Subject: Santa Monica, California
Period: 1912 (dated)
Publication:
Color: Black & White
Size:
24.8 x 16.6 inches
63 x 42.2 cm
This rare real estate map advertises lots available for sale in the newly established Gillette's Regent Square section of Santa Monica. This 25-block section extends from Montana Avenue northwest to San Vicente Boulevard and from 17th Street northeast to 21st Place (next to Riviera Country Club). This area was named after King C. Gillette, inventor of the safety razor, who retired from that business in 1910 and invested his fortune in real estate, including a number of investments in California. Gillette's 570 lots were slightly larger than average and aimed at the growing middle class, though it took several years for this to happen. When Gillette bought the tract in 1912, the area was largely a tourist destination only, but with the advent of the automobile, development boomed in Santa Monica in the 1920s. Interestingly, this area is still known by its Gillette's Regent Square name and is a highly desirable neighborhood with average home prices well into the millions. Drawn by Knapp & Woodard, Civil Engineers. No past sales records and no institutional examples located on OCLC.
References:
Condition: B+
Issued folding on thin onionskin paper with minor foxing, a few light stains, and a couple of tiny splits at the fold junctions.