Rapp Saloon

This one-story structure was built for William Rapp as a beer hall by a contractor known only as Mr. Freeman and bricklayers and plasterers Spencer and Pugh in 1875, the same year the city of Santa Monica was founded. Rapp Saloon, as it came to be known, was the first brick structure in the city. It served as the town hall from May 1887 to January 1889. From 1911 to 1914 it was used by the Vitagraph Film Company, an early movie studio. It has also been home to the Salvation Army, a radiator repair shop, a piano tuning shop and an art gallery. It was saved from demolition in 1986 when the American Youth Hostel acquired the property and wrapped their new building around it. It was the first site designated as a Santa Monica Landmark in 1975.

Santa Monica, Los Angeles County
Photographer: Andrew Schmidt