Site of Iconic Main Street Bar that Served Jim Morrison, Truman Capote Sells for Nearly $2M
At the time of closure, its future was uncertain, though a public notice posted on the property as of February shows an application for an ownership change
A 1,700-square-foot retail building at 2926 Main Street — longtime home to the Circle Bar, a Santa Monica nightlife staple
since 1949 that drew celebrity patrons including Jim Morrison and Truman Capote — has sold for $1.975 million, or $1,161 per square foot.
Philippe Chicha acquired the property from seller Lillian Zacky in a transaction that closed Dec. 9, 2025, according to property records reported by Traded. Brokers Brandon Michaels and Emin Gabrimasshih of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller.
The Circle Bar, known for its DJs, small dance floor and private booths with bottle service, was a popular destination for decades before closing in August 2023 after ownership transferred to the landlord. At the time of closure, its future was uncertain, though a public notice posted on the property as of February shows an application for an ownership change to Circles LLC.
Children’s Hospital LA Expands Pediatric Cardiology to the Westside
Conditions addressed include genetic heart conditions, congenital heart defects, all forms of pediatric heart care, fetal heart disease, fetal arrhythmias, and maternal/fetal conditions affecting the fetal heart
Specialists from the Heart Institute at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles will begin providing pediatric cardiology care in Santa Monica starting Jan. 26, offering Westside families local access to the hospital’s nationally ranked program. The services, available at 1419 19th St., will operate Mondays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month during the same hours.
Appointments and referrals can be made by calling 310-820-8608.
Services include echocardiography, electrophysiology for heart rhythm disorders, palpitations, fainting and ECG irregularities, preparticipation sports physical evaluations, and fetal echocardiography and cardiac screening.
Conditions addressed include genetic heart conditions, congenital heart defects, all forms of pediatric heart care, fetal heart disease, fetal arrhythmias, and maternal/
fetal conditions affecting the fetal heart.
CHLA’s Heart Institute manages the largest congenital heart program on the West Coast, with more than 15,000 annual outpatient visits across 16 specialties, including cardiac surgery, imaging, catheterization, intensive care and anesthesia. It receives referrals throughout California and provides international consultations.
The Santa Monica location is part of CHLA’s broader expansion
of pediatric specialties in the area, which already includes allergy and immunology, endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism, gastroenterology, neurology, otolaryngology, plastic and maxillofacial surgery, and urology. The hospital recently announced a $10 million gift from the Wyss Foundation to bring orthopedic services to the site as well.
Cypress Equity breaks ground on eight-story mixed-use apartment project in Santa Monica
The Wilshire Boulevard development consists of 140 apartments.
Construction is underway at a prominent Wilshire Boulevard site as Cypress Equity Investments moves forward with a new mixed-use residential project in Santa Monica.
Heavy machinery has recently been mobilized at 1902 Wilshire Blvd., where an eight-story development is planned. Approved plans call for 140 apartments built above approximately 7,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space, along with a subterranean parking structure.
The project is advancing under a Santa Monica pilot program that allows a limited number of developers to satisfy affordable housing requirements at an offsite location. The program was designed to help revive developments that had stalled under previous regulatory constraints.
Under earlier proposals, Cypress Equity Investments planned to include 14 affordable units within the Wilshire Boulevard building. Those units will now be constructed at a separate project located
at 1333 Seventh St., in accordance with the pilot program’s guidelines.
City records from 2024 show the
development is designed as a contemporary podium-style structure featuring exterior materials that include brick, porcelain,
concrete, and stucco. Patrick Tighe Architecture is serving as the project’s architect.
What to Expect at This Weekend’s ‘Santa Monica Block Fest Vol. III’
The festival is the latest activation under the city’s Entertainment Zone Santa Monica initiative, which allows outdoor alcohol consumption within designated boundaries
The Third Street Promenade will be transformed into a multi-block nightlife and music venue Saturday evening as Santa Monica hosts Santa Monica Block Fest Vol. III, a free outdoor event expected to draw large crowds to the downtown shopping district.
The event begins at 5 p.m. on Feb. 14 and will span the 1200, 1300 and 1400 blocks of the Promenade, featuring live DJs, multiple performance stages, pop-up bars and themed activations tied to Mardi Gras and Valentine’s Day.
The festival is the latest activation under the city’s Entertainment Zone Santa
Monica initiative, which allows outdoor alcohol consumption within designated boundaries.
Attendees can expect three distinct music hubs across the Promenade. The 1200 block will be hosted by Beat Repeat, the 1300 block by Product Pluto and the 1400 block by YAPPY STUDIOS. Organizers
said the lineup will include a range of DJ styles, from house music to vinyl-focused sets.
In addition to live music, the event will feature lounge areas and immersive nightlife programming throughout the Entertainment Zone. Pop-up bars will operate within the permitted area.
