Jeffrey Stanton Santa Monica Pier A History from 1875 to 1990, Donahue Publishing: Los Angeles, CA, 1990, 1928, 1919, 1910s, 1875
"Ocean Park's new Million-Dollar Pier, which opened on June 17, 1911, about a mile south of the Municipal Pier, immediately began luring away much of North Beach's tourist business. The amusement pier was huge with two roller coasters, vaudeville theater, several large restaurants, and numerous other attractions.
" . . .
"Edwin P. Benjamin purchased beach property held by Edison Electric in April 1912. That, combined with 85 feet that he already owned gave him 250 feet of beach frontage . . .
" . . . he hired a band to entertain visitors and converted the old powerhouse into assembly rooms and a meeting hall.
" . . .
"The first test of the Municipal Pier's strength occurred on February 2, 1914. A huge storm damaged Venice's breakwater protected pier. . . .
"But by August 1915 some damage to the pilings appeared . . .
"In September Edwin P. Benjamin bought the beachfront south of Colorado for $125,000 and announced he was going to build an amusement center. This additional property, which was adjacent to his Edison property, gave him 347 feet of beach frontage that extended inland to Ocean Av.
"Benjamin assured the community that his new recreation center would be constructed "upon broad, progressive and refined lines." . . .
" . . .
"Santa Monica's business community was introduced to Charles I.D. Looff at their weekly Chamber of Commerce meeting on Feb. 22, 1916. He was a well-known Long Beach amusement operator who had just purchased the northern 200 feet of Benjamin's beach frontage adjacent to the Municipal Pier for $50,000 . . . " p. 25
[P. 22 Photo of the casting site for the Santa Monica Munipal Pier concrete pylons shows an unmentioned Union Stables in the background.]
[P. 23 & 24 Photos of the September Day opening was taken by H.F. Rile.]
[Photo on page 26 indicates that the Looff Pier was built by Charles I.D. Looff and his son, Arthur.]
[Photos on pages, 26, 27, 28 showing both the Santa Monica Municipal and Looff Piers, July 1917, somehow "joined at the hip". There seems to be two structures on the Municipal Pier T's, a fish market and a fish diner, while at the tip of the Municipal Pier there is what seems to be a boat hoist and a few dinghys. The focus of the scene is the Looff Carousel Bldg., the Blue Streak Racer Roller Coaster and a large picnic area between the carousel building and the Looff Pier Tract Bldg., which sold real estate; The What Is It Funhouse; A Giant Twirler, The Aeroscope, which twirled 6 boats at 35 miles per hour; The Whip; and two buildings beyond the Carousel, one of which was the Billard Room, with seven billard tables and also which included 8 bowling lanes.]
[Photos on pp. 34 and 35 show The Blue Streak Racer where two trains would race side by side for 3500 ft.]
[Photos on page 28 and 29 show the Airline Trolley Line terminus on the Looff Pier, the interior of the Billards Building, Looff's Aeroscope, and Episcopal Church Picnickers. The Looff Pier hosted picnics nearly every summer day the caption says.]
[1918 Photo and Diagram on pp. 30 and 31 identify a bandstand near the picnic area; Aeroscope; Blue Streak Racer; Whip Ride; Bowling & Billiards Hall; Restaurant and Banquet Hall; What Is It Fun House; and Fish Concession.]
"Charles Looff had a remarkable reputation for building quality amusement projects. He built Coney Island's first carousel in 1876. Success in hand carving two more carousels in the early 1880s encouraged him to open a carousel factory. By 1890, he employed four carvers in his Brooklyn, New York shop.
"In 1895 Looff set up a showcase carousel at Crescent Park in Rhode Island. The four-abreast machine was housed in a domed building with stained glass windows. New models of the factory's horses and menagerie animals were adorned with glittering jewels, gold and silver leaf paint, and lavish ornamentation. Prospective customers visited the carousel to select figures that they wanted included in their carousels.
"When Brooklyn city officials in 1895 condemned the land on which Looff's factory stood to build a park, Looff packed and moved his business to Riverside, Rhode Island. His carousel business boomed there and he soon expanded into the production of other amusement rides and fun houses. He soon became a self-made millionaire.
"Charles Looff decided to expand his business in 1910 by moving his entire factory, wife Anna and his six children to Long Beach, California. He set up his factory near the harbor and installed another showcase carousel at The Pike, Long Beach's amusement zone. The family lived in a second floor apartment in the carousel's hippodrome building . . . An earlier carousel venture at Ocean Park's Million Dollar Pier ended with a disastrous pier fire in 1912." pp. 26 and 29
"Looff said he chose Santa Monica to build his amusement pier because, "the bathing beach at Santa Monica is well-known as one of the finest on the Pacific Coast, it attracts the highest class of people, and transportation facilities afforded are unequaled."
