Past Exhibitions

Premier Night!

Broadway to Freeway:

Life and Times of a Vibrant Community

2022
April 1 – EXTENDED. Closes April 30, 2023

In the mid-20th century, the Broadway neighborhood was a thriving, tight-knit community in Santa Monica. Built by African American, Mexican American, and immigrant communities, the Broadway neighborhood was a haven for those who were excluded from other parts of the city by racist and anti-immigrant policies and practices.

This exhibition tells the story of how residents built Broadway into a flourishing community of color – and how the Interstate 10 freeway destroyed it in the 1960s. The vibrant lives of pioneering individuals – like the first African American teacher and social worker hired in Santa Monica – are knitted into the neighborhood they built together. The community populated Broadway with welcoming schools, homes, and businesses – from beauty parlors and jazz clubs, to the malt shop, tortilleria, and Jewish deli.

Featuring period photographs, advertisements, oral histories, and songs, the exhibition draws on the wealth of archival material collected by the Quinn Research Center, which is dedicated to preserving the history of African American life in Santa Monica.

Through exhibitions like these, we acknowledge the legacy of history and inform people about its ongoing impact. The rare images and objects in the exhibition illustrate how Broadway’s former residents created a thriving community in the face of structural racism. These stories are ones every Santa Monican should know.
— Sara Crown, Curator

Today, little evidence remains of the community on the blocks between 13th Street and 20th Street, once the heart of the Broadway neighborhood. Though physically erased, Broadway lives on in the stories that are preserved and shared to illuminate past inequities and spotlight the inspirational individuals who created a center of social and civic life on their own terms.

Curators:   Sara Crown with Quinn Research Center

Download Exhibition Press Kit

Exhibition Press Kit
Flyer 1 Flyer 2
Advertisement for Santa Monica businessman Goodrich McNeal’s service station, 1950s
Quinn Research Center
Students outside Garfield Elementary School in Santa Monica, c1952
Historical content from the Santa Monica Malibu Council of PTAs, organized January 1, 1924
Santa Monica Crescent Bay Lodge No. 19 mortgage burning celebration, 1928
Outlook Collection (1998.1.898)
Available for reprint
Students at Garfield Elementary School in Santa Monica participate in a toy refurbishment project, 1935
Bill Beebe Collection (3.2.189)
Available for reprint

Exhibition presented with
the Quinn Research Center

Thank you Exhibition sponsors!

Terri de la Peña

Become Part Of Our Community
Share Your Thoughts

If you can’t make it in to see our exhibition, you can share your thoughts here, online, about what community and neighborhoods mean to you.

What does COMMUNITY mean to you?

• Coming together -> Unity
• Home

Who makes a COMMUNITY form?

• Common interests & availability
• Learning more about the Santa Monica community was inspiring and enlightening. A gift to those who wish to know about the history

What gives a NEIGHBORHOOD its identity?

• Shared community led resources (schools, restaurants, events, etc.)
• Knowing the history of buildings still there (and gone) and the people who were part of it.

Who is part of your COMMUNITY?

• This museum!
• Beautifully curated collection. Thanks for compiling all these artifacts and history of our neighborhood!

What makes a strong COMMUNITY?

• Loving connections between the people

Exhibition Highlights
Photos and video highlighting the exhibition

Come back throughout the exhibition period to see more photos and video highlights.

Exhibition Teaser
Interview with Carolyn and Bill Edwards by our archivist Sara Crown
Oral History: Carolyn and Bill Edwards