Santa Monica Place
![]() Santa Monica Place seen at dusk in March 2013 | |
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Location | Santa Monica, California, U.S. |
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Coordinates | 34°00′49″N 118°29′37″W / 34.013621°N 118.493726°WCoordinates: 34°00′49″N 118°29′37″W / 34.013621°N 118.493726°W |
Opening date | 1980 (as original indoor mall) August 6, 2010 (as current outdoor mall) |
Developer | The Hahn Company and The Rouse Company |
Management | Macerich |
Owner | Macerich |
Architect | Frank Gehry (1980) Jon Jerde (2010) |
No. of stores and services | 90 |
No. of anchor tenants | 1 |
Total retail floor area | 475,000 sq ft (44,100 m2)[1] |
No. of floors | 3 |
Parking | Structured |
Website | santamonicaplace |
Santa Monica Place is an outdoor shopping mall in Santa Monica, California. The mall is located at the south end of Santa Monica's Third Street Promenade shopping district, two blocks from the beach and Santa Monica Pier. The mall spans 3 levels and is anchored by Nordstrom. The mall also featured a movie theater, called ArcLight Cinemas. There are two vacant anchors that previously were Century 21, which closed in December 2020, and Bloomingdale's, which closed in April 2021. The mall's tenant mix is predominantly upscale, featuring Tiffany & Co., Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Emporio Armani, and Diane von Fürstenberg.
It underwent a massive, three-year reconstruction process beginning in January 2008[2] and was re-opened as a modern outdoor shopping mall on August 6, 2010.[3]
History[]
Santa Monica Place originally opened in 1980 at the apex of Santa Monica's Third Street Promenade, developed jointly by The Rouse Company and The Hahn Company. Originally anchored by J. W. Robinson's and The Broadway, it featured 120 shops & restaurants and a food court, spanning three levels. Notably, Santa Monica Place was one of the first works of architect Frank Gehry and his first shopping mall, after being rejected from designing The Mall in Columbia in Columbia, Maryland, early in his professional career with Gruen Associates.[4] In the 1990s, both anchor stores changed names. In 1993, the Robinson's store rebranded as Robinsons-May while The Broadway store rebranded as Macy's in 1996.
Macerich purchased Santa Monica Place from Rouse in 1999, and rumors of major changes to the then-flailing shopping center were reported.[5] In 2004, the company proposed tearing down the mall and replacing it with a 10-acre (40,000 m2) complex of high-rise condos, shops and offices.[6] The plan met with strong opposition from local residents who felt the project did not meet the low-rise character of the neighborhood and would worsen traffic. In 2006, Robinsons-May closed as a result of Federated buying out May Department Stores in 2005. The store was later replaced by Steve & Barry's. In a second 2007 proposal, Macerich significantly scaled back its plans, which was received as positive by the public, and was passed.[7]
The $250 million project removed the mall's roof and gutted the interior, replacing it with two levels of retail shops and a third-level food court. At the same time, Kevin Kennon Architects converted the original Macy's into a Bloomingdale's while the Steve & Barry's was replaced with a Nordstrom. Dallas-based Omniplan served as the executive architects in association with The Jerde Partnership who served as the design architects.[8] The grand reopening occurred on August 6, 2010. The architect for the redesign was Jon Jerde. It was his last major work before he died.[9]
On May 26, 2016, Century 21 opened a two-story pop-up store replacing a former Kitson store. However, Century 21 remained open until they filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy, and winded up closing all of their stores in 2020.[10][11]
On January 6, 2021, Macy's announced that Bloomingdale's would be closing its store at Santa Monica Place as part of a plan to close 46 stores nationwide. The store closed permanently in April 2021.[12]
In April 2021, the Arclight Cinemas at the mall permanently closed after its parent company The Decurion Corporation announced they would be shutting down all of its locations, due to the financial impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic.[13][14]
Public Transit Access[]
The LACMTA E Line terminus station is located across the street from the former Bloomingdale's.[15] In addition, many Santa Monica Big Blue Bus routes serve the mall.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/96/052607-009-SMP.jpg/220px-052607-009-SMP.jpg)
References[]
- ^ "Santa Monica Place" (PDF). assets2.macerichepicenter.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 May 2015.
- ^ Groves, Martha (2008-01-31). "Aging mall to close for renewal". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2016-06-22.
- ^ Chang, Andrea (2010-08-07). "Shoppers swarm remodeled Santa Monica Place mall". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2016-06-22.
- ^ "Gehry's Santa Monica Place gets a wave of changes". Building Design + Construction.
- ^ "Santa Monica Place ready for a major redo?". National Real Estate Investor. October 1, 2002.
- ^ Groves, Martha (March 5, 2007). "Hopes high for low-profile mall". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "Sweeping Santa Monica Plan Scrapped". Los Angeles Times. June 4, 2006.
- ^ Gluck, Marissa (August 6, 2010). "Santa Monica Place Swaps Gehry for Airy". The Architect's Newspaper.
- ^ "Jon Jerde Obituary - Los Angeles, CA". Los Angeles Times – via legacy.com.
- ^ "Making the Most of the Final Farewell to Century 21". The Lo-Down : News from the Lower East Side. 2020-12-13. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
- ^ Directo-Meston, Danielle (2016-05-19). "NYC's Century 21 Is Coming to Santa Monica Place". Racked LA. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
- ^ "Macy's is closing dozens of stores this year. Here's the full list". CNBC. January 6, 2021.
- ^ Lang, Brent (2021-04-13). "Arclight Cinemas, Pacific Theatres Will Close Permanently". Variety. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (2021-04-13). "Arclight Cinemas And Pacific Theatres Won't Be Reopening; Parent Company Decurion Hands Keys Back To Landlords". Deadline. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
- ^ "Expo Line:Phase 2:Overview". Buildexpo.org. Archived from the original on 12 August 2011. Retrieved 2011-03-31.
External links[]
- Commercial buildings completed in 1980
- Buildings and structures in Santa Monica, California
- Landmarks in Los Angeles
- Frank Gehry buildings
- Shopping malls established in 1980
- Shopping malls on the Westside, Los Angeles
- Tourist attractions in Santa Monica, California
- 1980 establishments in California