THE SANTA MONICA DA I LY P R E S S
SUMMER GUIDE 2009
3
Celebrating
100 years of fun in the sun BY AUDREY ALLEN SPECIAL TO THE DAILY PRESS he Santa Monica Pier has provided a place to get away from it all for 100 years. With the ability to still enjoy a ride for a dollar, get your fortune told for just a quarter, munch on freshly popped pop corn and watch street performers juggle, fishermen fish and the Ferris wheel go round and round, the pier has become a Southern California landmark, representing a thriving piece of history. Today, families still flock to bask in the warm sunshine and take in the fresh air while enjoying a day of fun and education at the pier’s many attractions. This year, the pier celebrates its centennial anniversary, and marks the occasion with summerlong events leading up to “Centennial Day” on Sept. 9, where “we re-open the Santa Monica pier for the next 100 years with a ceremony befitting this historic occasion,” said pier’s Executive Director Ben Franz-Knight. With honorary co-chairs Robert Redford and Joan Baez, the celebration will include a 100-foot cake and a monumental, large scale fireworks show. The sparks will illuminate the entire bay and will be visible from any point along Santa Monica Beach. “It’s been tremendously exciting to be involved in the centennial celebration,” said FranzKnight. “The pier is a national and international icon, and we want to fully engage the public in honoring its history.” The summer lineup of events includes a celebration for kids, “School’s Out!” from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. on June 20. With such activities as craft making, creative workshops, storytelling, fashion shows and aquarium attractions, the event allows children and their families to enjoy a day of learning together. Also on the calendar is the historic “La Monica Ballroom Redux” from 7 p.m. – 10 p.m. With the motto of “party like it is 1924,” the celebration brings back the activities of the historic ballroom on the night of its 85th anniversary, with free dance instructions and live big band performances. This summer also highlights the 25th anniversary of the “Twilight Dance Series,” which begin on July 2 through Aug. 27. The concerts will kick off with a performance by Bushman and Playing for Change. The free concerts run from 7 p.m. - 10 p.m. in the pier parking lot. “The idea behind the summer events is to make them into annual occurrences,” said FranzKnight. “We are also busy creating an educational curriculum based entirely on the pier.” Franz-Knight said the next century of the pier strives to draw in crowds for not just the entertainment pull but also to “learn about the ocean environment and the development of the pier.” With the idea of creating a “hands on learning” atmosphere at the ocean, Franz-Knight said it will “take the learning out of the classroom and apply it to the environment.” The pier has always brought communities together and Franz-Knight added “we are working hard to continue to create a legacy for the next 100 years. We want to preserve the richness of the pier, and we hope to unveil a museum on the west end in the coming years that would include artifacts and centennial highlights.”
T
Looking Back On Sept. 9, 1909, after 16 months of construction, the city of Santa Monica known as the “sleepy little beach town” opened the Santa Monica Municipal Pier to the public, and thousands of people swarmed onto the 1,600-foot long concrete pier to enjoy a festive day and the novelty of walking above the ocean. While originally built to satisfy the city’s sanitation needs, the pier soon became a magnet for the fishing community and fueled the imagination of many local entrepreneurs. Within just a few years, plans were in place to build an amusement pier adjacent to the Municipal Pier. Famous carousel manufacturer Charles I.D. Looff arrived in 1916, purchasing the land immediately south of the Municipal Pier for development. There he helped establish the Hippodrome, which contained the pier’s famous carousel. The building is still home to the entirely wooden carousel. Over the years, the carrousel has been restored with a complete refurbishment of the historic ponies and chariots. Another milestone occurred in 1940, with the installation of the neon sign at the top of the pier ramp. Now it is considered an internationally recognized destination and symbolizing the Southern California beach lifestyle. Today, more than four million tourists pass under that sign each year to flock to the pier. In 1983 a pair of violent winter storms destroyed over a third of the pier’s length. Gone were the cafes, the bait shop, the rock shop and the harbor patrol station. The pier seemed too badly beaten to survive. But with citizen pressure, the city formed the Pier Restoration and Development Task Force to oversee the reconstruction. To the delight of beach-goers, by April 1990 the entire western structure was rebuilt and the pier’s popularity continued to thrive.
Today’s Pier Today, you can still get your name written on a grain of rice and spend the day benched on the pier enjoying ocean views or drift toward the entertainment of Pacific Park, have a ride on the historic carousel, and dine at the many seaside restaurants. Pacific Park opened in 1996, bringing back the first full-scale amusement park on the pier since the 1930s. Five new rides opened this year and “are definitely a highlight in the Park’s history of providing unparalleled family fun,” said Jeff Klocke, director of marketing and sales at Pacific Park. As a new attraction this year, the pier is now home to the Trapeze School New York at Santa Monica Pier, which hosts trapeze classes and workshops, which include ropes courses, aerial skill development and acrobatic yoga. For more information on the pier’s history as well as the centennial celebration, visit www.santamonica.org. news@smdp.com BRANDON WISE/BRANDONW@SMDP.COM