Santa Monica Pier

Santa Monica Pier is a historic pleasure pier at the foot of Colorado Avenue in Santa Monica, California, extending out over the Pacific Ocean. The original Santa Monica Municipal Pier opened on 9 September 1909, although its purpose was initially practical rather than recreational: an outfall pipe ran beneath the structure to carry treated sewage away from the shoreline. The character of the area changed dramatically in 1916 when amusement entrepreneur Charles I. D. Looff and his son Arthur built a separate pleasure pier alongside it, complete with rides and the distinctive Looff Hippodrome. The two piers eventually became a single complex. The Hippodrome survives and today houses a 1922 carousel that was moved to Santa Monica in 1947. The pier came close to being demolished in the early 1970s, but local opposition saved it, only for severe storms in 1983 to destroy around a third of the structure. Reconstruction followed, and Pacific Park opened in 1996, bringing a permanent amusement park back to the pier with its roller coaster and large Ferris wheel. The combination of old wooden boardwalk, historic carousel building, amusement rides, beach and open views of the Pacific has also made Santa Monica Pier one of the most frequently used filming locations in Southern California.

Santa Monica Pier has appeared in The Sting (1973), Ruthless People (1986), Seinfeld (1989–1998), Forrest Gump (1994), Cellular (2004), Iron Man (2008), Modern Family (2009–2020), Her (2013) and The Flight Attendant (2020–2022). Filmmakers have used almost every part of the landmark, from the Looff Hippodrome and the end of the wooden pier to Pacific Park and the Ferris wheel. Sometimes it plays itself, while The Sting (1973) manages the more unlikely trick of turning the California beachfront into Depression-era Chicago and Seinfeld (1989–1998) quietly uses it as a supposed New York waterfront.

In The Sting (1973), the Looff Hippodrome at Santa Monica Pier becomes the carousel operated by Henry Gondorff in 1930s Chicago. Johnny Hooker seeks out the experienced con man after his partner Luther Coleman is murdered and finds Gondorff living and working around the carousel with his girlfriend Billie. Gondorff initially appears a long way from the legendary confidence man Hooker has heard about, but soon agrees to help him construct the elaborate scheme designed to take down crime boss Doyle Lonnegan. The carousel and surrounding rooms consequently appear several times as Hooker and Gondorff begin putting their plan together. Because the real building sits directly beside the Pacific, the filmmakers had to carefully hide its unmistakably Californian surroundings, even using a matte painting to replace the coastal background with a Chicago skyline. The Moorish-influenced Hippodrome itself dates from 1916 and remains one of the oldest surviving structures on the pier.

In Ruthless People (1986), Santa Monica Pier becomes the setting for the chaotic climax of the kidnapping comedy. Ken Kessler has finally obtained the ransom money from Sam Stone and escapes in a car while a convoy of police vehicles follows him towards the coast. Apparently trapped, Ken drives straight along Santa Monica Pier and sends the car over the end into the Pacific. When money begins floating to the surface, bystanders immediately jump into the water after it, much to Sam’s fury. Police eventually recover the car together with a body wearing Ken’s disguise, apparently confirming that the kidnapper has died. In reality, Ken has substituted the body of the Bedroom Killer and escapes underwater with the ransom money using scuba equipment. Barbara then arrives at the pier, convinces police that the dead man was her kidnapper and finally turns on Sam, pushing her husband into the water after learning that he had been perfectly happy to let her die. The film therefore makes extensive use of both the full length of the pier and the water surrounding it rather than simply using the landmark for an establishing shot.

In Seinfeld (1989–1998), Santa Monica Pier repeatedly stands in for an unspecified New York waterfront whenever George Costanza or Jerry Seinfeld needs somewhere to sit and dramatically reconsider his life. The most famous example comes in “The Opposite” (1994), when George sits alone on the pier and concludes that every instinct and decision he has ever made has been wrong. He returns to Jerry with the idea that doing the exact opposite might finally improve his life, setting up one of the series’ best-known George storylines. The gag is reused in “The Engagement” (1995), when George contemplates his romantic history after he and Jerry promise to make serious changes to their lives, eventually deciding to reunite with Susan Ross and impulsively propose to her. “The Invitations” (1996) turns the joke around by placing Jerry on the pier as he contemplates his own engagement to Jeannie Steinman, even reusing footage of happy couples and families from George’s earlier sequence. Santa Monica Pier appears yet again in “The Voice” (1997), when Jerry solemnly considers whether he would rather keep dating Claire or continue making the ridiculous voice she has forbidden him to use. He chooses the voice. Despite the supposed New York setting, “Santa Monica Pier” can even be read on one of the benches in “The Engagement”, giving away where the scenes were actually filmed.

In Forrest Gump (1994), Santa Monica Pier marks the western limit of Forrest’s extraordinary run across the United States. After beginning to run for no particular reason and continuing across the country for more than three years, Forrest eventually reaches California and runs all the way to the end of the pier. Faced with the Pacific Ocean and nowhere farther west to go, he simply turns around and starts running back in the opposite direction. The moment lasts only briefly, but it has become one of the pier’s most recognisable film appearances because Santa Monica is explicitly used as the point where Forrest literally runs out of land. His journey later takes him to the Atlantic coast at Marshall Point Lighthouse in Maine before he turns around yet again.

