Donald M. Cleland A History of the Santa Monica Schools 1876-1951, Santa Monica Unified School District, February 1952 (Copied for the Santa Monica Library, July 22, 1963). 140 pp., 1900
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In the early days, a good deal of bitterness had developed between the community that lay south of the arroyo and that which comprised the north section of Santa Monica. The southern portion of the city began to impute the city leaders from the north with unprogressiveness. As early as 1900, Ocean Park had had its own water system, post office, amusement pier, race track, and golf course. The fact that Ocean Park had developed its own business section and had its own school, churches, and civic organizations made the southsiders somewhat independent. Ocean Park, moreover, had become popular with summer visitors, a fact which some of the more conservative Santa Monica residents were inclined to minimize by referring to its amusement pier as "cheap and gaudy," and averred that it attracted "undesirable elements." The phenomenal growth of Ocean Park, they said, belonged in the "mushroom" category. [50. Pearl op. cit., p. 89.]
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