Historic ‘Shotgun House’ in Santa Monica to Hold Free Tours on Valentine’s Day Weekend
Visitors can tour the home’s three original rooms and learn about life in Santa Monica in the early
1900s
The historic Shotgun House in Santa Monica will open its doors for free public tours over Valentine’s Day weekend, offering visitors a glimpse into one of the city’s oldest surviving homes.
The Shotgun House, located at 2520 Second St., will be open Saturday, Feb. 14, and Sunday, Feb. 15, from noon to 2 p.m. each day. Admission is free, and no reservations are required.
Built in 1897, the Shotgun House is the last intact example of its kind in Santa Monica. The modest wood-frame structure, which once faced demolition, has been preserved and rehabilitated and now serves as a small museum and community landmark.
During the open house, visitors can tour the home’s three original rooms and learn about life in Santa Monica in the early 1900s. The house features exposed sections
that allow guests to look behind walls and beneath the floor to view vintage building materials. Docents will also point out architectural details, including an original window discovered during the restoration process.
In addition to the historic interiors, young visitors can explore a miniature model of the home furnished with Victorian-era décor typical of the period when the house was built.
Volunteer docents will be on hand to answer questions and share information about the home’s history, its preservation and the broader significance of historic conservation efforts in the city.
Walk-ups are welcome throughout the two-hour windows each day.
Parks, Plans, and Potential
SM a.r.t.
Santa Monica Architects for a Responsible Tomorrow
By John Cyrus Smith, SM.a.r.t Guest columnist
Someone smarter than a parks commissioner like me once said that if you want something done, just throw down the challenge, and good things will happen. True or not, that’s what I did a few weeks ago at City Hall when I challenged the Council to finally get the long-delayed Memorial Park and Airport Park Expansions underway. This Year.
And good things started happening. The Council unanimously approved the new Parks and Recreation Vision Plan. They also okayed a design change that saves millions on Phase One at Memorial. That’s important because it puts us closer than ever to starting construction, and there’s a simple way to get more money for both the
Memorial and Airport Park expansions.
Let me break it down for you…
• The city strategy has always been to add new baseball fields at Memorial, and put new soccer/football fields at an expanded Airport Park.
• Council approved the Airport Park Expansion Plan in 2017.
• Council approved the Memorial Park Expansion in 2019. Both plans exist only on paper.
• The 2019 Memorial cost estimate was $30 million for Phases 1 & 2. We were going to pay for it with $20 Million from the 2016 SMC Bond Measure, plus $5 Million each from the city and SMMUSD.
• Staff says costs have SOARED several times since then, which is why staff and parks commissioners recommended the change at Memorial. We’re just a few million short now.
But let's think bigger…
• Currently, there’s about $18 million of the SMC Bond money left for Memorial. City staff has applied for several grants, which could net us a couple more. Meantime, the school district has yet to contribute any money toward Memorial, let alone the $5 million pledged back in 2019.
• SMMUSD can and should do better. If the school district would match the $20 million SMC is contributing, we could put $10 million towards Memorial and dedicate the other $10 million to get the Airport Park Expansion started.
I’m not trying to pick on anybody, but the District did pretty much dismiss the above idea when I first pitched it to them two years ago in the months before voters passed a record-breaking $485 million school bond. Also, keep in mind it was the city that paid for the soccer fields at Historic Belmar Park, directly across the street from SaMoHi.
Shouldn’t the district return the favor and help the city pay for new fields everyone can enjoy?
My point is this: Council just approved a new Parks and Recreation Vision Plan. We have good Memorial and Airport Park Expansion plans. But they are just plans. They don’t mean a thing until shovels hit the dirt. We plan, plan, plan, then wait, wait, wait. We keep pushing park projects further and farther down the road as costs keep rising. Why do parks here take twice as long, and twice the effort, and cost twice as much? Because all of us: Council
members, the District, SMC, residents, and others, don’t work well enough together. It’s time we did, and make good things happen, for our parks, our city, and our future.
John Cyrus Smith, Santa Monica Recreation and Parks Commissioner John. Smith@santamonica.gov
Santa Monica Architects for a Responsible Tomorrow
Dan Jansenson, Architect, (former Building & Fire-Life Safety Commissioner); Robert H. Taylor, Architect AIA; Mario Fonda-Bonardi, Architect AIA (former Planning Commissioner); Sam Tolkin, Architect, (former Planning Commissioner); Michael Jolly ARECRE; Jack Hillbrand AIA, Landmarks Commission Architect; Phil Brock (SM Mayor, ret.); MattHoefler, Architect NCARB; Heather Thomason, community organizer, Charles Andrews Columnist.
Curious City 2/13/26: THE BEST OF TIMES!
By CHARLES ANDREWS
THESE ARE… THE BEST OF TIMES?
