The Santa Monica Pier is located at the foot of Colorado Boulevard in Santa Monica, California and is the city’s most famous landmark.
Attractions
The pier contains Pacific Park, a family amusement park with a big ferris wheel overlooking the Pacific Ocean and parts of West Los Angeles, a carousel from the 1920s, an aquarium, several shops, vendors, entertainers, an arcade, a pub, a few restaurants, and a café. At the end of the pier, fishermen get together to enjoy their hobby. During the summer months, the free Thursday Twilight Dance Series is held, and open air free film screenings are offered to the public from early August to late September.
History
The Santa Monica Pier is actually two adjoining piers that long had separate owners. The long, narrow Municipal Pier opened September 9, 1909 primarily to carry sewer pipes beyond the breakers and had no amenities. The short, wide southern Pleasure Pier (AKA Newcomb Pier) was built in 1916 by Charles 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 re-built in 1990. A calliope provides the musical accompaniment.
The La Monica Ballroom opened in 1924 and closed in 1959. 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 floated that would have caused the loss of the pier. The strangest one called for the construction of an artificial island with a 1500-room hotel. It was actually 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 The outstanding order to raze the pier was revoked by the city council in 1973.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 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 regularly used for location shoots for television and movies. This list of movies at IMDb is representative, but incomplete. The pier is also featured during the fourth and fifth season opening titles to Three’s Company. Perhaps its most famous appearance on screen is in Titanic.
Weather
The temperature in Santa Monica is generally cooler than it is inland by about 10 degrees Fahrenheit (6 degrees Celsius), but that difference can expand 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.
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