Comments on: Santa Monica Place; Santa Monica, California

By: Santa Monica Hotel

Santa Monica Hotel — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 14:41:12 +0000

The Santa Monica Place is an incredible business. I bring my kids here all the time, they love it and the massiveness of the building.

By: brandon

brandon — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 07:25:29 +0000

its funny the only time I have ever been in SMP was to walk to and from the parking garages! as mentioned, the only place that was ever hopping was the food court.

i was just down there valentines/president’s weekend and the new mall construction is in full swing. luckily they have kept the old parking structures open for free parking for people headed to the promenade and the pier

By: Glenn

Glenn — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 00:46:05 +0000

The demise of SMP is a testament to exactly how dated & disposable the work of Gehry is. His work (IMO) is a classic case of the “emperor’s new clothes.” Because they contain no elements of classicism, Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao currently touted by architecture critics as “groundbreaking & innovative” within a few decades will be declared as tacky & laughable eyesores— an exercise in architectural egotistical self-indulgence.

While I was working near SMP back in the late 90s, I noticed even then that the only places that did a bang up business were the restaurants in the Food Court. Workers in the area flocked to the reasonably priced food outlets because the sit-down places along the Promenade were ridiculously overpriced for the average office/retail worker.

SMP anchors like Nordstrom & Bloomingdale’s will face stiff competition from already competitive centers like The Grove, Beverly Center, Century City (all of which are within blocks of each other) and Westside Pavilion. However, being only 2 blocks from the ocean, Santa Monica will always have an appeal for LA tourists.

By: Vicki

Vicki — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 00:55:34 +0000

I worked on the original construction of the Santa Monica Place…Frank Gehry did indeed design the oroiginal mall, Gruen Associates did the Construction documents and the Construction Administration. (Victor Gruen was the ‘grandfather’ of the mixed-use center, a.k.a Shopping Center) and they were added to the team to get the project built since Gehry’s office has always been high on design, but not so much common construction practices.
There was a fire two weeks before the original mall opening date in the Robinson’s and a Security guard did perish in the fire. However, the mall opened as scheduled even though every clerestory pane had to be replaced and the handrails and tiles repaired where the glass fell on them. (The firemen broke the glass to allow the smoke out-too bad they didn’t know the clerestory had operable windows.)

By: ghome

ghome — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 02:11:18 +0000

Bloomingdales is replacing Macy’s at the mall.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-mall11-2008sep11,0,694250.story
The Bloomingdales at Santa Monica will be based on the smaller SOHO store concept.

By: Jason

Jason — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 23:33:23 +0000

I went to this mall when I visited Santa Monica in the summer of 1991. It seemed to be booming back then. I am discovering through this web site that a huge % of the malls I visited in the 70s-90s are now closed or a shadow of their former selves.

By: SEAN

SEAN — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:28:57 +0000

PR Newswire reports that Nordstrom has signed a letter of intent to open a 3-level 122,000 square foot store at Santa Monica Place.

The story is on Plain Vanilla Shell today, along with a brief discription of Maceerich’s plans for the 550,000 plus square foot center.

That is exactly the shot in the arm they needed, now how about adding a new AMC theatre complex to replace the 4 & 7 screen locations on 3rd street.

By: nancybisno

nancybisno — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 00:52:13 +0000

I am glade Santa Monica Place closed for the lat few years there was no bussiness in the mall the look was out of date the new look of the mall will be like centurty city Stores like Gucci and Tifferys it is about time the new Santa Place will be open Noverber 2009

By: Craig A Crawford

Craig A Crawford — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 22:44:59 +0000

I am the grandson of Roland Crawford and am interested if any readers are aware of other buildings he designed.

Craig A Crawford

By: Scott Mercer

Scott Mercer — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 10:13:28 +0000

Yes, right before the “Third Street Promenade” opened in 1989, that strip was deader than dead.

Fast forward a few years and it’s getting some of the highest rents in California, some of them higher than Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills!

Rents on Third Street were so high that Disney couldn’t stay there. It went from empty stores with a few independents, to chains moving in, to more upscale chains moving in, to high-end fashion boutiques moving in, which where it is right now.

In 1989, the SMP mall was the only bright spot in that area. Now, forget about it, it’s Beverly Hills Junior.