Miss Muscle Beach of 1952

Winner Beverly Jocher, two finalists and two participants in the Miss Muscle Beach of 1952 contest before spectators on Muscle Beach, south of the Santa Monica Pier. The Hotel Chase, located along Ocean Front, is in the background.

(Santa Monica History Museum Collection)

According to the Los Angeles Times, “Beverly Jocher, drawn to Muscle Beach from Philadelphia, could support 590 pounds of acrobats on her 110-pound frame.”

Dorothy Sebastian and Joan Crawford at Santa Monica Beach, 1927

Publicity shots of Joan Crawford and Dorothy Sebastian having fun on the beach in Santa Monica, California, in 1927. The photographs were taken by Don Gillum.

The two had worked together in the hit film Our Dancing Daughters (1928) and would again in Our Blushing Brides (1930).

Take a Trip to Santa Monica Beach in the 1960s

Photos taken for a college photo class on a day trip down to Santa Monica beach area, south of the Santa Monica Pier, Santa Monica, California in 1964.

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Rare Photos of 3-Year-Old Norma Jeane (Later Marilyn Monroe) With Her Family on the Beach of Santa Monica in 1929

Marilyn Monroe was born Norma Jeane Mortenson on June 1, 1926 in Los Angeles, California. She had a very difficult and sad childhood. Her mother, Gladys was mentally unstable and her father was absent. His identity is still unclear.

Young Norma spent large part of her childhood in a series of foster homes and an orphanage, because Gladys was mentally and financially incapable of caring for Norma.

The star didn't change her name legally to Marilyn Monroe until 1956, although she'd been known publicly by the moniker since 1946.

Here's a gallery of three-year-old Norma at the beach. The photographs of a young Marilyn Monroe were taken in 1929.

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Vintage Photos of the Ink Well, Santa Monica Beach During the Early 20th Century

During the early 20th century, a section of the Santa Monica Beach referred to as the “Ink Well” was one of the few areas in California where African Americans were allowed to enjoy beach access in a largely segregated society. Located between Bay Street and Bicknell Street just across from the Casa Del Mar Hotel, the 200 foot roped off stretch of beach demarcated was also home to Nick Gabaldon, one of the first black surfers in California, who lived nearby. Other local areas reserved for African Americans included Bruce’s Beach in Manhattan Beach and the Pacific Beach Club in Orange County.

(Photos courtesy of Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection)