All Aboard! Electric Rail Line to Santa Monica Officially Opens May 20, 2016

Crowd Gathers for Opening Day of the Electric Car Line in Santa Monica, April 1, 1896 
California Historical Society at University of Southern California

It is with great excitement—as suggested in the image above, when Santa Monica greeted the first electric car line in 1896—that Santa Monica welcomes the completed, 6.6-mile, $1.5-billion light rail extension of the Expo Line on May 20. Seven new stations link the existing station in Culver City to our Pacific shore.

For the first time in 63 years, it is possible to ride from downtown Los Angeles to the beach and, through Los Angeles’s rail network, to traverse some 40 miles of greater Los Angeles—from Asuza in northeastern Los Angeles County to Santa Monica in western Los Angeles County.

White Wash

Sunday, September 16, 2012, 2:00 PM.

White Wash 

Film Screening and Discussion

Free Event at the Santa Monica Public Library Main Branch’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Auditorium, 601 Santa Monica Blvd. Santa Monica, CA

Seating is limited for this special screening. Guests should arrive in a timely manner, as seating will be offered on first come, first serve basis.

White Wash explores the history of African Americans and water culture, from slavery and civil rights wade-ins to surfing in contemporary times. This 2011 documentary includes archival footage and interviews with professional surfers, and features the historic beach site known as the “Ink Well.” A discussion with director Ted Woods, historian Alison Rose Jefferson and blacksurfing.com founder, Rick Blocker follows the screening. The California Historical Society is proud to join Heal the Bay, The Santa Monica Conservancy and the NAACP to sponsor the White Wash documentary screening event.