SAVE BERGAMOT STATION ARTS CENTER
31 Years of Art + Community Under Threat

Bergamot Station Arts Center is Santa Monica’s landmark arts hub and one of the densest collections of independent galleries on the West Coast. About 30 galleries, theaters, and creative organizations lease space at Bergamot, making it a cornerstone of the region’s cultural life since 1994.

This February 2025, Santa Monica City Council has declared Bergamot “surplus land,” a legal step that allows the city to lease it to private developers for a housing project. This would mean demolition of Bergamot and the loss of 31 years of cultural and community space.

Why Bergamot Matters: 

• Free and inclusive: Bergamot is free and open to the public, serving residents, tourists, students, and anyone who wants to learn and experience culture and art—unlike museums that often charge $25 or more.
• Diversity of voices: A platform for emerging and mid-career artists—especially local— celebrated alongside museum-collected masters.
• Community impact: Welcomes over half a million visitors each year.
• Cultural ecosystem: Provides a rare and essential space that sustains a thriving arts community in Los Angeles and Santa Monica.
• Unique architecture & location: Frederick Fisher’s landmark structures would be lost forever—and with them, a uniquely accessible cultural hub located at a historic railway station, easily reached from across Greater Los Angeles.

From local art galleries, a comedy club, a non-profit performing arts center, and many public arts programs, this community is an integral part of Santa Monica's character. 

The Stakes:

Replacing Bergamot with a housing project will:

• Erase a historic cultural hub that has stood for over 30 years at the heart of Santa Monica’s “Cultural Corridor.”
• Displace galleries and organizations—some of which have been here since day one—whose founders and staff have devoted their lives to nurturing art and community.
• Add traffic and density to an already overburdened Olympic Boulevard.
• Overlook many viable alternatives, including other available sites that do not threaten a landmark of creativity and culture.

Act Now!

Bergamot is still standing, and there’s still time to preserve its cultural significance. Many solutions could exist that create a mutually beneficial relationship between this historic arts center and the needs of the city. Redevelopment could move forward while preserving the galleries, creative businesses, and cultural spaces that make Bergamot unique. Its mixed-use designation could accommodate new development, as long as the arts and community legacy are fully respected.

But the city has not made it mandatory to protect any of this. They have paved the way to demolish Bergamot entirely—and most likely will do so unless we demand they make it mandatory to protect its cultural purpose.

WE URGE:

• Residents of Santa Monica and Los Angeles: Share this with your neighbors, network, and community. Demand that City Council reconsider its decision.
• Artists, arts leaders, and friends of the arts: Unite to defend Bergamot and its legacy—this issue affects the arts community far beyond Santa Monica.
• Journalists & online media: Shine a spotlight on this cultural crisis.

• EVERYONE: Ask yourself—are you okay with the message that “art is surplus”? We cannot allow local governments to trade art for short-term profit. We cannot allow this to legally happen in silence. Share this story, raise awareness, and attend council meetings.

Have a hand? Lend your experience! Knowledge of local government, city-level redevelopment, cultural preservation, content/video production, or storytelling can make a real difference to this community. Share how Bergamot has affected you, or offer your skills. Reach out here: SavingBergamot.com to help—even by sharing a message of support.

Follow the @SavingBergamot Instagram for updates - https://www.instagram.com/savingbergamot/