Very Rare Early Santa Monica Directory
One of the rarest Los Angeles area directories, published by Lincoln H. King, a little-known local Los Angeles-based directory publisher. While not the earliest for Santa Monica (Rocq lists Santa Monica directories from 1899 and 1905), the present directory is clearly the rarest. The only recorded example is noted by Rocq as held by the Santa Monica Public Library, though the title does not appear in the current online catalog of that library. For comparison, see Quebedeaux's Prime Sources of California and Nevada Local History, 1850-1906, which describes the 1899 Santa Monica directory, with 3 known examples, as "superlatively rare."
King's Directory of Santa Monica Bay District is printed on good paper and contains extensive business and residential listings for the area, including the communities of Santa Monica, Sawtelle, and Palms. The latter apparently retained a rural feel, with numerous farmers, ranchers, and horse dealers noted as residents. And yet the Santa Monica community, on the cusp of transformational development, already enjoyed all the modern services and conveniences in 1907: automobile dealers and garages, bookstores, furniture dealers, lumber and planning mills, banks, pharmacies, nurseries, hardware stores, and an inordinate number of real estate dealers. Many of the advertisements are illustrated with photographic views of storefronts or business interiors, including Hotel Decatur, Kensington Apartments, the Pacific Pharmacy, Kinney & Silvey, blacksmiths, Golden State Plant & Floral Co., Santa Monica Mill Company, Basset & Nebeker Lumber & Building Material, and Santa Monica Funeral Parlors.
The first two entries, appropriately enough, are for Abbot Kinney Power House, and Abbot Kinney Co., located in Venice and 29 Windward Ave., respectively. Abbot Kinney (1850-1920) was the Santa Monica businessman-developer turned pioneering conservationist and water supply expert who is perhaps best known for developing Venice, the famous beach town just south of Santa Monica where a street is named for him.
Santa Monica Bay District in 1907
During the first decade of the 20th century, Santa Monica and its surrounding communities experienced significant development as part of the overall growth of the Los Angeles coastal area. The Santa Monica Bay District saw increased residential and commercial expansion, attracting visitors and new residents alike. Santa Monica itself evolved into a celebrated resort town, with the construction of hotels, amusement piers, and transportation links like the Pacific Electric Railway. Ocean Park, situated to the south, developed as a vibrant beachfront community with its own attractions and entertainment venues. Sawtelle, inland to the northeast, became known for its veterans' home and agricultural land, while Palms, further east, emerged as a residential suburb benefiting from improved connectivity to downtown Los Angeles. These developments collectively contributed to the dynamic growth of the Santa Monica Bay District in the early 1900s. Santa Monica reportedly had a population of 3000 in 1900.
African Americans in Santa Monica
At the time of this directory Santa Monica counted a small but growing African American community around Broadway between 4th and 6th Streets. The heart of the community would develop in the half-mile radius around the Phillips Chapel Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, dedicated in 1909 on the corner of 4th and Bay in the Ocean Park neighborhood. According to Hadley Meares, Charles A. Brunson was an early African American resident and small businessman: he is listed in the present directory as living at 330 5th Street. Other African American families were the Gordons, Reeses, and Jacksons, a few of whom may also appear in this directory.
Rarity
Very rare. Unrecorded in OCLC. Only a single example per Rocq (Santa Monica Public Library). No copies recorded in RBH.