Place to see: Santa Monica Pier, Santa Monica, California, United States

About this place:

Santa Monica Pier opened in 1909. It was the age of top hats and hoop dresses, and when walking above the waters of the Pacific Ocean was a novelty.

Located at the bottom of Colorado Avenue, off of Ocean Avenue, the pier's original success was attributed to both a roller coaster and the famed La Monica Ballroom. Back in 1924, the vast and ornate La Monica Ballroom had opened on the pier to become the site of some of the earliest national radio and television broadcasts. It also played host to throngs of dancers who came nightly to enjoy the big band sound, including "Western Swing."

While it remained an integral part of the Santa Monica social scene until the 1960s, the pier was almost torn down in the early 1970s. Tastes had shifted away from the old-world charm of the pier.

The pier was saved and refurbished when in 1981, the city appointed a task force to oversee restoration. Two fierce storms halted work in 1983, when 100,000 square feet of the pier were washed away. By 1988, however, the pier was refurbished to its current condition, extending out into the ocean about 1,000 feet.

Considered the finish line of the famed Route 66, Santa Monica Pier was dedicated as an Official Los Angeles County historical landmark in May of 1975. Today the pier plays host to three-million visitors a year.