Santa Monica (Spanish for 'Saint Monica') is a beachfront city in
western Los Angeles County, California, United States. Situated on
Santa Monica Bay, it is bordered on three sides by different
neighborhoods of the city of Los Angeles: Pacific Palisades to the
north, Brentwood on the northeast, West Los Angeles on the east, Mar
Vista on the southeast, and Venice on the south. The 2010 U.S. Census
population was 89,736. Due to a favorable climate and close proximity
to Los Angeles, Santa Monica became a famed resort town by the early
20th century attracting many celebrities, like Marion Davies, to build
magnificent beach front homes on Roosevelt Highway (PCH). The city has
experienced a boom since the late 1980s through the revitalization of
its downtown core, significant job growth and increased tourism.
Popular tourists sites include Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier
and Palisades Park atop a bluff over the Pacific Ocean.Santa Monica
(Spanish for 'Saint Monica') is a beachfront city in western Los
Angeles County, California, United States. Situated on Santa Monica
Bay, it is bordered on three sides by different neighborhoods of the
city of Los Angeles: Pacific Palisades to the north, Brentwood on the
northeast, West Los Angeles on the east, Mar Vista on the southeast,
and Venice on the south. The 2010 U.S. Census population was 89,736.
Due to a favorable climate and close proximity to Los Angeles, Santa
Monica became a famed resort town by the early 20th century attracting
many celebrities, like Marion Davies, to build magnificent beach front
homes on Roosevelt Highway (PCH). The city has experienced a boom
since the late 1980s through the revitalization of its downtown core,
significant job growth and increased tourism. Popular tourists sites
include Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier and Palisades Park atop
a bluff over the Pacific Ocean.Santa Monica was inhabited by the
Tongva people. Santa Monica was called Kecheek in the Tongva
language.[self-published source?] The first non-indigenous group to
set foot in the area was the party of explorer Gaspar de Portolà, who
camped near the present-day intersection of Barrington and Ohio
Avenues on August 3, 1769. Named after the Christian saint Monica,
there are two different accounts of how the city's name came to be.
One says it was named in honor of the feast day of Saint Monica
(mother of Saint Augustine), but her feast day is May 4. Another
version says it was named by Juan Crespí on account of a pair of
springs, the Kuruvungna Springs (Serra Springs), that were reminiscent
of the tears Saint Monica shed over her son's early impiety.Following
the Mexicanâ€"American War, Mexico signed the Treaty of Guadalupe
Hidalgo, which gave Mexicans and Californios living in state certain
unalienable rights. US government sovereignty in California began on
February 2, 1848. Santa Monica, California Top Movies & Young Movies