Muscle Beach History - by Stuntmovie

[funk51]

 

[stuntmovie1]

FUNK, Thanks for those old shots. I can actually recall some of those old shops/buildings int he background and a couple of them are still standing.

There was an old two story, three bedroom, beachfront home that looked like a cottage out of one of the Grimes tales that was being offered for sale.

Asking price was $34,000 if I recall correctly.  We were thinking about buying it but got called out to some turmoil overseas and it's no longer standing there today.

That small parcel of land is most likely worth many millions today.

And the old alcoholic/drug recovery apartments have long gone and are now very expensive, beachfront condos.

Before then, most of that Santa Monica beachfront property was the property of private beach clubs wit h expensive monthly dues.

Some of those expensive beach clubs are still situated on very nice property a mile or so north of what was once Muscle Beach.

Almost nothing is the same no move!

And that's too bad, because most everything was better then.

But you'll have to take my word for that.

[funk51]

 

[mofo1960]

FUNK, Thanks for those old shots. I can actually recall some of those old shops/buildings int he background and a couple of them are still standing.

There was an old two story, three bedroom, beachfront home that looked like a cottage out of one of the Grimes tales that was being offered for sale.

Asking price was $34,000 if I recall correctly.  We were thinking about buying it but got called out to some turmoil overseas and it's no longer standing there today.

That small parcel of land is most likely worth many millions today.

And the old alcoholic/drug recovery apartments have long gone and are now very expensive, beachfront condos.

Before then, most of that Santa Monica beachfront property was the property of private beach clubs wit h expensive monthly dues.

Some of those expensive beach clubs are still situated on very nice property a mile or so north of what was once Muscle Beach.

Almost nothing is the same no move!

And that's too bad, because most everything was better then.

But you'll have to take my word for that.

Stuntmovie, you reference the drug/alcohol rehab apartments in the background of one of those old shots. In High School one of our teachers organized a trip to speak with residents of what I believe is the place you are referencing. I went there in 1978, and the large Brownstone (?) building was named the 'Synanon" center. I remember speaking with one of the residents who had his head shaved, and spoke very softly and quietly. Very odd to a 17 year old High School kid on a 'field trip" from a Parochial High School in the burbs.
 You are right about the stretch of beach front real estate. Shutters, Casa Del Mar, Loews have replaced the more egalitarian and stark beach apartment "crashpads" of old.

[The Scott]

FUNK, Thanks for those old shots. I can actually recall some of those old shops/buildings int he background and a couple of them are still standing.

There was an old two story, three bedroom, beachfront home that looked like a cottage out of one of the Grimes tales that was being offered for sale.

Asking price was $34,000 if I recall correctly.  We were thinking about buying it but got called out to some turmoil overseas and it's no longer standing there today.

That small parcel of land is most likely worth many millions today.

And the old alcoholic/drug recovery apartments have long gone and are now very expensive, beachfront condos.

Before then, most of that Santa Monica beachfront property was the property of private beach clubs wit h expensive monthly dues.

Some of those expensive beach clubs are still situated on very nice property a mile or so north of what was once Muscle Beach.

Almost nothing is the same no move!

And that's too bad, because most everything was better then.

But you'll have to take my word for that.

Stunt, you are correct.  Everything was better back then.  I don't mind change for the better but what has happened in this world is anything but.  People are assholes.  Men, women and children wear t-shirts in public with filth written all over them.  Women dress like whores.  Men like ghetto crap.  I've seen adult males, black, white brown, red and yellow wearing those stupid baggy "shorts" pulled down around their butt crack.  They're in their 40 through 60s for Buddha's sake!

People with more tattoos than a drunken sailor and enough piercings to look like a Down's Syndrome kid on a fishing trip after trying to bait a hook.

And "bodybuilders"?  To hell with them!  Drugs.  All fooking drugs. 

Doubtless there are some that will bring up the "race card" and whine about how racist America was (and is).  Screw 'em.  I treated everyone equally when I was growing up.  What others do isn't my problem. I've had the crap kicked out of me by black guys calling me "white boy" or "cracker" or "whitey".  Fook those racist buttwipes.  Growing up I never once heard any black kids speak that ghetto gibberish ebonics.  Never.  The kids I knew wanted to be better.  Then the sixties mentality started to take over late in the decade and the Great Society was formed so as to bring back indentured servitude for votes.

I need a Way-Back Machine.  Now.

[Mr. MB]

Well said.

