Santa Monica Pier

Santa Monica Pier
	Landmark entrance to the Santa Monica Pier.
Type	Amusement Pier
Spans	Pacific Ocean
Locale	Santa Monica, California; United States
Characteristics
History
Opening date	September 9, 1909
Coordinates	34°00′31″N 118°29′55″W / 34.00861°N 118.49861°W
Santa Monica Historic Landmark
Designated	August 17, 1976

The Santa Monica Pier is a large double-jointed pier located at the foot of Colorado Avenue in Santa Monica, California and is a prominent, 100-year-old landmark.^[2]

Attractions

Pacific Park

The pier contains Pacific Park, a family amusement park with a large Ferris wheel. (This should not be confused with Pacific Ocean Park, a former amusement park a few miles south of Santa Monica Pier, which operated from 1958 to 1967 and is now demolished.)

Other attractions

It also has a carousel from the 1920s, the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium, shops, entertainers, a video arcade, a trapeze school, a pub, and restaurants. The end of the pier is a popular location for anglers.

History

The Ferris wheel and roller coaster lights at night, 2009.

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 9, 1909,^[3] primarily to carry sewer pipes beyond the breakers,^[4] and had no amenities. The short, wide adjoining Pleasure Pier to the south, a.k.a. Newcomb Pier, was built in 1916 by Charles I. D. Looff and his son Arthur, amusement park pioneers.^[5] Attractions on the Pleasure Pier eventually included the Santa Monica Looff Hippodrome building (which now houses the current carousel and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places), the Blue Streak Racer wooden roller coaster (which was purchased from the defunct Wonderland amusement park in San Diego), the Whip, merry-go-rounds, Wurlitzer organs, and a funhouse.

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

The La Monica Ballroom, designed by T.H. Eslick with a Spanish façade and French Renaissance interior, opened on July 23, 1924. It was the largest dance hall on the west coast, accommodating 5,000 dancers on its 15,000-square-foot (1,400 m²) hard maple floor. In 1948, country music star Spade Cooley began broadcasting his weekly television show from the ballroom, where the enormously popular program remained until 1954. During the summer of 1955, the Hollywood Autocade opened in the La Monica with one-hundred famous and unusual cars, including Jack Benny’s Maxwell and a Rumpler Drop Car.^[6] From 1958 until 1962 the ballroom served as a roller skating rink; first as Skater's Ballroom and then Santa Monica Roller Rink, where the speed skating club won many state and regional championships. The 'La Monica Ballroom' was demolished in 1963.

The Pleasure Pier thrived during the 1920s but faded during the Great Depression. During the 1930s the pier was mainly used as a ferry landing, while most of the amusement park facilities were closed down and its attractions sold off.^[7]

The bridge and entry gate to Santa Monica Pier were built in 1938 by the federal Works Project Administration, and replaced the former grade connection.

The Newcomb Pier was privately owned until it was acquired by the city in 1974.^[8]^[9] During the 1960s and 1970s 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 Santa Monica Bay" to preserve the pier.^[10] The outstanding order to raze the pier was revoked by the city council in 1973. That same year the Carousel and Hippodrome were memorable sets in the film The Sting, although the story was set in Chicago.

In the 1950s Enid Newcomb suggested to family friend Morris "Pops" Gordon that his two sons, George and Eugene, purchase and operate the Pier’s arcade. It didn’t take much persuasion, for the Gordons instantly took to the Pier and ultimately made Playland Arcade into the Pier’s longest running enterprise offering the day’s contemporary games alongside those of yesterday, providing inexpensive entertainment to a diverse crowd. George’s daughters Marlene and Joanie have kept the business within the family, and the next generation of Gordons is already in training to maintain the family tradition.

In popular culture

Films

Films which prominently used the Santa Monica Pier include Tillie's Punctured Romance, Quicksand, Elmer Gantry, The Opposite of Sex, Night Tide, Bean, The Sting, A Night at the Roxbury, Miracle Beach, Titanic, Forrest Gump (there is a Bubba Gump Shrimp Company Restaurant on the pier, owned by the company that produced the film), Not Another Teen Movie, Iron Man, Desperate Teenage Lovedolls, Dark Ride, Cellular, The Hottie and the Nottie, Ruthless People (the pier is the site of the movie's climactic final scene), Love Stinks, Hancock, the indie romantic comedy She Wants Me, and Hannah Montana: The Movie (the scene with Lilly's birthday party). During the earthquake in the movie 2012, the pier can be seen sinking beneath the waves.

Summer promos

Television

The Incredible Hulk (TV series) episode King of The Beach was film there.
South Park episode "Fishsticks" ends with Kanye West jumping off the Santa Monica Pier to begin a new life as a gay fish.
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno commercial bumper
Three's Company in the opening titles of the fourth and fifth seasons,
South of Nowhere in the opening credits and in the episode "Girls Guide to Dating",
The Suite Life of Zack & Cody episodes Suite Life Goes To Hollywood Pts. 1/2.
Life After People: The Series episode "Waves of Devastation"
Rocket Power, features a pier very similar to the Santa Monica Pier.
The Amazing Race, this place was the starting line for the fifth season.
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Cromartie tries to track down John Connor on the Pier, who steals a pair of sunglasses and a cap from a Pier vendor to disguise himself
Star Trek: Voyager, features an episode in which the pier is in the 20th century Los Angeles.
NCIS: Los Angeles, The pilot begins with Agent G. Callen waking up in his small apartment overlooking the pier.
24, Jack tracks Fayed to the pier, Gredenko gets shot and dies under the pier.
Gilmore Girls, When Jess goes to California to find his father. His father works at the pier.
Flashforward, When Olivia and Charlie are out at the pier without Mark. In the final episode, it also appears briefly in the background in one shot.
Chuck, Chuck defuses a car bomb rigged by Laszlo underneath the pier (he first meets Laszlo while playing in one of the arcades on the pier).
The fourth season of Hannah Montana takes place in Santa Monica instead of the Malibu setting of previous seasons, and the pier is frequently shown as Lilly works at a game booth.
90210, There has been several scenes shot at the pier throughout the series. The pier is frequently shown whenever the characters visit the pier or the Beverly Hills beach club.
Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Where Kris and Khloé met with the BG5 girls.
"Monk (TV series)", in the episode "Mr. Monk and the Birds and the Bees," where detective Adrian Monk chases a criminal throughout the park, in which he tries to get rid of evidence that could prove him guilty. Eventually, he is arrested after being caught on the pier.
Eva Luna The last episode the soap opera.
America's Next Top Model In Cycle 17: All-Stars for episode 5.
Charlie's Angels episode "The Sandcastle Murders".
Big Time Rush "Nickelodeon TV series".
Criminal Minds In Season 8 Episode 7, "The Fallen"