Santa Monica Pier

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 ten screenings each summer on Tuesday nights, with screenings continuing into the Summer 2008 season.

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 9 September 1909, primarily to carry sewer pipes beyond the breakers, 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.

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 The outstanding order to raze the pier was revoked by the city council in 1973.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 were memorable sets in the film "The Sting", although the story was set in Chicago.

Everclear lead singer Art Alexakis attempted suicide as a teenager by filling his pockets with weights, getting high on marijuana, and jumping off the pier. He claims the vision and voice of his deceased brother George led him to survive.

In April 2008, the Ferris wheel at Pacific Park went up for auction on eBay. The starting bid was $50,000 and half of proceeds are to be donated to the Special Olympics. [ [http://www.abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=4668512 "Ferris Wheel Goes From Santa Monica Bay to eBay"] ,BRIAN ROONEY, ABC News, April 16, 2008. ] The Ferris wheel was purchased by Grant Humphreys of Humphreys Real Estate Investments in Oklahoma City. The Ferris wheel is being packed and shipped to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

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 [http://imdb.com/List?endings=on&&locations=Santa+Monica+Pier,+Santa+Monica,+California,+USA] . 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," wherein Forrest runs to the West Coast, turns around and heads back east. There is a Bubba Gump Shrimp Company Restaurant on the pier, owned by the film company that produced the film. The pier was a location in the "lonelygirl15" 12 in 12 Season 1 Finale. The Santa Monica Pier was also featured in some video games such as "Tony Hawk's American Wasteland" and "." The entrance to the pier is shown in a commercial bumper on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Musician John Mayer also used the pier in the musicvideo for his song Clarity.

Weather

The temperature in Santa Monica is generally lower than inland areas by about 10°F (6°C), but that difference can increase to 30°F 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 called "June Gloom".

Photo gallery

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 State Beach — California State Park operated by the City of Santa Monica. Two miles of beach adjacent to the pier
* Santa Monica bicycle path — path that runs through a bicycle-only underpass under the pier

References

External links

* [http://www.santamonicapier.org/ Official web site] — directory with links to the arcade, the aquarium, and more, plus directions, history, etc.
* [http://www.pacpark.com/ Pacific Park] — information about the rides, attractions, and food court on the pier
* [http://www.twilightdance.org/ Twilight Dance Series] — free concerts that run on the pier from June through September
* [http://www.smff.com/smdi/ Santa Monica "Drive-In" at the pier] — free films at the pier in August through September
* [http://www.tasteofsantamonica.com Taste of Santa Monica] — annual September event featuring Santa Monica restaurants