The Third Street Promenade is a

pedestrian mall Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town restricted to use by people on foot or ...

esplanade An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cle ...

, shopping, dining and entertainment complex in the downtown area of

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

which originally opened as the Santa Monica Mall on November 8, 1965. It is considered a premier shopping and dining district on the Westside and draws crowds from all over the

Greater Los Angeles Greater Los Angeles is the most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. state of California, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino County and Riverside County in the eas ...

area. Due to easy access to

Downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) is the central business district of the city of Los Angeles. It is part of the Central Los Angeles region and covers a area. As of 2020, it contains over 500,000 jobs and has a population of roughly 85,000 residents ...

via the Big Blue Bus rapid transit service, E Line's terminus station and the Pacific Coast Highway- Santa Monica Freeway

Interstate The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, or the Eisenhower Interstate System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National H ...

, the neighborhood's north-south thoroughfares connecting to Muscle Beach, Venice Canal Historic District, Marina del Rey, Ballona Wetlands and

Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles International Airport is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles and its Greater Los Angeles, surrounding metropolitan area, in the U.S. state of California. LAX is located in the Westchester, Los Angeles, Westcheste ...

, and its proximity to historic

U.S. Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) is one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The high ...

, Santa Monica Pier, Palisades Park, Tongva Park, Santa Monica State Beach and the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

coupled with Los Angeles's mild

mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

, it is also a popular tourist destination.

History

Third Street has been a center of business in Santa Monica since the town's inception in the late 19th century. The Promenade's roots date back to November 8, 1965, when three blocks of Third Street were converted into a pedestrian mall. Although successful, by the late 1970s, the Santa Monica Mall (as it was then called), was in need of modernization and a redesign. A new enclosed shopping center, Santa Monica Place (1980–2007), designed by

Frank Gehry Frank Owen Gehry ( ; ; born February 28, 1929) is a Canadian-American architect and designer. A number of his buildings, including his private residence in Santa Monica, California, have become attractions. Gehry rose to prominence in th ...

was added at the Promenade's southern end. A citywide bond measure was issued and architectural firm ROMA Design Group was hired to redesign Santa Monica Mall. The renamed Third Street Promenade opened on September 16, 1989. The project was part of a larger redevelopment effort, encompassing several blocks of Downtown Santa Monica. Santa Monica Place has since been renovated into a new open-air shopping and dining venue, designed by Jon Jerde, that re-opened on August 6, 2010. The Third Street Promenade and Downtown Santa Monica are overseen by Downtown Santa Monica, Inc. (formerly Bayside District Corporation), a private non-profit

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of ...

that works with the City of Santa Monica to manage services and operations in Downtown Santa Monica that promote economic stability, growth and community life within Downtown Santa Monica.

Features

Public art

A central feature of the Third Street Promenade are the

public art Public art is art in any Media (arts), media whose form, function and meaning are created for the general public through a public process. It is a specific art genre with its own professional and critical discourse. Public art is visually and phy ...

topiary sculptures and fountains '' The Dinosaurs of Santa Monica'' by the French team Les Lalanne. Located along three blocks of the Third Street Promenade, the dinosaur topiaries "spew" streams of water from their mouths. Surrounding the Third Street Promenade are several multi-level parking structures developed in tandem with the Promenade's 1989 renovation. These parking structures contain exterior building-mounted sculptures, exterior building-mounted murals, and interior murals by artists such as Gilbert Lujan, Art Mortimer, Peter Shire, Cliff Garden, Ball-Nogues Studio, and Anne Marie Karlsen,

Entertainment

Community sentiment and feedback during the 1989 planning phase expressed strong desire for public gathering space and "outdoor living room" space. The redevelopment plans took this to heart and designed the public space for public life, shopping and entertainment. Street performers and entertainers are a frequent sight on the street. On a typical Saturday night in the summer, singer-songwriters, classical guitar players, magicians, clowns, hip-hop dancers, lounge singers, session drummers, and other artists line up approximately to apart from each other all along Third Street. The Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica is home to many iconic and popular shops, making it the perfect shopping destination. Visitors can explore stores such as Patagonia, Lululemon, Anthropologie, and Urban Outfitters. In addition, the promenade has several high-end designer outlet stores, including Coach, Kate Spade, Rolex, and Tiffany & Co. Beyond shopping, the Third Street Promenade is also a cultural landmark. Its picturesque setting has been the backdrop for many iconic films, including Heat, Pee-wee's Big Adventure, Pretty in Pink, Twins, and Freaky Friday. It has also appeared in popular television series such as Curb Your Enthusiasm and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, further cementing its place in entertainment history.

Photo gallery

Image:ThirdStreetPromenadeLights.JPG, Trees along Third Street lit up for the Holidays. Image:ThirdStreetPromenadeBroadwayTheatre.JPG, Broadway Theatre on Third Street. Image:ThirdStreetPromenade-santamonica-1880.jpg, Businesses on Third Street, between Utah and Oregon (now Santa Monica Blvd.), 1880.

References

External links

Third Street Promenade and Downtown Santa Monica
, City of Santa Monica

, KCET (Public Media Group of Southern California)
Image of the remodeled business district, then known as Santa Monica Mall, California, 1965.

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

Photographic Archive (Collection 1429). UCLA Library Special Collections,

Charles E. Young Research Library The Charles E. Young Research Library is one of the largest libraries on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles in Westwood, Los Angeles, California. It initially opened in 1964, and a second phase of construction was completed ...

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

.
Third Street Promenade Occupancy
, Map of retail occupancy on Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica {{Shopping malls in California 1965 establishments in California Busking venues Landmarks in Los Angeles Pedestrian malls in the United States Santa Monica, California Shopping districts and streets in Greater Los Angeles Shopping malls established in 1965 Shopping malls on the Westside, Los Angeles Tourist attractions in Santa Monica, California