Posted on July 22, 2010 by nina

This is my first repeat post! I am so sorry everyone. But I think I did not give it enough credit the first time around. Marion Davis, the 20s screen siren and famed paramour of William Randolph Hearst, would be very pleased to know that her opulent estate – on five acres of beachfront property along what is formally known as the Santa Monica gold coast – was transformed last summer as the Annenberg Community Beach House. The estate had languished for years after 1994′s big California Northridge earthquake before the Annenberg Foundation stepped in with $27.5 million grant to create a completely sustainable community space dedicated to the public. No membership required. All you need is a reservation; 100 are accepted each day, up to three days in advance.

The Davies estate, designed in part by architect Julia Morgan, who also did Hearst’s San Simeon castle, was a 24-hour party during the golden age of Hollywood. Today the pool and guest house are the only remaining structures from the original mansion. The historic pool, eight feet deep, is adorned with hand painted fish tiles and marble deck.