Pacific Park

Last updated

Pacific Park
Pacific Park Enterance.JPG
Pacific Park entrance in 2004
Pacific Park
Location Santa Monica, California, United States
Coordinates 34°00′30″N118°29′53″W / 34.00833°N 118.49806°W / 34.00833; -118.49806
StatusOperating
OpenedMay 25, 1996 [1]
Owner EPR Properties
Operated by Premier Parks, LLC
Slogan"The Family Amusement Park on the Santa Monica Pier"
"LA's only admission-free amusement park"
Operating seasonYear-round
Limited operation in off season
Area2 acres (0.81 ha) [1]
Attractions
Total13 [1]
Roller coasters1
Website pacpark.com

Pacific Park is an oceanfront amusement park located in Santa Monica, California. The park, located on the Santa Monica Pier, looks directly out on the Pacific Ocean, in the direction of Santa Catalina Island. It is the only amusement park directly located on the West Coast of the United States located on a pier and LA's only admission-free park. There are a total of thirteen rides in Pacific Park, including the world's first and only solar-powered ferris wheel that provides a view of the Pacific Ocean and a roller coaster that circles the majority of the park. Pacific Park is also home to 14 midway games and over-the-ocean food and retail outlets. It has appeared in over 500 [2] movies and television shows such as Fat Albert , Hannah Montana , Hannah Montana: The Movie , Kidsongs , 90210 , Bean , and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno , as well as the popular video game Grand Theft Auto V . In 2020, it featured in the opening ident for the sky television channel Sky Comedy . It is operated by SC Holdings. [3]

Contents

History

Santa Monica Municipal Pier opened in 1909; it was primarily to carry sewer pipes out beyond the breakers and had no amenities. In 1916, Charles I. D. Looff, who built Coney Island's first carousel, started construction on an adjacent pier known as the Pleasure Pier, also called Newcomb Pier, for use as an amusement park. The two piers are now both considered to be part of Santa Monica Pier. [4] 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. The Pleasure Pier thrived during the 1920s but faded during the Great Depression. During the 1930s, the pier was mainly used as a ferry landing, while most of the pier was closed down and its attractions sold off. [5]

Over the next several decades the city of Santa Monica proposed various plans to tear down Newcomb Pier. The city council approved a plan to replace the pier with a resort island in Santa Monica Bay. Local activists formed Save Santa Monica Bay and shot down that plan, [6] and in 1973, the city formally revoked a standing order to demolish the pier. [7] The city acquired ownership of the privately owned pier in summer 1974. [8] In the 1980s, the pier was almost destroyed by winter storms. In 1983, the city formed a Pier Restoration and Development Task Force (now the Pier Restoration Corporation), tasked with returning the pier to its former glory. Summer music concerts were held on the pier. [5]

In 1989, the Pier Restoration Corporation decided to "make the pier a year-round commercial development with amusement rides, gift shops, nightclubs with live entertainment and restaurants" that would be "reminiscent of its heyday in the 1920s and 1930s". [9] The current 2-acre (0.81 ha) park opened in 1996 as a full-scale family amusement park. [10]

Rides and attractions

The park is "non-gated" and there is no charge for admission; individual rides charge a fee. There are thirteen rides as well as midway games, food outlets, and shopping. A Seaside Pavilion event space opened in 2009 for corporate and private events. [11] This is a list of rides in operation at Pacific Park as of 2016. [1] [12]

Rollercoaster

Thrill rides

Family rides

Children's rides

Attraction, additional

Past rides and attractions

Filming Films

Further reading

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Pacific Park Fact Sheet
  2. ↑ "Films and TV Shows Filmed at the Santa Monica Pier in California". Pacific Park® | Amusement Park on the Santa Monica Pier. November 21, 2018. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  3. ↑ Abramovitch, Seth (March 14, 2024). "Santa Monica Pier's Pacific Park Sells to Investment Group". The Hollywood Reporter .
  4. ↑ Conradt, Stacy (May 27, 2009). "The Quick 10: Santa Monica Pier". Mental Floss. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
  5. 1 2 Magruder, Melonie. "Pacific Park celebrates 15th birthday". surfsantamonica.com. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
  6. ↑ Holst, Sanford. "Save Santa Monica Pier - 1972". boomerslife.org. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
  7. ↑ Beubis, Seymour (May 10, 1973). "S.M. Council Rescinds Order for Removal of Newcomb Pier". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 30, 2013. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
  8. ↑ Fanucchi, Kenneth (July 4, 1974). "S.M. Fences Unsafe Newcomb Pier Areas". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 30, 2013. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
  9. ↑ Moran, Julio (November 21, 1989). "Santa Monica Pier Revival Plan Stirs Excitement". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 30, 2013. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
  10. ↑ "Santa Monica beach park to open in '96". Daily News of Los Angeles. October 7, 1995. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
  11. ↑ "Santa Monica's Pacific Park Debuts Seaside Pavilion Event Space". specialevents.com. July 1, 2009. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
  12. ↑ The Rides (Pacpark.com)
  13. ↑ James, Mitch (March 28, 2013). "A Look At The Refurbished Inkie's Scrambler At Pacific Park On Santa Monica Pier". Santa Monica Mirror. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
  14. ↑ Hernandez, Salvador (March 10, 2023). "Sea Dragon ride on Santa Monica Pier swings away into retirement". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  15. ↑ Rooney, Brian; Song, Jung Hwa (April 16, 2008). "Ferris Wheel Goes From Santa Monica Bay to eBay". ABC News. Retrieved June 27, 2009.
  16. ↑ Pacific Park - the Rides Archived 2007-07-15 at the Wayback Machine
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