By Lookout Staff

October 1, 2014 – The Santa Monica Conservancy will host its annual fundraising salon to support its educational programs on October 12 at 3 p.m. at the historic Bundy House located at 401 25th Street.

Tickets for the afternoon reception, which will feature music, wine and hors d’oeuvres, are $195 for Santa Monica Conservancy members and $225 for the general public.

Attendees have until October 8 to buy tickets online at www.smconservancy.org or by mailing a check with contact information including phone and/or email to Santa Monica Conservancy, P.O. Box 653, Santa Monica, CA 90406.

Proceeds support the educational programs of the Conservancy, a nonprofit which promotes “understanding of the cultural, economic and environmental benefits of historic preservation.”

The Bundy house was constructed in 1913 for developer Thomas Clark Bundy and his wife, tennis champion May Sutton Bundy. The home was designed by eminent Los Angeles architects Hunt & Burns.

“This house was one of the first constructed in its neighborhood, and remains highly intact today, retaining its original blend of Colonial Revival and Craftsman features,” said Carol Lemlein, President of the Conservancy.

The house is notable not only for its fine architecture but also for the colorful stories of its owners. 

May Sutton Bundy was a pioneering tennis player and sports celebrity who set numerous records.  Winning her first tournament at age 12 in 1900, she was the first American to win at Wimbledon in 1905 and the first athlete to be selected as Queen of the Tournament of Roses. 

Neither marriage nor motherhood slowed her athletic career, and she continued to compete and take titles over several decades, winning her last match in 1975 at age 88, a few months before her death.

Thomas Clark Bundy, also a tennis champion, was best known as a real estate entrepreneur, developing 2,000 acres in Sherman Oaks as well as a large area at Wilshire and La Brea.  He also founded the Los Angeles Tennis Club near Melrose and Vine in 1920. Bundy Drive is named after him.

Today, the Bundy House’s current owners Meredith Stiehm – creator of TV shows Cold Case and The Bridge -- and Tom Smuts -- a writer/producer on AMC's Emmy-nominated “Mad Men,” -- are raising their family in the house and successfully sought landmark status for their property.

The Bundy House was designated as Santa Monica’s 108th Landmark earlier this year.

The Santa Monica Conservancy was founded in 2002 to help preserve the bayside city’s historical buildings and homes.

The Conservancy has advocated for landmark status for important structures including the Embassy Hotel Apartments, the Builder’s Exchange and Phillips Chapel.

They have also formed support organizations to save the last intact shotgun house in Santa Monica and rally public support for the transformation of the historic Marion Davies estate into the Annenberg Community Beach House.

In addition, the group has developed and staffed a weekly Downtown Walking Tour and the docent program at the Annenberg Community Beach House.  They have also offered tours of La Mesa Drive, Adelaide Drive and the Third Street Historic District, as well as lectures and workshops of preservation topics.

Additionally, the Conservancy created  a docent-led tour of Palisades Park and its Ocean Avenue neighborhood.

For more information, contact info@smconservancy.org or call 310-396-3146.