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 reserved for pedestrian-only use and in whi ...

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 cl ...

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

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...

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 second-largest metropolitan region in the United States with a population of 18.5 million in 2021, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino Co ...

area. Due to easy access to

Downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) contains the central business district of Los Angeles. In addition, it contains a diverse residential area of some 85,000 people, and covers . A 2013 study found that the district is home to over 500,000 jobs. It is a ...

via the

Big Blue Bus Big Blue Bus (stylized, big blue bus) is a municipal bus service serving the city of Santa Monica and the greater Westside region of Los Angeles County. The service, operated by the city of Santa Monica, was founded on April 14, 1928 and thro ...

rapid transit service, E Line's

terminus station A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing such ...

and the Pacific Coast Highway-

Santa Monica Freeway Interstate 10 (I-10) is a transcontinental Interstate Highway in the United States, stretching from Santa Monica, California to Jacksonville, Florida. The segment of I-10 in California runs east from Santa Monica through Los Angeles, San Bernar ...

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

, the neighborhood's north-south thoroughfares connecting to

Muscle Beach Muscle Beach is the birthplace of the United States physical fitness boom, which started in 1934 with predominantly gymnastics activities on the south side of the Santa Monica Pier. Muscle Beach Venice is the contemporary title of the outdoor we ...

Venice Canal Historic District The Venice Canal Historic District is embedded in the residential Venice suburb of Los Angeles, California. The historic district is noteworthy for possessing man-made wetland canals, built in 1905 by developer Abbot Kinney as part of his Ven ...

Marina del Rey Marina del Rey (Spanish for "Marina of the King") is an unincorporated seaside community in Los Angeles County, California, with an eponymous harbor that is a major boating and water recreation destination of the greater Los Angeles area. The ...

Ballona Wetlands Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve (pronunciation: "Bah-yo-nuh" or "Buy-yo-nah" ) is a protected area that once served as the natural estuary for neighboring Ballona Creek. The site is located in Los Angeles County, California, just south of ...

and

Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the ...

, and its proximity to historic U.S. Route 66,

Santa Monica Pier The Santa Monica Pier is a large double-jointed pier at the foot of Colorado Avenue in Santa Monica, California, United States. It contains a small amusement park, concession stands, and areas for views and fishing. Attractions Pacific Park T ...

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

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

coupled with Los Angeles's mild

mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

, 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, , FAIA (; ; born ) is a Canadian-born American architect and designer. A number of his buildings, including his private residence in Santa Monica, California, have become world-renowned attractions. His works are considered ...

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, 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 the 29 types 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 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 physically acce ...

topiary sculptures and fountains '' The Dinosaurs of Santa Monica'' by the French team

Les Lalanne Les Lalanne (sometimes translated as "The Lalannes" in English) is the term for the French artist team of François-Xavier Lalanne (1927–2008) and Claude Lalanne (1924–2019). Biographies Francois-Xavier Lalanne was born in Agen, France, and r ...

. 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 Peter Shire (born 1947) is a Los Angeles-based artist. Shire was born in the Echo Park district of Los Angeles, where he currently lives and works. His sculpture, furniture and ceramics have been exhibited in the United States, Italy, France, Ja ...

, 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 Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performance is pra ...

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.

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'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

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 land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the Californ ...

. {{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