New York City has the Empire State Building, Hollywood has cutout letters strung across a hillside, and Santa Monica has its pier: a single, focus-pulling element that looms large in the public consciousness. So large in fact, that it attracts an estimated 10 million tourists a year. Some come to ride the world’s only solar-powered, LED-covered Ferris wheel. Others come to complete a a pilgrimage that began in Chicago — reaching the western terminus of historic Route 66.
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But there’s more to the roughly 8.3-square-mile city than that 1,651 feet of wood jutting out into the Pacific Ocean — much, much more. If you let your gaze wander away from that Ferris wheel, past the stretch of sand next to it and inland from the endless blue ocean, you’ll discover that the city at the end of the Mother Road was also at the beginning of aviation history. And, if you have the right guide, you might just find yourself collecting mermaids in a nautically themed bar, noshing on the best grilled cheese sandwich in the universe or catching a stand-up comedy set performed by kids.
That’s not to say you should skip a trip to the fabled Santa Monica Pier. Far from it. Especially if you’ve never done it before. Like Times Square in New York, it’s the kind of teeming tourist throng everyone (except, perhaps, the severely agoraphobic) should experience at least once. Pause under the iconic archway (take a selfie or it didn’t happen). Seek out the End of the Trail Route 66 marker out on the pier (the long-decommissioned historic highway technically ended at the intersection of Lincoln and Olympic boulevards). While you’re there, get your amusement-park fix at Pacific Park. If a stroll is more your style, then seek out Ocean Front Walk instead.
But only do it after you’ve made a promise to yourself. A promise that, once you’ve given in to the pier pressure, once you’ve spent some time in the tourist catch basin at the foot of Colorado Boulevard, you’ll give the rest of Santa Monica its due by roaming farther afield and digging in a little deeper. Promise to take a workout class that makes you feel like a pole dancer. Or swim in the pool William Randolph Hearst had built for his mistress. Or shop a parking lot for the perfect piece of Midcentury Modern furniture, tuck into a plate of chicken and waffles, or kick back in a busy urban park to watch baby boomers lawn bowl.
If you do, we’ll promise you something in exchange: Next time you head off to explore Santa Monica, the pier won’t loom quite as large and what once seemed like the end of a fabled road is actually the beginning of an adventure. — Adam Tschorn
What’s included in this guide
Anyone who’s lived in a major metropolis can tell you that neighborhoods are a tricky thing. They’re eternally malleable and evoke sociological questions around how we place our homes, our neighbors and our communities within a wider tapestry. In the name of neighborly generosity, we included gems that may linger outside of technical parameters. Instead of leaning into stark definitions, we hope to celebrate all of the places that make us love where we live.