The Santa Monica History Museum recently had a special exhibit that showed the history of the Santa Monica Pier. The exhibit, titled “Santa Monica Pleasure Pier: A Look Back to 1917 from Today“, ran from November 5, 2019 to February 22, 2020. It was a visual exploration of the history of the infamous Pier by Michael Murphy and Jens Lucking and provided a unique opportunity to view the original photographs, plans, and drawings that Charles Looff created to solicit investment and other support for his new pier. The exhibit also had rare images that showed how Looff, more than a century ago, transformed Santa Monica’s now world-famous pier from a municipal utility into the “Pleasure Pier,” the earliest iteration of today’s world-renowned pier.

The Santa Monica History Museum shared some supplemental videos on their YouTube Channel, so viewers can learn some of the history at home.

The Santa Monica History Museum is located at 1350 7th St., Santa Monica CA 90401. It was founded in 1988 and moved locations several times until the City of Santa Monica provided a long-term lease located within the Santa Monica Main Library. The Museum has six galleries and a research library. You can even see the old Pacific Park Ferris wheel hub there. With over six hundred thousand rare photographs, the Museum has one of the largest collections in Southern California. The Museum serves people of all ages and is handicap-accessible and offers tours, exhibits, special events, lectures, children’s workshops and research services. Also offered are free docent‐led tours to school classrooms and youth groups.