Tag Archives: Santa Monica pier

Vista Tea Room building by the Santa Monica pier, Santa Monica Beach, California, circa 1920s

The building housing the Vista Tea Room by the Santa Monica pier looks to be very interesting. It has cute, decorative balconies, so I’d say the upper floors were a hotel. I love the sign opposite: Over The Waves Lunch … Continue reading

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Aerial photo of the Santa Monica pier, Santa Monica Beach, Los Angeles, 1924

Here we have an aerial photo of the Santa Monica pier from 1924. We can see the Looff Hippodrome. Built in 1916, it’s that square building with the tower. It houses the Looff’s carousel and is still there. Meanwhile, the … Continue reading

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Looking along the Santa Monica pier to the huge La Monica Ballroom, Santa Monica Beach, California, 1936

These days, the Santa Monica pier is filled mostly with amusement park games and a big arcade of games. But back in 1936, when this photo was taken, the big draw was the La Monica Ballroom whose dance floor was … Continue reading

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The Santa Monica Pier opens to the public on “Pier Day,” September 9, 1909

The pier on Santa Monica beach has had several incarnations over the years—mostly because piers would all too often catch fire—but this photo goes back to the day when the first one (that is to say the first concrete one … Continue reading

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Crowds line up for the Catalina Steamer on Santa Monica pier, Santa Monica, 1936

Yesterday, I was researching the cavernous La Monica Ballroom on Santa Monica pier (that’s the place with the ten turrets in the background) when I came across this photo. That’s when I learned that there was something called the Catalina … Continue reading

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Santa Monica celebrates “Pier Day” when the US Navy’s Atlantic fleet arrives, September 9, 1909

Santa Monica pier, which looks nothing like this today, celebrated “Pier Day” when the US Navy’s Atlantic fleet parked itself off the Los Angeles coast on September 9, 1909. They certainly got a decent turn-out. And it would have been … Continue reading

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Looking along the Santa Monica pier, Santa Monica, California, 1924

The piers along Santa Monica and Venice beaches in California have taken on several incarnations during the past 150 years (due to the vagaries of weather, fire, technology, trends) so it can be hard sometimes to tell one from the … Continue reading

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The Looff Hippodrome housing the Looff’s carousel on the Santa Monica pier, Santa Monica, California, circa 1920

This rather marvelous edifice was called the Looff Hippodrome on the Santa Monica pier, photographed circa 1920. It was built in 1916 by Charles Looff to hold a Looff Carousel. (Looff was a German-born builder of hand-carved carousels and built … Continue reading

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Looking south along Santa Monica Beach toward the pier, Los Angeles, 1929

It looks like living right on the beach was very popular even back as far as 1929, when this photo was taken from the top of the Santa Monica palisades looking south toward the pier where we can see the … Continue reading

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Looking north along Santa Monica Beach toward the Casa Del Mar Beach Club and Santa Monica Pier, 1920

The photographer of this 1920 photo was standing on Santa Monica Beach looking north. In the far distance we can see the Santa Monica pier. On the right are a couple of the large beach clubs that were popular back … Continue reading

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