In Cellular (2004), Santa Monica Pier is central to the film’s lengthy final confrontation. Ryan has spent most of the day trying to rescue kidnapped teacher Jessica Martin after she manages to connect a broken telephone to his mobile phone, eventually discovering that her abductors are corrupt police officers. After obtaining a video recording that can expose them, Ryan arranges to exchange it for Jessica and her family at Santa Monica Pier, deliberately choosing the crowded location because it will make it harder for the kidnappers to kill him unnoticed. The plan quickly falls apart when his former girlfriend Chloe inadvertently identifies him in the crowd. Ryan jumps from the pier into the water and takes refuge beneath the structure while Sergeant Bob Mooney gradually realises that several of his fellow officers are involved in the kidnapping. The action spreads across the boardwalk, the carousel area and a boathouse beneath the pier, culminating in a confrontation between Ryan, Mooney and Ethan Greer. When Ethan secretly moves into position behind Mooney, Ryan calls his mobile phone; the ringtone reveals where he is hiding and allows Mooney to turn on him. The historic Looff Hippodrome also features directly in the sequence, making Cellular one of the films to use several different parts of Santa Monica Pier during the same set-piece.

In Iron Man (2008), Santa Monica Pier appears during Tony Stark’s early testing of the armour that will become Iron Man. After constructing the Mark II suit in his Malibu workshop, Tony takes it on its first full flight over the Los Angeles coast. During the sequence he flies above Santa Monica Pier, with the illuminated Ferris wheel and amusement park visible below, before pushing the suit higher to determine its maximum altitude. The experiment nearly ends disastrously when the armour begins icing over at high altitude and loses power, forcing Tony to regain control as he falls back towards the ground. The pier itself is only seen briefly, but its distinctive outline places Tony’s first real flight firmly within the Southern California landscape surrounding his Malibu home.

In Modern Family (2009–2020), Santa Monica Pier appears in the season-one episode “Fears” (2010), where Gloria brings Jay and Manny to Pacific Park under false pretences. Manny has avoided attending a friend’s birthday party because he is afraid of roller coasters, so Gloria tells him that they are going fishing instead. Once they are walking along the pier, Manny notices that they are heading towards the amusement rides and quickly realises what she has planned. After Gloria persuades him to face his fear, Jay suddenly begins making excuses of his own, first blaming his back and then claiming to have an inner-ear problem. Gloria mocks both of them and heads for the roller coaster herself, embarrassing Jay and Manny enough that they eventually follow her aboard. By the end of the ride both are enjoying themselves, giving the Santa Monica Pier sequence a direct connection to the episode’s wider theme of confronting personal fears.

In Her (2013), Santa Monica Pier becomes a date destination for Theodore Twombly and Samantha, the artificial-intelligence operating system with whom he has fallen in love. Since Samantha has no physical body, Theodore carries his device with its camera facing outward, allowing her to experience the amusement park through what he shows her. They move through the crowds and rides together, joking and talking as Samantha directs his attention towards things she wants to see. The sequence is one of the moments in which their unconventional relationship feels almost completely ordinary: Theodore is physically alone in the crowd, but behaves like anyone else enjoying a night out with a partner. Santa Monica Pier also fits naturally into the film’s vision of a near-future Los Angeles. While Her (2013) combines real Southern California locations with modern architecture filmed in Shanghai, the pier is left immediately recognisable, grounding Theodore and Samantha’s increasingly unusual relationship in a familiar part of the city.

In The Flight Attendant (2020–2022), Santa Monica Pier dominates much of the season-two episode “No Exit” (2022). Cassie Bowden and Shane Evans arrive at Pacific Park after Max works out that the final image in the View-Master clues points to one of the rides there. The previous images have corresponded to murders committed by a mysterious woman who looks like Cassie, leading them to fear that the pier may be where the double intends to kill Cassie and complete the attempt to frame her. Cassie soon spots the woman and begins following her through the amusement park, but the situation becomes even more confusing when CIA officer Benjamin Berry appears. After being warned not to trust him, Cassie flees onto the Ferris wheel, using the height to watch what is happening below. From her gondola she sees Shane confront Benjamin and then collapse, apparently confirming her suspicions that Benjamin is behind the killings. At the same time, Annie and Max have followed Cassie to the pier and find themselves being pursued by Esteban and Gabrielle Diaz. Max draws the pair away while Annie ambushes them with their own taser and recovers the engagement ring Gabrielle had taken from her. Cassie finally discovers that the woman impersonating her is fellow flight attendant Grace St. James, someone she had come to like and trust. Grace forces her back onto the ride and admits that she has been carrying out the killings under orders, while also revealing that she attacked Benjamin rather than working for him. Cassie desperately tries to persuade Grace that she still has a way out, but Grace dies by suicide before revealing who has been controlling her. The events on the pier finally prove that Cassie has been manipulated into suspecting the wrong people and set up the revelation in the season finale about who is really behind the conspiracy. Much of the episode was filmed on the real Santa Monica Pier and around Pacific Park under COVID-era restrictions. For the close-up material inside the Ferris wheel gondolas, however, the production constructed a replica section of the ride on a soundstage, allowing the long confrontation between Cassie and Grace to be filmed under controlled conditions.

Seinfeld (1989–1998)

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