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. Within that same year, the Carousel and Hippodrome were memorable sets featured in the film The Sting, although the story was set in Chicago. The outstanding order to raze the pier was revoked by the city council in 1973. It was approved by the City Council, but citizens formed "Save Santa Monica Bay" to preserve the pier. The strangest one called for the construction of an artificial island with a 1500-room hotel. During the 1960s and 1970s various plans were proposed that would entail removal of the pier. The Newcomb Pier was privately owned until it was acquired by the city in 1974. 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. 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. The Pleasure Pier thrived during the 1920s but faded during the Great Depression. The La Monica Ballroom was demolished in 1963. From 1958 until 1962, the ballroom served as a roller skating rink first as Skater's Ballroom, and later as the Santa Monica Roller Rink, where the speed skating club won many state and regional championships. In the summer of 1955, the Hollywood Autocade opened at the La Monica with one-hundred famous and unusual cars, including Jack Benny’s Maxwell and a Rumpler Drop Car. Country music star Spade Cooley began broadcasting his weekly television show from the ballroom in 1948, where the enormously popular program remained until 1954. Eslick with a Spanish façade and French Renaissance interior, it was the largest dance hall on the west coast, accommodating 5,000 dancers on its 15,000-square-foot (1,400 m 2) hard maple floor. The La Monica Ballroom opened on July 23, 1924. A calliope provides musical accompaniment. It was rebuilt in 1990 inside the Hippodrome. The Carousel was built in 1922 on what was often referred to as a Pleasure Pier and features 44 hand-carved horses. 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. Looff and his son Arthur, amusement park pioneers. Newcomb Pier, was built in 1916 by Charles I. The short, wide adjoining Pleasure Pier to the south, a.k.a. The long, narrow Municipal Pier opened September 9, 1909, primarily to carry sewer pipes beyond the breakers, and had no amenities. Santa Monica has had several piers however, the Santa Monica Pier is two adjoining piers that long had separate owners. The pier is also very popular for Pokémon Go.ĭuring the summer months the pier is venue to weekly outdoor concerts, movies, and other family friendly activities, many that are free to the public. The pier's west end is a popular location for anglers. It also has an original carousel hippodrome from the 1920s, the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium operated by Heal the Bay, shops, entertainers, a video arcade, a trapeze school, pubs, and restaurants. (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 The pier contains Pacific Park, a family amusement park with its one-of-a-kind, state-of-the-art, solar paneled Ferris wheel.
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