"Charles Looff didn't waste time in starting the mammoth project. He began buying all available creasoted wood pilings in Southern California including salvaged piles from the Long Beach Wharf that was being dismantled. The first load of 75 stout pilings arrived just three days after his announcement at the Chamber of Commerce meeting. He also contracted with Hammond Lumber Co. of Los Angeles for delivery within thirty days of forty-seven carloads or a half million feet of lumber for the pier platform. Additional piles were shipped from the northwest. He also increased his ocean frontage to 247 feet with an additional purchase from Benjamin at $250/foot. By March 7th there was a sign at the corner of Ocean and Colorado Aves. that announced the development of a "Refined Amusement Center."
"Edward Benjamin and his partner B.N. Moss, who retained 350 feet of beach frontage north of the pier and the property east of Looff's ocean frontage, had filled and graded the entire east half of the property. They improved access to the Municipal Pier and Looff's construction site with a wide graded approach from Colorado Av.
"They also built a roadbed for the extension of the Pacific Electric's Air Line route from Sixth and Main Streets in downtown Los Angeles. The track, which passed under the extension of Appian Way, allowed passengers to arrive at Santa Monica's beach adjacent to the pier. The trolley route was the old Southern Pacific route used to haul freight from the Long Wharf to Los Angeles and the shortest route to the beach.
"The trolley line also made it easy to transport pilings the length of two flat cars to the pier. Initially a single track was laid down the center of the roadbed so that cars carrying materials could make the wide turn under the Appian Way viaduct. A two track roadbed replaced it by early summer. The first train on the Air Line extension arrived Saturday March 12th with a troop of one hundred Hollywood Boy Scouts. They were treated to lunch by Benjamin and Moss.
"Looff and his two sons Arthur and William arrived on Monday March 13, 1916 to supervise construction. Arthur, who was born in 1889, was Charles' youngest son. Although he only had an eighth grade education, he took a correspondence coursee in engineering and drafting. When he was sixteen he built a roller coaster at Crescent Park in Rhode Island. His father recognized his talent and gave him full rein on numerous family amusement projects. He was given the job of civil engineer and superintendent of the Looff Pier Project. William, an older son, had managed the family hippodrome in San Francisco before he was summoned south.
" . . .
"Charles Looff on March 27, 1916 made a formal written application to the City Council for a twenty year pier franchise. He said he was willing to abide by the decision of City Attorney Heney that all amusement piers must obtain a franchise and after the first five years of the franchise, he would pay the city 2% of gross receipts." p. 30
" . . .
"Carl Schrader, a local businessman, tried to derail Looff's pier project on April 5th by offering the city $5000 for a franchise to build a pier west of the mean tide line and the right to connect with the Municipal Pier. He then protested at the City Council's next meeting that it didn't protect the public's interest if Looff were allowed to connect his pier to the Municipal Pier via a steel apron. He felt that the close proximity of Looff's wooden pier, in the event of fire, endangered the city's Municipal Pier. His calculation was based on the amount of yearly interest the public paid for the pier's bonds.
"Several others opposed joining the two pier structures because it would make it difficult to repair the sewer pipe and electrical outlets on the Municipal Pier's south side. There was also the precedent of allowing Looff to build without a permit since the pier franchise had not been granted yet.
"Mayor Berkley declared that he was in favor of Looff's pier project. Commissioner Carter added, "We have talked for twenty years about Santa Monica being a dead town and now we have the opportunity to establish an important project. I don't think we should let one or two men spoil it."
"Neil Nettleship on behalf of the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce went even further. He regretted that the beach had been permitted to lie idle for so many years without erecting a pier, and that the first effort to give the city its pier was met with opposition. "I believe that the majority of people are in favor of even going beyond strict legal limits to encourage the construction of this pier."
"But opposition among a small minority of citizens continued to smolder. Schrader publically challenged Looff's project with a large advertisement in the April 15th editions of the Evening Outlook and The Daily Sun newspapers. He claimed Looff didn't hold title to his beach property, that he was building his pier without a franchise, and that by connecting his pier to the city's Municipal Pier, he was turning it into a commercial pier at the taxpayer's expense.
"First Looff had to dispel rumors that he didn't actually hold clear title to his property. On April 15th he stated that he purchased the first 200 feet of frontage for cash and received the deed, which was a matter of record. Further, he was currently taking title to the 47 feet balance of beach frontage that he paid Benjamin $250 per frontage foot." p. 35
"Letters began arriving at city hall supporting Schrader and urging the city to get $5000 per year for the pier franchise. Local preachers, obviously riled up by Schrader, demanded that all gambling concessions and the sale of liquor be prohibited by the terms of the franchise. Schrader said that he only wanted a pier with proper amusments and no liquor.
