The Original Muscle Beach

My Honey and I were walking along the promenade at the Santa Monica beach yesterday to watch the kids playing on the equipment at the original Muscle Beach, just south of the Santa Monica Pier. Since it was the middle of the week and early afternoon, most of the activity was of the bravado type–young teenagers trying to prove that they were men by climbing the rope and swinging on the rings.

The title “Muscle Beach” can be confusing because there is the original one in Santa Monica and another one a couple miles down the beach in Venice. The original one began in the 1930′s and drew large crowds until it was shut down in 1959 because it was attracting the “wrong sorts of people and behavior.” It was reopened a few months later but it wasn’t allowed to be called Muscle Beach nor could anyone engage in Muscle Beach-related types of activities. Muscle Beach Venice jumped at the chance for the show to be moved to their location.

As a little girl in the 1960′s, I remember going to the beach with my family and standing amongst a crowd watching gymnasts and body-builders show off their stunts. It had an almost carnival atmosphere about it and I’m sure many of those athletes were hoping that they would become the next Steve Reeves or Jack LaLanne. There is no doubt that this exhibition was taking place at Muscle Beach Venice since the Santa Monica beach would not have allowed it to take place.

While the Santa Monica Muscle Beach will never regain its former glory, there are days when it is easy to imagine what it was like during those heady times. A couple of months ago when we were strolling along the promenade after lunch, we stopped to watch a handful of body builders go through their paces. While we were there, several elderly men showed up. Their skin was leather from all of the time spent in the sun and they looked to be well into their late 70′s but they were amazingly fit and could hold their own against the younger guys with the larger muscles.

While watching the kids show off yesterday, I thought of all of those kids who created Muscle Beach in the first place and started “the fitness craze.”