Santa Monica Pier

The landmark entrance to Santa Monica Pier

The pier with Pacific Park on the left

The Santa Monica Pier is located at the foot of Colorado Avenue in Santa Monica, California and is a prominent landmark.

Attractions

The pier contains Pacific Park, a family amusement park with a large ferris wheel. It also has a carousel from the 1920s, an aquarium, shops, entertainers, an arcade, a pub, and restaurants. At the end of the pier, anglers may pursue their hobby. During the summer months, a free Thursday Twilight Dance Series is held. Free open-air film screenings occur from early August to late September. The Pier film series began in July 2003 with screenings of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jaws, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, and Grease. The next two years had 10 screenings each summer on Tuesday nights. As of the Summer 2007 the outdoor film screenings are not currently taking place.

History

Santa Monica has had several piers over the years, however the current Santa Monica Pier is actually two adjoining piers that long had separate owners. The long, narrow Municipal Pier opened September 91909 primarily to carry sewer pipes beyond the breakers, and had no amenities. The short, wide adjoining Pleasure Pier (AKA Newcomb Pier) to the south was built in 1916 by Charles I. D. Looff and his son Arthur, amusement park pioneers.

The Carousel was built in 1922 on the Pleasure Pier and features 44 hand-carved horses. It was rebuilt in 1990 inside the Looff Hippodrome. A calliope provides musical accompaniment.

The La Monica Ballroom opened in 1924 and closed in 1962. The La Monica Ballroom became home to Spade Cooley in the early fifties. From 1958 until 1962 it served as a roller skating rink, first as Skater's Ballroom and then Santa Monica Roller Rink.The speed skating club won many state and regional championships.The bridge to the pier and entry gate were built in 1938 by the federal Works Project Administration, and replaced the former grade connection.

The Looff Pier, then known as Newcomb Pier, was acquired by the city in the 1953. In the 1960s various plans were proposed that would entail removal of the pier. The strangest one called for the construction of an artificial island with a 1500-room hotel. It was approved by the City Council, but citizens formed Save the Santa Monica Bay to preserve the pier. The outstanding order to raze the pier was revoked by the city council in 1973. That same year the Carousel and Hippodrome was a memorable setting in The Sting, (although it was set in Chicago).

The pier on screen

Because of the nearby film industry, the pier and the nearby Santa Monica boardwalk are used for location shoots for television and movies. This list of movies at IMDb is representative but incomplete [1]. The pier is also featured during the fourth and fifth season opening titles to Three's Company. Also, in the movie A Night at the Roxbury, the pier can be seen in the background of the beach scene. Perhaps its most famous appearance on screen is in Titanic or in Forrest Gump, where Forrest runs to the west coast and turns around and heads back east. Ironically, there is a Bubba Gump Shrimp Company Restaurant on the Pier. The pier was a location in the Lonelygirl15 12 in 12 Season One Finale. The Santa Monica Peir was also featured in the popular video game. Tony Hawks American Wasteland.

Weather

The temperature in Santa Monica is generally lower than inland areas by about 10 degrees Fahrenheit (6 degrees Celsius), but that difference can increase to 30 degrees or more compared to the nearby valleys. Even in the summer months, the breeze can be relatively cool in the mornings and evenings, especially during periods of overcast referred to as June gloom.

Photo gallery

A panorama of the Santa Monica Pier near dusk on August 17, 2007.

• 
  Looff Hippodrome on the pier
• 
  Santa Monica beach and pier.
• Santa Monica Pier
  Santa Monica Pier
• 
  Beneath the pier

See also

• Santa Monica Pier Aquarium — Aquarium on the pier operated by Heal the Bay, and formerly known as the Ocean Discovery Center
• Pacific Park — the amusement park portion of the pier
• Hot Dog on a Stick — original, opened in 1946, found on the sidewalk just south of the pier in front of what used to be Muscle Beach
• Pacific Ocean Park — former (1958-1967) amusement park one pier south of Santa Monica Pier; demolished in 1974
• Santa Monica bicycle path — path that runs though a bike-only underpass under the pier

External links

• Official web site — directory with links to the arcade, the aquarium, and more, plus directions, history, etc.
• Pacific Park — information about the rides, attractions, and food court on the pier
• Twilight Dance Series — free concerts that run on the pier from June through September
• Santa Monica "Drive-in" at the pier — free films at the pier in August through September
• Taste of Santa Monica — annual September event featuring Santa Monica restaurants

34°00′31″N 118°29′55″W