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The pier contains an amusement park with a big wheel overlooking the Pacific Ocean and parts of West Los Angeles, a carousel from the 1930's, several shops, entertainers and restaurants. At the end of the pier, fishermen get together to enjoy their hobby. During the summer the free Thursday Twilight Dance Series is held, and open air film screenings are sometimes scheduled.
The "Santa Monica Pier" is actually two adjoining piers that long had separate owners. The long, narrow Municipal Pier was built in 1909 primarily to carry sewer pipes beyond the breakers and had no amenities. The short, wide southern Pleasure Pier (AKA Newcombs Pier) was built in 1916 by Charles Looff and his son Arthur, amusement park pioneers.
The Carousel was built in 1922 on the Pleasure Pier and features 44 hand-carved horses. It was re-built in 1990. A calliope provides the musical accompaniment.
The La Monica Ballroom opened in 1924 and closed in 1959. The bridge to the pier and entry gate were built in 1938 by the federal Works Project Administration, and replaced the former grade connection.
The Looff Pier, then known as Newcomb Pier, was acquired by the city in the 1953. In the 1960s various plans were floated that would have caused the loss of the pier. The strangest one called for the construction of an artificial island with a 1500-room hotel. It was actually approved by the City Council, but citizens formed Save the Santa Monica Bay to preserve the pier. The outstanding order to raze the pier was revoked by the city council in 1973Events January events January 1 United Kingdom, Ireland, and Denmark enter the European Economic Community now known as the European Union January 3 Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) sells the New York Yankees for $10 million to a 12-person syndicate led. That same year the Carousel was a memorable setting in The StingThe Sting was a 1973 film (theatrical release on December 23, 1973) directed by George Roy Hill and starring Paul Newman, Robert Redford, and Robert Shaw. Hill had previously directed Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid ( 1969), which also starred Newman a, (although it was set in Chicago).
Because of the nearby film industry, the pier and the nearby Santa Monica boardwalk are regularly used for location shoots for televisionSee TV (disambiguation) for other uses and Television (band) for the rock band Television is a telecommunication system for broadcasting and receiving moving pictures and sound over a distance. The term has come to refer to all the aspects of television p and movies. The list of movies at IMDB is representative, but incomplete [1].