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From Promenade to Pier

Find a room at one of the hotels Santa Monica has waiting for you, preferable with a balcony, so you can people watch. Then hit the Third Street Promenade. It is right in the heart of downtown Santa Monica. It is just up and across the street from the famous beach. The promenade was closed for vehicle traffic a number of years ago so it is pedestrian friendly. Yes, you can switch back and forth across the street as you see your next shop to rummage through. Some of the greats you can expect to find are Abercrombie & Fitch, L’Occitaine, RipCurl, Sephora Cosmetics, Borders Books and many many more. It runs for 30 blocks and is filled with retail stores, some entertainment and many great places to catch a bit to eat. You can just sit and watch the people go by or read a great book. It is not far from some of the other points of interest in Santa Monica.

How about the Santa Monica Pier? It is not a far walk along down the boardwalk. The pier is rather interesting. There have been many piers over the many years but the one that is standing now has some interesting history. It is actually two piers adjoined together. They are owned by two different owners. The long and narrow Municipal Pier was opened in September of 1909 as a way to carry the sewer pipes beyond the breakers. The short and wide pier on the south side is called Newcomb Pier and was built in 1916 by amusement park pioneers, Charles I.D. Looff and son Arthur. The Carousel was built in 1922 on Pleasure Pier and then rebuilt in 1990. There used to be the La Monica Ballroom which opened in 1922 but was closed in 1962. It served many purposes while it was open. It was the home of Spade Cooley in the fifties and it was a roller skating rink in the late fifties and early sixties.

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Tags: Abercrombie & Fitch, hotels Santa Monica, L'Occitaine

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