Santa Monica Place was a three-story, 570,000-square-foot (53,000 m2) shopping mall in Santa Monica, California.
The mall is located at the south end of the famous Third Street Promenade, and is also two blocks from the Santa Monica Pier and the beach. The mall is closed currently and is in the process of a major redevelopment with the new complex set to open in August 6, 2010.
Santa Monica Place opened in 1980 adjacent to the old Third Street Mall and was renovated in 1991 and again in 1996. The complex features 120 shops, the largest of which is Macy’s. It is 152,000 sq ft (14,100 m2). on three levels. The mall featured a Robinsons May department store, but due to the merger between Federated/May Co., it was closed in 2006. It was 131,250 sq ft (12,194 m2). on three levels. The mall featured some upscale brands such as Kenneth Cole and Williams-Sonoma.
Santa Monica Place was designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry early in his professional career with Gruen Associates, constructed in 1980, and renovated in 1990. It has served as a backdrop for several films and television shows, most notably the exterior of the Ridgemont Mall in Fast Times at Ridgemont High; it has also been used in Pretty in Pink as well as Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Beverly Hills 90210, and in the video game Midnight Club: Los Angeles.
