As we prepare to mount its Centennial Celebration,
we wish to remind people of the rich history of the Santa Monica Pier
by re-creating and paying homage to some memorable moments from its past.
We look at its history for inspiration about where to go with its future as we
create new events to bring that vision to a wider audience.
We look back to opening day festivities in 1909 for clues to the popularity of the pier
and to echo aspects of the original opening events…. but updated for our modern era. O
ne hundred years later people still flock to the Pier - just to walk to the west end and back.
They still come to be transported back to their childhood on the carousel and the thrill rides,
or to remember coming with their father or grandfather to cast their lines into the
bay for a “tug o war” with the catch of the day.
They still come for band concerts and to picnic
(even though it is now in our wonderful restaurants and cafes).
The need for people to get out on the water, gather in groups to share cultural experiences,
stay active and fit, and experience the majesty of the beautiful bay, sky,
beach and mountains hasn't changed in a hundred years.
The Santa Monica Pier Centennial looks 100 years in the past and
ahead 100 years in the future by creating an atmosphere of fun, festivity, and fitness that will last for another 100 years.
The music has changed, the menus have changed, the attire has change, the shops have changed,
and we celebrate and delight in that change. The Santa Monica Pier is a vibrant up-to date destination that needs
continued creativity and flexibility to be relevant for future generations.
The events of the Santa Monica Pier Centennial will pay tribute to the past
enhance the visitor experience of the present, and offer a new set of events for a
new population and to attract event visitation and economic development on a year round basis.
Throughout the Centennial we hope to highlight the place of the Santa Monica Pier in the everyday life of the city.
The Santa Monica Pier Centennial Celebration has the potential to be a once in a lifetime event
that pulls together the variety of historic, cultural, and recreational resources of the Santa Monica Pier
in a spectacular celebration suitable for everyone . It should be big, bold and definitely a bit brash.
Buskers, theater troupes, mimes, storytellers, master drummers, musicians, dancers, bodybuilders,
illusionists, contortionists, and fantastic structures from kinetic sculptors will be among the many expieriences to take in.
We envision a celebration about kids and culture, fun and fantasy.
We will present a celebration highlighting the creative spirit in us and around us.
We want our attendees to move and be moved, shake, strut, sing, and shout.
The Centennial experience will be one that will rock you and knock you back
on your heels with jaw-dropping performances and special effects.
It should be huge, but also personal and communal.
It will, in a word, be awesome. It’s about celebrating the first events of the next hundred years.
CENTENNIAL EVENTS
Sideshow at the Pier (May 16, 2009)
Schools Out! (June 20, 2009)
A Celebration For Kids at the Santa Monica Pier will feature a variety of
top-notch activities and performancesfor families and kids of all ages
including the Cirque du Soleil "Circus Play Area;" an interactive
dance performance by the GROOVALOOS, a hip-hop dance group
and winners of NBC's Superstars of Dance; performing arts programs and
performances from Kids On Stage and Rock Nation School;
hands-on creative workshops from Movies by Kids; creative movement
workshops and performances from the future Olympians of Precision Los Angeles;
a puppet show and workshops from the Santa Monica Puppetry Center;
fitness and art activities from the CREST After School Program including yoga and more;
interactive activities from Heal the Bay's Santa Monica Pier Aquarium;
and a MYfm Daytime Dance Party hosted by M.C. B Woods.
In addition to these activities, a brand new interactive kid's guide of the Santa Monica Pier,
made possible with a generous grant from the Sempra Energy Foundation, will be launched at the event.
La Monica Ballroom Redux (July 23, 2009)
A dance through the decades with a few thousand friends in tribute to the famed La
Monica Ballroom. Free dance instruction by the areas “hottest” teachers and strut your
stuff to live Big Band performances.
Centennial Day (September 9, 2009)
“SANTA MONICA PIER AWARDS”
On April 6, 1990 the “Santa Monica Pier Prize” (official name) was awarded to Joan Crowne in a ceremony which doubled as the official grand opening of the Pier’s newly rebuilt west end. Ms. Crowne owned Al’s Kitchen, a small café on the Pier in which the original roots of 1973’s “Save the Pier” movement began. In order to finance the “Save the Pier” movement, Ms. Crowne mortgaged her house. The Pier was saved, but Ms. Crowne ultimately lost her house and, not long afterward, sold Al’s Kitchen.
At the time it was conceived, the “Santa Monica Pier Prize” was intended to be an annual award given to individuals whose contributions to the Pier were of notable esteem.
Now, almost 20 years later, the Pier reintroduces the “Prize” with the “Santa Monica Pier Awards”, which recognizes individuals for their outstanding support of the Pier.
Our 2009 recipients received their “Santa Monica Pier Awards” from Mayor Ken Genser at the Pier Centennial Book Launch Reception held on February 18, 2009 in the Carousel Hippodrome:
