Santa Monica, CA Properties Recently Sold or Taken Off-Market

Santa Monica City Description

The coastal community of Santa Monica was named by the Spaniards for Saint Monica of Hippo who first visited it on her feast day. Today its popular skateboard and surfing communities of the Ocean Park neighborhood and adjacent parts of Venice are sometimes called Dogtown. Perhaps the city's most famous and prominent landmark is the Santa Monica Pier located at the foot of Colorado Boulevard which dates back to 1909 and contains Pacific Park, a beachside amusement park complete with historic carousel built in the 20's, a ferris wheel, arcade, pub, shops, aquarium and restaurants. The summer Thursday Twilight Dance Series attracts visitors and anglers are always abundant at the end of the pier. Palisades Park reaches across the bluffs overlooking the Pacific providing walkers and joggers panoramic ocean vistas.

Santa Monica covers approximately 16 square miles and has a population of 96,500. The Santa Monica Freeway, Interstate 10 connects Santa Monica to downtown Los Angeles and is known as one of the busiest highways in North America. California State Route 2, Santa Monica Boulevard, California State Highway 1, U.S. Route 66 and Interstate 405, the San Diego Freeway also connects in Santa Monica. The City runs its own bus service, the Big Blue Bus which also connects much of West Los Angeles and UCLA and was shown out of control with a helpless Sandra Bullock as passenger in the movie Speed. The City is also served by the Los Angeles Country Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus lines which is hoping to expand its light rail service to the area. The Santa Monica Airport is a small, general aviation airport owned and operated by the city. The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District provides public education at the elementary and secondary levels along with several private high schools including: the Carlthorp School, Crossroads School, New Roads School, Concord High School, Pacifica Christian High, Lighthouse Christian Academy and Saint Monica Catholic High School. Higher education is found at a number of both private and public institutions including the Santa Monica College, a junior college founded in 1929 and the Frederick S. Pardee RAND Graduate School, associated with the RAND Corporation, the U.S.'s largest producers of public policy PhDs. Santa Monica has more than its fair share of famous residents and former residents many from the entertainment field. Ben Affleck and his wife Jennifer Garner, Miguel Ferrer, Bonnie Franklin, Sara Gilbert, Anjelica Huston, June Lockhart, Lorenzo Lama, Tobey Maguire, Robert Redford and Shirley Temple Black all have their roots in Santa Monica.

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Last Updated: 11/24/2009 6:56:13 PM