[funk51]

  had a chance to make it out in the early 70's wish i had gone

[Vince B]

I made this photo larger and cleaned it up a bit.

[funk51]

  scan from an old ironman

[stuntmovie1]

FUNK, Thanks again. The above is too small to read the fine print and I have yet to enlarge it but I'm sure that article is all about The DUNGEON.

I'm most likely the sole GetBigger who ever stumbled into the DUNGEON while it existed and here's  what I can recall of that adventurous mishap which was probably and definitely not  a "mishap" basck in them good old days and may most definitely be an inaccurate discription.

I forget the year (late 50's or early 60's??) but it was a bright sunny afternoon in Santa Monica and what's important to realize here ...is that things were so much different then.

("Different" being something you can never understand until your life-span gains a few moire years that allows you to see and say that "Things were so much different then!") But you'll be saying it soon enough.

Gyms as we know then now were relatively non-existent back then and if you wanted to really lift heavy things you either had to have a home gym of your own such as the home gym  in garage (or was it simply a car-port) frequented by the likes of Bill Peanuts West and George Frenn and a very smaller handful of other relatively crazy individuals .... or you could go and lift heavy stuff at Joe's home made, heavy equipment stuff down by the beach a mile or so south of the more civilized beach town known as Santa Monica by the Sea.

But I gotta be honest and admit that the DUNGEON was one of the least civilized of any uncivilized place of business imaginable  ...... and needless to say  it 'stooped' somewhat proudly within the very center of the very civil City by the  Sea most commonly referred to as Santa Monica.

SO it was a sunny day and I wanted to do some heavy bench-pressing and  I happened to stubble into this den of inequity.

"Stumble" is a pretty accurate description of my first visit because my eyes were accustomed to the bright sunlight and the entrance to the Dungeon was similar to the entrance of an ancient cave with pretty ancient and worn out steps leading to a darkened  recess beneath a now long forgotten and demolished building.

At the bottom of these stairs it was dark enough to hit your nose on the wall if there was a wall .... but it was way too dark to see if one existed unless tour nose first made contact.

So I called out ... "Is anyone here? Is this place open?"

Pure silence, so since I was a lot smarter back in them good old days, I figured that the DUNFEON was closed today and climbed back up those stairs and into the sunlight and turned right and walked the mile or two down to Gold's ... a much more civilized undertaking where I seem to recall that the yearly membership was maybe just around $36. And possibly even less.

That is what I can recall of my first visit to the Dungeon and that walk south to Gold's where Joe was in the back welding stuff together and told me to use his equipment for  free and tell him how I liked it before departing.

Now I plan to do some research and see if there is any historical info regarding the DUNGEON.

Dave Draper used to train there frequently and he just might  be the last remaining individual on this planet who could provide some accurate info but I'd be surprised if he is a GetBig fan and I've lost contact wit n him many years ago.

And no one alive today has any recollection of one of the very original but very small Santa Monica gyms that was situated much closer to Muscle Beach in the only high rise building on the beach at that time which name I have presently forgotten.

I'm nsot certain but I think it was Joe Gold's original location.

Sorry for the length of this one but I guess it's too dan late to warn those who don't want to read text that is too damn lengthy

Thanks agaoin, Funk. Maybe it's time for me to recontact Dave.

[funk51]

FUNK, Thanks again. The above is too small to read the fine print and I have yet to enlarge it but I'm sure that article is all about The DUNGEON.

I'm most likely the sole GetBigger who ever stumbled into the DUNGEON while it existed and here's  what I can recall of that adventurous mishap which was probably and definitely not  a "mishap" basck in them good old days and may most definitely be an inaccurate discription.

I forget the year (late 50's or early 60's??) but it was a bright sunny afternoon in Santa Monica and what's important to realize here ...is that things were so much different then.

("Different" being something you can never understand until your life-span gains a few moire years that allows you to see and say that "Things were so much different then!") But you'll be saying it soon enough.

Gyms as we know then now were relatively non-existent back then and if you wanted to really lift heavy things you either had to have a home gym of your own such as the home gym  in garage (or was it simply a car-port) frequented by the likes of Bill Peanuts West and George Frenn and a very smaller handful of other relatively crazy individuals .... or you could go and lift heavy stuff at Joe's home made, heavy equipment stuff down by the beach a mile or so south of the more civilized beach town known as Santa Monica by the Sea.

But I gotta be honest and admit that the DUNGEON was one of the least civilized of any uncivilized place of business imaginable  ...... and needless to say  it 'stooped' somewhat proudly within the very center of the very civil City by the  Sea most commonly referred to as Santa Monica.

