The Santa Monica Conservancy will launch a new sidewalk history series on Tuesday, Sept. 1, spotlighting a 1913 Pico Neighborhood bungalow headed for a landmark vote two weeks later.
The first "Sidewalk Talk" takes place in front of the Unfried House at 1921 20th St. The 15-minute presentation is part of a new series aimed at building public support for structures the nonprofit has nominated for landmark protection. The Santa Monica Landmarks Commission is scheduled to hold a formal designation hearing for the Unfried House on Monday, Sept. 14.
The Conservancy, led by President Mario Fonda-Bonardi, described the house to the Santa Monica Lookout as a remarkably intact example of a Craftsman-style Airplane Bungalow that holds historical significance as a pioneering structure in the southeast section of the Pico Neighborhood.
Who lived there
Simon and Anna Unfried made the bungalow their home and later built Unfried Hall, which the Conservancy calls the area's first commercial building. The hall featured four ground-floor shops and a banquet hall. It was eventually forced to close as what the Conservancy describes as an unintended consequence of a racially motivated city ordinance that barred dancing in most parts of the city.
The details of that ordinance are not publicly identified.
The Pico Neighborhood remains Santa Monica's most ethnically diverse area, shaped by early 20th-century development and later displacement pressures that reshaped its Mexican American, Black and Asian American communities.
How to attend
The Sept. 1 talk runs twice: at noon, followed by a no-host lunch at Lazy Daisy (2300 Pico Blvd.), and again at 6 p.m., followed by a visit to the Daily Pint (2310 Pico Blvd.). Each session lasts about 15 minutes, after which attendees can view the house before the group walks to the restaurant together.
Conservancy officials said the series is meant to bring members closer to the organization's advocacy work and rally support for places with stories worth preserving. More information is available at smconservancy.org.
