

More about the Civic Center Field Project; more about general plans at the Civic Center Campus.

Site Element Renderings

Historic Belmar Park Site Guide

Archive

Info

Learn More about the project and further resources below. Contact us if you have a Belmar-related story you’d like to feature in our Archive! 

Biographies

April Banks was raised a vegetarian in the woods of Virginia. She graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture from Hampton University in Virginia in 1996. After migrating west, she obtained a Master of Science in Environmental Design from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena in 1999. She lived in Oakland for 13 years, spent a year living abroad in Colombia, before returning to Los Angeles in 2014. Her unconventional career intertwines the worlds of art, design, architecture and social practice. With years of experience designing exhibitions for museums, she understands the challenge of creating public engagement opportunities. As an artist she has developed a style that is visually enticing and thought provoking. By combining the two she develops artwork and design solutions that are memorable multi-sensory experiences. Learn more about April’s work at aprilbanks.com.

A third-generation Californian, Alison Rose Jefferson, M.H.C. | Ph.D. is a historian and heritage, conservation consultant. Her research interests explore the intersection of American history and the African American experience in California, historical memory, spatial justice, and cultural tourism, with an aim to engage broad audiences through applied history projects in the struggle for social justice. Her new book, Living the California Dream, African American Leisure Sites during the Jim Crow Era (University of Nebraska Press, 2020) examines the local stories of African Americans, including in Santa Monica, who fought for equal access to California’s recreation and relaxation offerings as they contributed to the broader U.S. freedom rights struggle during the nation’s Jim Crow era (1900s to 1960s). Leisure, was not an optional add-on to civil rights, but an essential component of liberty. Her work has garnered attention in KCET-LA programming, the Los Angeles and New York Times newspapers and other media outlets. Learn more about Dr. Jefferson’s work at alisonrosejefferson.com.

Documents

• Civic Field Approval Press Release, March 2019
• Civic Field Groundbreaking Press Release, August 2019
• BH+A Launch Seascape Article, December 2019
• Belmar project Press Release, December 2019
• Email Newsletter, January 2020
• April Banks selection Blog Post, February 2020
• Email Newsletter, February 2020
• Belmar design Press Release, July 2020
• Email Newsletter, March 2020
• Historic Belmar Park naming Press Release, August 2020
• Update from Andy Agle, City of Santa Monica Community Services Director, about completion Blog Post, November 2020

Press

• The Argonaut, "Stories and Sweet Tea" Feb 26, 2020 by Stephanie Bell
• Santa Monica Daily Press, "Sculpture Designs Approved and Revealed" July 18, 2020 by Brennon Dixson
• KCET, Three Major Projects Chronicle Histories and Displacement of African Americans in Santa Monica, October 21, 2020 by Nadra Nittle

Other Resources

• Santa Monica Public Library Digital Image Archives and Marcus O. Tucker Collection
• Quinn Research Center
• Alfred T. Quinn collection at UCLA Libraries
• Culture Mapping 90404 - 18th Street Art Center
• “White Wash” (film)
• “Walking on Water: A Brief History of Black Surfers” (film)
• Flamming, Douglas. Bound For Freedom: Black Los Angeles in Jim Crow American. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2005.
• Hayden, Dolores. Power of Place, Urban Landscapes as Public History. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1997.
• Jefferson, Alison. Living the California Dream: African American Leisure Sites during the Jim Crow Era. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 2020.
• Scott, Paula. Santa Monica: A History on the Edge. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing, 2004.
• Learn more about the City of Santa Monica’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion initiatives