SO it was a sunny day and I wanted to do some heavy bench-pressing and  I happened to stubble into this den of inequity.

"Stumble" is a pretty accurate description of my first visit because my eyes were accustomed to the bright sunlight and the entrance to the Dungeon was similar to the entrance of an ancient cave with pretty ancient and worn out steps leading to a darkened  recess beneath a now long forgotten and demolished building.

At the bottom of these stairs it was dark enough to hit your nose on the wall if there was a wall .... but it way too dark to see if one existed.

So called out ... "Is anyone here? Is this place open?"

Pure silence, so since I was a lot smarter back in them good old days, I figured that the DUNFEON was closed today and climbed back up those stairs and into the sunlight and turned right and walked the mile or two down to Gold's ... a much more civilized undertaking where I seem to recall that the yearly membership was maybe just around $36. And possibly even less.

That is what I can recall of my first visit to the Dungeon and walk south to Gold's where Joe was in the back welding stuff together and told me to use his equipment for  free and tell him how I liked it before departing.

Now I plan to do some research and see if there is any historical info regarding the DUNGEON.

Dave Draper used to train there frequently and he just might  be the last remaining individual on this planet who could provide some accurate info but I'd be surprised if he is a GetBig fan and I've lost contact wit n him many years ago.

And no one alive today has any recollection of one of the very original but very small Santa Monica gyms that was situated much closer to Muscle Beach in the only high rise building on the beach at that time which name I have presently forgotten.

I'm nsot certain but I think it was Joe Gold's original location.

Sorry for the length of this one but I guess it's too dan late to warn those who don't want to read text that is too damn lengthy

Thanks agaoin, Funk. Maybe it's time for me to recontact Dave.

   thanks for the input...

[stuntmovie1]

FUNK, Can you ID the guy in that photo with Dave.

He looks familiar but that's the best I can do.

It appears to have been definitely taken at the Dungeon.

[stuntmovie1]

Here! I refer you all to Dave Draper's great BB history site... http://www.davedraper.com/joe-gold-dungeon.html

I think that Dave says it best regarding the DUNGEON......

"Once upon a time there was a big hole in the ground on top of which sat a five story hotel, 50 tired years old housing grumpy pensioners and a smelly tavern with warped floors. All of this existed just two blocks from the grand palisades of Santa Monica and her majestic blue Pacific.

The hole, or "Dungeon" as it was affectionately called by its then-all male attendees, was the beach-removed site of the Muscle Beach Gym. Two long, steep staircases penetrated the eternal dimness of the gym, illumination coming from 3 strategically located 60 watt bulbs. Too much light and you might see where you were and leave - in a hurry. The concrete floor was cracked and bulging, the walls crumbling and the ceiling 12 feet overhead was sagging, especially where the ground floor bar leaked beerlike brownish ooze. An ankle deep puddle formed near the squat rack each winter and nobody used the shower or toilet except in emergencies. I hated emergencies!

Milk crates, old 2X4's and splintered plywood nailed together by nearsighted musclebound carpenters made up most of the benches and racks. Pulleys and twisted cable from a nearby Venice boatyard, a dozen Olympic bars, bent and rusty, tons of plates scattered throughout the 2500 square foot floor, dumbbells up to 160's that rattled at broken welds added final touches to complete unquestionably the greatest gym in the world.

Here bodybuilding began, embryonic. The original, not the imitation. Here exercises were invented, equipment improvised, muscle shape and size imagined and built, and an authentic atmosphere existed like a primal ooze. You were awash in basics and honesty. I loved it then, the memory more now."

[stuntmovie1]

Interesting to note that Dave mentions that the equipment in the DUNGEON was actually the same gear that was originally used at  SM Muscle Beach.

It would be interesting to know where that equipment  is  today.

[funk51]

  firewood with the wooden benches...

[funk51]

  mr muscle beach circa 1953...

[Mr. MB]

I was there. Most likely me...the kid without the shirt bottom left. I broke my clavicle earlier that year flying off of my Schwinn when the chain snapped and lodged in the rear spokes.  The separation is still evident as in this pic some 61+ years later.

As long as I could find trolly change, pack a Pnutt butter sand and a Coke I was off to MB.

[The Scott]

mr muscle beach circa 1953...

Oh lord!  Those women are simply beautiful!

To the Wayback Machine!  Now!

[stuntmovie1]

Thanks for those there photos!

