A monumental location in Santa Monica’s Black history is now forever immortalized.
On Monday, the Santa Monica Landmarks Commission confirmed the Tucker House at 1958 20th St. as a Santa Monica Landmark after recommendation from City staff and its historic resource consultant. Nominated by the Santa Monica Conservancy and Quinn Research Center, the Tucker House is named after the city’s first Black physician, Dr. Marcus O. Tucker.
Tucker initially moved to Santa Monica in 1931 alongside his wife, Essie, opening a practice in the Murrell building at 402-404 Pico Blvd. before building his own medical office at 424 Pico Blvd. The doctor served on staff of Santa Monica, Culver City and St. John’s hospitals, treating patients until his death in 1944, and also aided the community in various civic projects.
The Tucker House itself, home to the doctor and his family, meets three designations under the Landmarks Commission criteria, with the commission noted as being “enthusiastic in their support” by city staff.
According to the criteria, the building “exemplifies, symbolizes, or manifests elements of the cultural, social, economic, political or architectural history of the city.” It also “is identified with historic personages or with important events in local, state or national history,” and “is a significant or a representative example of the work or product of a notable builder, designer or architect.”
The last point comes from the designer of the home, Paul Revere Williams, who was a distinguished architect and the first Black member of the American Institute of Architects. Williams’ work on the abode, Santa Monica Conservancy noted, is “architecturally notable as a distinguished example of American Colonial Revival style” applied to a single-family residence.
Not only was the doctor a notable part of Santa Monica history, his wife was as well, as Essie became a very successful realtor in the area. Along with developing two apartment buildings at 20th St. and Virginia Ave., she also owned the Shore Hotel from 1956 to 1986, and was able to work toward housing visiting African students at UCLA. The latter piece of business earned her an invitation to 1960’s Nigeria independence celebrations.
The family legacy carried to the next generation as well, as son Marcus Jr. was the first Black deputy city attorney of Santa Monica, serving from 1963 to 1965. His wife, Indira, was instrumental in establishing the Marcus O. Tucker Jr. Collection at the Santa Monica Main Library.
In a city typically divided about housing matters, this is one item that received unanimous support, including from locals that have seen the Tucker family pass through their lives.
“As a longtime Santa Monica resident and personal friend of the Tuckers since my husband and I moved our family here in 1966, I am in favor of landmarking their family home both as a cultural landmark due to the significance of the contributions of the senior and junior generations of Tuckers … I look forward to the assurance that this home and its (surroundings) can be maintained in a fitting manner,” local Sheila Banani wrote to the Landmarks Commission.
Other public correspondence referred to the social and historical context of not only the home, but the area it impacted, as other middle-class Black residents followed in the Tuckers’ footsteps in purchasing lots around Virginia Avenue and 20th St.
“The Tucker House deserves landmark designation based on its historical, architectural and cultural significance and as an important affirmation of the contributions of Santa Monica’s African-American community,” Committee for Racial Justice’s Joanne Berlin stated.
