Annenburg Community Beach House in Santa Monica

Photo: Amy Dickerson/The New York Times

Ok, so why didn't anyone tell me about this uber cool place in Santa Monica on my recent visit there? Now I have to take another trip down there just to check it out! Geez Louise. The NY Times just published an article about this, and I was just there less than a month ago. You'd think I would have heard about it, but no. Ack and double Ack, there's even an exhibit of vintage swimwear and the like!

Seems as though William Randolf heart built this place for Marion Daives, LA's party mogul. It is now owned by the State of California and leased to the City of Santa Monica. Wallis Annenberg, a philanthropist and the daughter of the media tycoon Walter Annenberg, spent summers as a young girl here. As the city and residents debated what to do with the property, in 2005, she pledged $27.5 million to turn it into a first-rate public facility and restore some of the grandeur of Ms. Davies’s estate.

We thank you Miss Annenberg, I'm heading back to Santa Monica soon.