MB, SCOTT .....  I'm pretty darn sure that the lady receiving the trophy was the mother/grandmother of a prominent Hawaii wrestler way back then.

Maybe the Rock's grandmother??

The guy who appears to be presenting the trophy is Ed Holvochek who appeared in the background in a handful of 20th Century Fox films (mostly WWII flicks and early day gladiator shenanigans) eventually became Ed Fury who was also one hell of a fine singer if my memory serves me correctly.

[stuntmovie1]

MB, How far from the beach did you live?

We used to live in a SM community which was a series of early 1930's  (?) two/tree bedroom 'shacks'  that was situated in a park like setting with a lot of tropical trees scattered throughout the area.

But I forget its exact location. Not too far from the beach though.

And in what year was the above photo taken. I'm gonna guess mid to late 1960's.

CORRECTION.... Imeant to type "mid to late 1950's) I think!

[Primemuscle]

MB, How far from the beach did you live?

We used to live in a SM community which was a series of early 1930's  (?) two/tree bedroom 'shacks'  that was situated in a park like setting with a lot of tropical trees scattered throughout the area.

But I forget its exact location. Not too far from the beach though.

And in what year was the above photo taken. I'm gonna guess mid to late 1960's.

When I was 18 years old and moved out on my own, I moved to Santa Monica. I rented an apartment about two blocks from the beach. I don't remember what the rent was but it had to be cheap since I didn't have a pot to piss in back then. The apartment was at the south end of Santa Monica, not far from Venice Beach. Those were the days!

After a winter at the beach, I moved to West Hollywood right off Sunset strip. In retrospect, this seems funny since winter at the beach seemed depressing weather wise and now I live in Oregon, 80 + miles from the ocean. I do miss those hot sunny days laying out on the beach in Santa Monica.

[stuntmovie1]

PRIME, I don't know the years in which you lived in the Santa Monica area but from your description it sounds like you lived in or near the location in which the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium is now situated.

Rent and utilities were so damn much cheaper then.

I didn't have to pay any rent in SoCal while I was stationed at Pendleton but we'd have to pay about $12 a nite for a weekend Saturday nite when we got a room right up the hill from the Santa Monica Pier.

And back then I was paying about $70 a month for an apartment in Waikiki less than two blocks from the beach with a full on utility payment
of less than $20 each month.

I saw the handwriting on the wall when they raised the rent to $75/month and ended up buying one of the apartments for $12,000

I usually always end up this stuff by saying, "THINGS WERE SO MUCH DIFFERENT THEN!", but  there's no need to end up saying it here.

For about 98% of my present lifetime, I've never lived further than 200 yards from some of the best of the finest beaches in this universe.

[funk51]

FUNK, Can you ID the guy in that photo with Dave.

He looks familiar but that's the best I can do.

It appears to have been definitely taken at the Dungeon.

i asked laree draper on fb , today....

[funk51]

i asked laree draper on fb , today....

merle carlson was the other guys name...

[stuntmovie1]

Thanks, FUNK. Merle looks familiar but I don't recall ever meeting him.

Below is a photo of Ed Holvocheck and one of the Muscle Beach babes with an old high-rise in the background.

That old high-rise is now a very expensive apartment hotel consisting of studio and one bedroom units priced at $3,000 to $5,000 a month+.

That building has an interesting history which I wish I knew more about.

Fifty-plus years ago it was somewhat similar to the standard YMCA with hotel rooms on the upper floors.

And there was a large indoor swimming pool right where the main entrance to the building is today on the Beachwalk.

Years later it became a drug rehabilitation center.

And today it is an expensive beachfront complex for long and short term tenants and is called The Sand Castle.

You can see the beachfront wall which separates the beach-sand from the Sand Castle.... That wall used to be what most beach regulars back then referred to as the "wind protector" where some of the guys who finished a workout would sit in front of and get a tan while those who chose tanning locations away from that wall would get a blast of sand every time a small gust of wind came up.

On most sunny days during any given month ... the sun would not appear until a bit after 11 AM each morning, but even if it was early and foggy, there was usually someone lifting heavy things in the weight lifting enclosure.

I first met Doug Strohl on a very early, cold, winter day when it was difficult to see twenty yards through the fog.

I don't recall if it was called 'The Pit' back then. I think that term came later when Venice took over.

Just another piece of long forgotten and unimportant Muscle Beach history!

OH, yea! I think that the sun still comes out around 11 or a little after if it intends to show up at all.

I guess old habits are hard to break.