It technically is the last link, the western end of California Avenue, a major east–west street in Santa Monica.

The California Incline was originally a walkway known as Sunset Trail, which was cut through the bluffs to provide beach access to pedestrians in 1896.

[4][5] In 2007, the City of Santa Monica secured federal highway funds to replace the structure with one meeting current seismic standards.

It was also featured in the hardboiled crime novel, In a Lonely Place (1942), written by Dorothy B.

[9] It was also portrayed in some video games including Street Racing Syndicate, Midnight Club II, Midnight Club: LA (and its Remix version), American Truck Simulator, and Grand Theft Auto V.[10]