Just Above Sunset
December 4, 2005 - The Santa Monica Pier













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Not Hollywood this time, but a few miles west.  Drive down the hill two blocks to Santa Monica Boulevard, the old historic "Route 66."  Turn right and drive west about twelve miles until it ends.  You're there.

 

On September 9, 1909, after sixteen months of construction, the Santa Monica Municipal Pier opened to the public.  It's still there, with the Ferris wheel overlooking the 1922 carousel, the one Paul Newman operated in "The Sting." (It wasn't in Chicago.)  Location Directors love this place.  Judge Reinhold in "Ruthless People" drove his car off this pier.  Forrest Gump ended his cross-country run here.  Scenes from "Beverly Hills Cop III" and "The Net" and "Clean Slate" and "Funny Girl" - and most of "They Shoot Horses Don't They."  Hundreds of television shows - lots of "Baywatch" of course.

Links - The Santa Monica Pier official site, and a live web cam so you can keep an eye on it, and a bit of history.

You will find a photo album of fifty-eight shots here.  

 

Thursday, December 1, 2005, late morning, it looked like this.

 

The Pier

Pacific Park

The Pacific Wheel

The Sand

Couples

Details

Murals

The Neighborhood

 

December begins - fog on the Pacific and the pier, empty –

Santa Monica Municipal Pier, 1 December 2005

Yep, this is where historic Route 66 dead-ends.  Menacing birds, and Ferris wheel -  

Santa Monica Municipal Pier, 1 December 2005

Down the ramp, December 1st, into the fog –

Santa Monica Municipal Pier, 1 December 2005

The end of things –

Santa Monica Municipal Pier, 1 December 2005

And there's fishing, of course – 

Santa Monica Municipal Pier, 1 December 2005

Looking back at Pacific Park –

Santa Monica Municipal Pier, 1 December 2005































Next Page

 

If you use any of these photos for commercial purposes I assume you'll discuss that with me.  

There is a copyright notice at the bottom of this page, of course.

These were shot with a Nikon D70 – lens AF-5 Nikor 18-70mm 1:35-4.5G ED or AF Nikor 70-300mm telephoto.

They were modified for web posting using Adobe Photoshop 7.0

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Copyright © 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 - Alan M. Pavlik
 
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