Los Angeles County is packed with landmarks, from the Hollywood Sign and Walk of Fame to Hollyhock House and Venice Beach.
The Santa Monica Pier is more than one of the most photographed spots in the region. It also marks the western end of legendary Route 66, the highway that once connected Chicago with California.
The Santa Monica Pier began as a sewer project
The Santa Monica Pier is actually made up of two adjoining piers that originally served very different purposes. The Municipal Pier opened in 1909, primarily to carry sewer pipes beyond the breakers. It had no entertainment attractions, but quickly became a popular spot for fishing and strolling.
The entertainment arrived seven years later. In 1916, amusement park pioneers Charles Looff and his son Arthur built a separate pier beside the Municipal Pier, known as the Pleasure Pier or Newcomb Pier. It featured a carousel, roller coaster, funhouse, and other attractions, turning the waterfront into a major seaside entertainment destination during the 1920s.
The two piers remained separate structures for decades before eventually becoming the landmark we know today. The Pleasure Pier declined during the Great Depression, with most of its attractions closing in the 1930s, while the city continued to develop the waterfront. In 1974, Santa Monica acquired the privately owned Pleasure Pier, bringing the two historic structures under city ownership.
From utility infrastructure to an L.A. icon
Over the following decades, the pier evolved into an entertainment destination, weathering storms and even a 1970s plan to demolish it. Residents fought back with the “Save Our Pier Forever” initiative in 1973, helping preserve one of Santa Monica’s defining landmarks.
Today, the pier spans 1,651 feet and packs in Pacific Park’s 12 rides, the Looff Hippodrome Carousel, arcade games, restaurants, fishing spots and ocean views. The centerpiece? The Pacific Wheel, the world’s only solar-powered Ferris wheel.
Converted to solar power in 1998, it rises more than 130 feet above the Pacific with 174,000 LED lights. Pacific Park says the wheel and pier have appeared in more than 1,000 movies, TV shows, commercials, music videos and other productions.
The City of Santa Monica estimates roughly 8 million people visit the pier each year. More than a century after it was built to solve a sewage problem, it now sends something very different out over the Pacific: tourists, thrill-seekers and Ferris-wheel selfies.
