Community, Diversity, Sustainability and other Overused Words

Wonders of the World Gallery and Museum at Lincoln and Broadway Closed due to Looters

A total of 131 Santa Monica businesses were looted the evening of May 31. These included chains such as Vons and CVS, and also sole proprietors

Henry Runge, the cerebral and deeply inoffensive man who owns Wonders of the World Gallery and Museum at Lincoln and Broadway, reportedly is in the hospital recovering from injuries he suffered when he was attacked by rioters and looters the evening of May 31, in his Santa Monica store.

The store sells archaeological artifacts and dinosaur bones, and is one of the few places in the world where you can buy a triceratops skull, if you have an extra $10,000 or so to spend on it.

Runge has been in the same location for 30 years. Like many other business owners, he decided to defend his livelihood from looters who drove into Santa Monica from other places to punish business owners for what Minneapolis police did to some man Runge had never even heard of.

The store now sits looted and boarded up, with BLM and other murals now covering the plywood over the windows. It is unknown when, if ever, the unique and eclectic place will reopen.

A total of 131 Santa Monica businesses were looted the evening of May 31. These included chains such as Vons and CVS, and also sole proprietors like Runge. A debate has broken out about the Police, who put their limited resources into protecting the Santa Monica Pier, and left other areas to be looted, some allege.

 

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