Santa Monica Pier is the California pier that stretches into the Pacific and features an amusement park, aquarium, and restaurants. Located at the foot of Colorado Avenue in Santa Monica, it combines a working coastal landmark with attractions, fishing areas, shops, and ocean views.
The present pier is made from two historically separate structures. The Municipal Pier opened in 1909, originally carrying sewer pipes beyond the breakers. A shorter Pleasure Pier, built in 1916 by amusement-park pioneer Charles I. D. Looff and his son Arthur, later supplied the rides and entertainment associated with the site.
Today, Pacific Park occupies part of the pier and includes the solar-powered Pacific Wheel Ferris wheel. The complex also includes the Heal the Bay Aquarium beneath the pier, restaurants, arcades, and the 1920s Looff Hippodrome, whose carousel is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Pier 39 is another famous California waterfront attraction, but it is in San Francisco, not Santa Monica.