Santa Monica Place (mall, renovation, black)

[John23]

Originally Posted by Full-Blooded American

Hot Dog on a Stick forever!!!

Okay folks, look here...

When the Santa Monica Place was completed, in 1980 I believe the year was, people stopped visiting what was the old mall, ergo, SMP became the place to be. The old mall, which shortly became a wasteland, was relegated to background shots for films such as Peewee's Big Adventure, and a haven for people who liked feeding pigeons.

Then, it reopened in the early 90's as the Third Street Promenade, and drew business from not only Westwood Village (which became loserville by 1992), but the Santa Monica Place as well. So now, the SMP is being renovated, and Third Street will eventually become yesterday's news. So then, what's the point of all this? Why spend all this money following fickle trends, when eventually Third Street will simply close ten years from now, to be reopened a few years later with an enclosure over the whole thing and billed as an alternative to the new SMP when the weather is too rainy or windy for outdoor shopping?

LOL, those Hot Dog on a stick girls pumping away. What exactly were they doing? I never ate there, I dont even know what they have on their menu.

Santa Monica Place memories...

-Bought my first Garbage Pail Kids there in 1985 or so. There was a gift shop on the 2nd level, under the old toy store. It was a fun place as a kid in the 80's.

-Remember their center display, in the center of the mall. They use to change it every so often. Kind of cool for awhile.

And their food court was cool for awhile.

I dont understand the shopping mall business. They build these huge structures, then in 10-20 years, they're out of date, tastes are so fickle...whats the point in the first place? Don't they study history?

The problem with the promenade vs grove or americana...it's too dirty/grungy (relatively speaking). Its still fun....but I know it won't be the same in 10 years.

Westwood villiage? lol. Havent been there in years. Terrible parking. I would go more if the parking was better.

[Full-Blooded American]

Originally Posted by John23

LOL, those Hot Dog on a stick girls pumping away. What exactly were they doing?

Making lemonade. The pumping was to juice the lemons.

[Full-Blooded American]

Originally Posted by John23

Westwood villiage? lol. Havent been there in years. Terrible parking. I would go more if the parking was better.

They eventually got it right by allowing people to park in the federal building parking lot, then take a free shuttle into the village. I don't think they do that any longer, for the four or five people who visit the village on a Friday or Saturday night.

[John23]

Originally Posted by Full-Blooded American

They eventually got it right by allowing people to park in the federal building parking lot, then take a free shuttle into the village. I don't think they do that any longer, for the four or five people who visit the village on a Friday or Saturday night.

What a contrast to Santa Monica. SM has those wonderful parking structures in downtown, clearly marked, you know what you're doing. Makes things so easy and predictable.

Westwood??? Complete chaos. Maybe park at westside pavillion and walk, lol.

[Full-Blooded American]

Originally Posted by John23

What a contrast to Santa Monica. SM has those wonderful parking structures in downtown, clearly marked, you know what you're doing. Makes things so easy and predictable.

Westwood??? Complete chaos. Maybe park at westside pavillion and walk, lol.

I think they actually got around to finally improving parking, but it's too late. It's still a crummy little area. The residents in the pricey surrounding areas don't shop there often, with a few exceptions such as Stan's Donuts, and it's not a really college oriented area so even UCLA students often go elsewhere, such as 3rd street. BTW, Olive Garden is gone, which was about 25% of the reason to go into the Village. Tower Records has been gone for years, which was another 25%, so that really leaves just Stan's and one or two other places worthy of any mention. Perhaps Westwood could have kept pace with the times if it didn't have so many crabby old ladies in the surrounding communities blocking every other project in the Village.

Typical unremarkable pedestrian traffic these days:

[AnUnidentifiedMale]

Originally Posted by Full-Blooded American

Typical unremarkable pedestrian traffic these days:

Yeah, I agree. Unfortunately, that's mostly what qualifies as a "bustling pedestrian environment" in Los Angeles.

[John23]

Originally Posted by Full-Blooded American

I think they actually got around to finally improving parking, but it's too late. It's still a crummy little area. The residents in the pricey surrounding areas don't shop there often, with a few exceptions such as Stan's Donuts, and it's not a really college oriented area so even UCLA students often go elsewhere, such as 3rd street. BTW, Olive Garden is gone, which was about 25% of the reason to go into the Village. Tower Records has been gone for years, which was another 25%, so that really leaves just Stan's and one or two other places worthy of any mention. Perhaps Westwood could have kept pace with the times if it didn't have so many crabby old ladies in the surrounding communities blocking every other project in the Village.

Typical unremarkable pedestrian traffic these days:

Is the arcade still there...I think 3 or 4 stores down from the Village theater?

That theater is pretty cool...saw the Batman and Robin premiere, Saving Private Ryan and some other movies in the 90's. I dont know what its like now.

And there's an In N Out. But can't think of much else. That Olive Garden was nice. Theres other restaurants I'd go to, even a pizzeria or something, but too much hassle.

[Full-Blooded American]

Originally Posted by John23

Is the arcade still there...I think 3 or 4 stores down from the Village theater?

That theater is pretty cool...saw the Batman and Robin premiere, Saving Private Ryan and some other movies in the 90's. I dont know what its like now.

And there's an In N Out. But can't think of much else. That Olive Garden was nice. Theres other restaurants I'd go to, even a pizzeria or something, but too much hassle.

I'm not sure if Westworld, the arcade, is still there.

The Fox theater is indeed nice. So's the Aero in Santa Monica, as well as are quite a few others in the area.

BTW, the Mann theater was recently torn down -- don't know what's going to be there.

[Forever Blue]

Hey guys! I just happened to go to this mall's site & it looks like they're completely renovating it & it will reopen on August 6, 2010! How exciting & it looks fabulous! This will put my fairly new outdoor shopping mall, the Victoria Gardens in Rancho Cucamonga TO SHAME!

What does everyone think about this?!

I wish I lived a little closer! But I'll still go there from time to time:

http://www.santamonicaplace.com/splash.html

[Exitus Acta Probat]

Originally Posted by Forever Blue

Hey guys! I just happened to go to this mall's site & it looks like they're completely renovating it & it will reopen on August 6, 2010!

Thanks for the info, lest somebody didn't read the previous posts in this thread.