The Street Seen: Edgemar
2415-2449 Main Street @ Hollister
Edgemar is a mixed-use retail and arts center, developed by local resident Abby Sher on the former Edgemar Eggs / Imperial Ice Company site.
Originally developed in 1908 by the Imperial Ice Company as an ice making facility, in 1946, the property becomes an egg processing and distribution plant for the Edgemar Eggs division of the Venice-based Santa Monica Dairy Company.1
Edgemar Eggs ceases operations in 1981, and in 1983 the Main Street property is put on the market.
In 1984 Abby Sher, a neighbor and daughter of the Orange County shopping center developer Sydney Sher (1907 – 1983), purchases the 50,000 sq-ft Edgemar Eggs property from the Michel Brothers (who had acquired the Imperial Ice Company in 1971).
Sher’s vision is to develop a mixed-use shopping center, and arts museum to draw people to new and contemporary art who would not ordinarily visit a stand-alone museum.
The design of the new center is awarded to Frank O. Gehry & Associates who modifies the existing Imperial Ice Co. / Edgemar Eggs buildings and adds new buildings.
After overcoming planning and site use issues2 with the City of Santa Monica, in 1985 Sher receives approval from the City for the use of the Edgemar Eggs site for a mixed-use development containing the Santa Monica Museum of Art,3 retail stores,4 a restaurant,5 offices, artist lofts, and parking.
Edgemar opens in 1989. The City installs traffic lights and a crosswalk to Main St. public parking in 1990.
Sher sells Egdemar in 2007.
Santa Monica Dairy Company sells products under their EDGEMAR® registered trademark.
Sher, who has no previous experience either in development or museums, and no art collection of her own, encounters some opposition:
Instead of praise for improving the neighborhood, local residents have deep sentiments in regard to noise, traffic, and parking.
The retail / museum concept is new. No prudent real estate developer would undertake this project. Critics accused Sher of using the museum as a lure to obtain City approval.
There is animosity in the local arts community over the not-for-profit, privately funded Santa Monica Museum of Art. Art professionals say Sher should not be operating the museum as she has no training in the arts. Conflicts arise between Sher the developer / landlord and Sher the museum founder. The museum is given 5 years rent free.
What started out as excitement from the City quickly goes downhill with construction noise and other violations. Several events are held at Edgemar before obtaining a Certificate of Occupancy - resulting in the City filing 15 counts of criminal violation of the municipal code against Sher.
Sher forms the not-for-profit Santa Monica Museum of Art (SMMOA). The first exhibition, “Art in the Raw,” opens in 1988 (before the 1989 Edgemar official opening) in the raw warehouse space. The Santa Monica Museum of Art occupies the space from 1989 until 1996, when it moves to Bergamot. The museum space is then altered into a rehearsal and performance space.
The first Ben & Jerry’s ice cream west of Chicago opens at Edgemar in 1989.
Peter De Luca is planning to open the Edgemar Grill in the 1928 cold storage addition - but the project falls through due to restrictions on operating hours - and Rockenwagner opens in the space in 1991. Having failed to obtain a permit for outdoor seating in 1997, Rockenwagner moves on in early 2006.