Another typo, he meant the beast of times. Or, uh oh, Charles is on drugs again. Hallucinogens, it would seem.
How can I even have that thought, let alone write those words? To tell the truth, I’ve been trying to for quite some time, but just couldn’t climb that mountain. For some reason, today is the day. I think listening to Joni Mitchell’s “Blue” helped.
Even though, just this morning I watched a few minutes of U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi – now there’s a name and a title that just don’t belong together in a sane universe –“testifying” before Congress. (“I’m not going to play your yes or no game,” she spat out at a Congressman, an elected Congressman, of course not answering a simple yes or no question but rather launching into a long, bitter tirade that the GOP chair had a lot of difficulty in ending.)
We’ve been cursed in our history with a few “lesser” Attorney Generals, but she is a vile, angry, nasty liar – if you didn’t already know that, you only needed a few minutes this morning to be convinced – her every utterance is an attempt to rewrite history. The Justice Department she heads has been responsible for doing everything possible to keep the laughably redacted files from seeing the light of day. And she has led the retribution investigations of Trump’s enemies list. She was Attorney General of Florida from January 2011 through 2019. Let’s just call them The Epstein Years. She did such a stellar job that King Donald rewarded her with one of the most important cabinet positions. And it has paid off royally for him, hasn’t it?
TWO THINGS SEEM
CLEAR
That these may in fact be the worst of times for the United States, its people, government, Constitution, rule of law, and our reputation and leadership worldwide. We may never rebuild the trust that our would-be king destroyed with his Greenland “distraction.” More than a million deaths (and so much more damage) from COVID was really bad, and so was the Vietnam War. But by many measures, this is the worst I have seen in my seven decades spinning ‘round the sun, five of those in Santa Monica.
I could make lists, but I’m now done with
that. Sure, there is a need to inform people what is going on in the dark, especially here in Santa Monica, but I think we have already reached a tipping point. Enough people know to make a difference, and those not on board never will be. The rest of us have to move forward and appreciate our treasures.
Sure, we have a deceptive School Board and City Council, but we are starting to see individuals step forward who want to lead for the residents, not outside interests or elitist philosophies, and we still have elections. We hope. We see good people starting to organize to clean house of crooked politicians, and that is such an opportunity. I even heard a REPUBLICAN congressman, from TENNESSEE, declare Washington a sewer, not a swamp, that corrupt politicians have been stealing American taxpayers’ money forever to enrich themselves, and it needs to stop. Dang, I’m agreeing with a GOP leader. He’s absolutely right, and the Dems need to understand this. Winning the midterms is vital, but by no means enough. We need to sweep out the Godawful GOP, and locally the SMRR-Forward developer money-backed tools, and replace them with true representatives of the people, not just more of the same, D or R notwithstanding.
THE BEST OF TIMES
It is! It’s all perspective and perception. Glass half full. The veil of literally centuries has been torn off by men with veiled faces. We haven’t been a good country, in too many important ways. We have displaced and treated terribly the native peoples, kidnapped and enslaved millions from Africa, and treated their descendants terribly, treated half our population terribly in this patriarchy, started wars, overthrown governments abroad, turned our government over to an oligarchy, with just a pretense of democracy.
But – the Trump GOP has gone so far that it has become impossible for anyone with a
brain, a heart, and a conscience to not see we have to change things radically.
That’s good news! I wish George Carlin was alive to see it! And the really good news is that we are a nation of good people who have done great things. In science, the arts, medicine, technology, the humanities. We come from great ideas. There never was a democracy on earth until our founding fathers said, let’s try it, a great experiment. They were a small nation with no army needing to defeat a king and the most powerful nation on earth. We did it. We know how to beat back kings. We have always been a work in progress, striving to live up to our founding ideals. Inching toward that goal, but based on worthy notions of equality and governance. There will always be those who try to subvert those ideals for their own power and enrichment, but I think we have learned a lot this last decade about recognizing that, fighting it, fixing it. I think we’re ready, it is challenging, but so exciting. We are a generation called to great things.
Best of times? Bad Bunny testifying at the Super Bowl! Restarted space exploration. So many advances in medicine. American Pope Leo! If it don’t kill us all or take all our jobs, the possibilities of AI and robotics to create a better world for all. A truly new era of American democratic leadership. We can feed the world and abolish deadly poverty if we have the political will. Why, I even believe Santa Monica can once again become a great city that everyone admires, not makes fun of. A city of the arts. The Olympics are coming, the World Cup. We have never had such opportunities to change the world and our own lives and our children’s. Get up, stand up, it’s the best of times.
