Muscle Beach

Original Muscle Beach, Santa Monica, June 2011 The traveling rings on the sand just south of Santa Monica Pier are where the whole idea started. In the 1930s the city used federal Works Progress Administration money to build a beach playground, and athletes soon added a gymnastics platform, bars and rings. The heavy lifters moved down the coast decades ago, but the rings, bars and ropes still draw gymnasts, acrobats and anyone willing to swing a few laps barefoot in front of a crowd. Bring chalk and expect an audience.