In the summer of 1955, the Hollywood Autocade opened at the La Monica with one-hundred famous and unusual cars, including Jack Benny's Maxwell and a Rumpler Drop Car. Country music star Spade Cooley began broadcasting his weekly television show from the ballroom in 1948, where the program remained until 1954. Eslick with a Spanish façade and French Renaissance interior, it was the largest dance hall on the west coast, accommodating 5,000 dancers on its 15,000-square-foot (1,400 m 2) hard maple floor. The La Monica Ballroom opened on July 23, 1924. A calliope provides musical accompaniment. It was rebuilt in 1990 inside the Hippodrome. The Philadelphia Toboggan Company built the Carousel, PTC #62, in 1922. Attractions on the Pleasure Pier eventually included the Santa Monica Looff Hippodrome building (which now houses the current carousel and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places), the Blue Streak Racer wooden roller coaster (which was purchased from the defunct Wonderland amusement park in San Diego), the Whip, merry-go-rounds, Wurlitzer organs, and a funhouse. Looff and his son Arthur, amusement park pioneers. The short, wide adjoining Pleasure Pier to the south, also known as Newcomb Pier, was built in 1916 by Charles I. The long, narrow Municipal Pier opened September 9, 1909, primarily to carry sewer pipes beyond the breakers and had no amenities. Santa Monica has had several piers however, the current Santa Monica Pier is made up of two adjoining piers that long had separate owners. History Sketch of Santa Monica and the Pier, 1875 An early Santa Monica Pier, 1877 The pier with Pacific Park on the left, 2006 Anglers on the Santa Monica Pier, 2009 Santa Monica Pier at dusk, 2010 View of the pier and Pacific Park from the beach at night, 2012 The Ferris wheel and roller coaster lights at night, 2009 View of the Municipal Pier from the ferris wheel, 2013 In 2018 The pier is a venue for outdoor concerts, movies, and other activities. The pier's west end is a popular location for anglers.

It also has an original carousel hippodrome from the 1920s, the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium operated by Heal the Bay, shops, entertainers, a video arcade, a trapeze school, pubs, and restaurants.

The brightly lit wheel can be seen from a distance and has been turned off during the Earth Hour observance. The pier contains Pacific Park, a family amusement park with its solar panelled Ferris wheel. Not to be confused with Pacific Ocean Park, a former amusement park a few miles south which operated from 1958 to 1967 and has been demolished.

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