Charles Andrews has lived in Santa Monica for 40 years and wouldn’t live anywhere else in the world. Really. Send love and/or rebuke to him at therealmrmusic@gmail.com
Welcome to Urban Jungle
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FILM REVIEW SEND HELP
BEHIND THE SCREEN
By Kathryn Whitney Boole
This movie is not what you expect it to be, as you are drawn into a corporate workplace drama in the opening frames and then experience an extremely realistic plane crash into the ocean, at once intensely frightening and visually gorgeous. Director Sam Raimi is known for playing with his audience with the same glee that he conjures up to drop his characters into skin-crawling predicaments and anti-relationships.
Yes, anti-relationship is a word that well describes the dynamics of the people who take over the screen here. Every time you think a certain dynamic is going to materialize between the two protagonists, “Linda,” played fiercely by Rachel McAdams, and “Bradley,” who is brought to gloriously narcissistic life by Dylan O’Brien, you realize you’ve been had by the director.
Regardless of the solid marketing campaign of this movie as a horror film, that’s not what it is. It’s a psychological dive into some dark caverns of personality and behavior. It’s not about unrealistic monsters; it’s all human, even the most terrorizing moments. The characters oneup each other with their passive-aggressive volleys, which are hilarious, because we’ve all witnessed them played out in real life.
That Send Help has been branded as a horror film is understandable from a marketing standpoint, but misleading. It’s
things. Bradley is a fish-out-of-water, but to be fair, turns out to be more responsive than Tom Hanks’ ball “Wilson” in Castaway. Director Sam Raimi brought in Australian survivalist expert Kylie Furneaux as a consultant to add realism to the plight of these two survivors, in building a shelter, forging natural tools and survival items, making fire, and collecting water.
Shot in Sydney and New South Wales, Australia, Thailand, and Los Angeles, this movie is worth watching for the cinematography alone. Even the plane crash has a beauty in its terror.
Cinematographer Bill Pope has an impressive body of work that includes films such as Thor: Love and Thunder, Charlie’s Angels, Baby Driver, Men in Black, The Matrix, and Spider-Man anthologies. The force of the ocean is captured as well as I’ve ever seen it on film, even in classic surfing films, although one scene of huge waves looks out of place in the normally calm waters near the small island. I can forgive that for the story. This is worth seeing in IMAX if you can, but it’s even more impressive in a normal theatre.
Danny Elfman’s music is perfect, not there when it’s not needed, perfectly chosen when it’s crucial to a scene.
This is the first time McAdams and O’Brien have worked together. McAdams was born in Ontario, Canada. Her mom is a nurse, her dad a truck driver. She got involved in acting at age 13 and went to a Shakespeare summer camp. She has immersed herself in the art since then, working in film and TV for over 25 years. Her breakout role was “Regina George” in Mean Girls in 2004. She still carries that
really a psychological thriller/comedy/ anti-buddy/anti-rom-com movie. The premise of the story is that tables are turned – super smart office nerd worker bee and egotistical, conceited young CEO are marooned together on an isolated island. Whatever you think is going to happen, well…don’t think that.
Linda is a huge fan of the long-running show Survivor, so she’s learned a few
misfit teenage angst into her later roles, and it makes her seem ageless - including in this role of Linda.
Similarly, O’Brien, as he was growing up in NYC, originally wanted to be a cinematographer like his dad. But then he won the role of goofy sidekick “Stiles” in the Teen Wolf series in 2011, and from then on put all his focus on acting. His film debut was in Upright Citizens Brigade’s
Rated R 113 Minutes Released January 30th
High Road (2011), and he has done more work in film and TV than most actors twice his age. Like McAdams, he harbors a youthfulness that makes him seem younger than his real age. At 34, he is only now transitioning into more adult roles, though still bringing that “goofy sidekick” quality to the table, which he does so well in this movie.
Director Sam Raimi has created his own brand of deadly, sometimes hilarious slapstick comedy. Inspired by the Three Stooges in his teens, Raimi and longtime collaborator Bruce Campbell first came to the attention of critics and audiences with the now classic The Evil Dead in 1981, a campy comedy horror thriller. Raimi has gone on to direct such blockbusters as Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and the Spider-Man films. Raimi pays homage to Campbell in Send Help by using his face as the portrait of Bradley’s late father hanging in his office.
Perhaps there is meaning behind Bradley’s hair that seems to stay perfectly coifed and trimmed throughout the ordeal, as if he’s still working out of his C-suite even on the island, while Linda’s hair goes wild, and her pants get more stained and torn daily as she handles the load.
Go into Send Help ready to laugh at humanity’s attempts to grasp at the ledge of power, which you’ll see is symbolized here as a real ledge.
Enjoy this movie for what it is, a journey to a reality vastly different from your own, inhabited by familiar people. It’s
unsettling, but it tells a lot of truth about the dark side of human nature and about our resilience, with comedy lurking behind every devastating disaster.
Kathryn Whitney Boole has spent most of her life in the entertainment industry, which has been the backdrop for remarkable adventures with extraordinary people. She is a Talent Manager with Studio Talent Group in Santa Monica. kboole@gmail.com
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