"Despite Looff's intention not to sell liquor or allow gambling on his pier, he initially opposed the insertion of a clause in the franchise prohibiting the sale of liquor on the pier during the life of the twenty year franchise. He felt that it discriminated against his pier and did not apply equally to others in the amusement business.
"Eventually Looff conceeded the point pressed by preachers and others and he consented to the insertion of a clause in the franchise forbiddding the sale of intoxicating liquors on the pier. By appeasing his opponents, it enabled the City Council on April 28th to pass a resolution advertising the sale of the pier franchise. While it was unusual for an entrepreneur to build a pier before the franchise was granted, Looff had to proceed without one if he was to complete his pier for the 1916 summer season.
"The auction for the pier franchise was held on May 31, 1916 . . . Looff submitted the only written bid . . . Loof paid $200 cash for the right to erect a pier 900 feet into the Pacific and connect it to the Municipal Pier. He agreed to maintain a twenty foot wide public promenade belonging to the city between the two piers, install a large capacity pump for fire protection, and pay the city 2% of the pier's gross receipts after the first five years." p. 36
". . .
"A beautiful brand new three row menagerie carousel . . . operated on the ground floor [of the hippodrome] when it opened Saturday June 10th. It had goats, giraffes and camels on it in addition to horses. A Wurlitizer Band organ provided the music . . . The ride was so popular that by fall Looff extended the platform and added an outer row of 24 horses to make it a four abreast merry-go-round.
"On the Hippodrome's second floor, surrounding the center dome, were sixteen rooms that served as offices, storerooms and quarters for carousel employees. The office occupied the largest tower. Eventually many of the rooms would be rented as apartments.
" . . . the longshoreman's strike at San Pedro hit in mid June. . . Work abruptly stopped until July 3rd when a lumber schooner carrying piles arrived and anchored offshore on July 3rd. The piles were tossed overboard and towed shoreward. Chains were attached and the timbers were pulled ashore by teams of horses.
" . . .
" . . . The Blue Streak Racer opened on the evening of August 3rd.
"Both The Whip and the Aeroscope were installed on the pier in early August . . .
" . . . When the [Aeroscope] reached its 35 mph top speed passengers were pasted to their seats . . . at night a thousand colored lights hung from the crown and down the cables. When it spun it created a whirling blaze of color that could be seen for miles.
"Looff's pier was . . . crowded throughout the remainder of the summer, and on weekends throughout the fall . . . .
" . . . His single story bowling and billiards building immediately west of the Hippodrome opened as a concession on January 17, 1917. Eight Brunswick-Balke maple bowling alleys with patented pin-setting devices occupied the rear fifty foot width of the building. The front twenty five feet was devoted to billiards: one billiard and seven pocket billiard tables.
"J.L. Ferris, the billiard hall's manager, scheduled as the opening event, a bowling tournament between the Los Angeles City All Stars and the Santa Monica Home Guard. Five hundred spectators watched the home team beat the All Stars, and Police Chief Ferguson out bowled Mayor Berkley two games out of three. . . .
"In May Looff opened a . . . fun house called What Is It? . . .
"A large picnic area, supplementing the one provided in the center of the roller coaster, was added along the pier's southeast corner. Rows of tables were shaded by a large . . . redwood lathed pergola. Picnickers could use its electric stoves free of charge.
"The beginning of the pier's summer season featured Professor Caesare La Monica and his Royal Italian Band. They performed concerts to large enthusiastic crowds at the new pier bandstand adjacent to the Promenade. The pier's 12% incline entrance opposite the bandstand enabled Looff to build rows of tiered seats that could accomodate 1600 people. The pier's buildings behind provided both shelter from the wind and afternoon shade. After the Royal Italian Band performed their last concert on June 29, 1917, the local businessmen demanded music everyday because it was good for business. They filed a petition with the City Commissioners asking that the city's municipal band be stationed on the Looff Pier half time and play alternate days at Ocean Park.
"The city government as usual stalled on the issue of providing a municipal band for the Looff Pier. Two weeks later the businessmen contributed $1600 to hire the Santa Monica Ladies Symphony Orchestra to play for the following eight weeks.
"Fourth of July weekend brought the largest crowd ever to visit the Santa Monica Bay district: over 100,000 people. The Pacific Electric ran three car trains from Los Angeles at three minute intervals, while others arrived in a steady stream of 20,000 automobiles along Pico and Santa Monica Blvds.
"As far as the eye could see, the beach was black with people and the Ocean Front Walk was a mass of surging humanity. 60,000 bathers used the area's four bathhouses. The hotels were full and also every rooming house and apartment in the area. Since many had no place to stay, Santa Monica and Venice permitted people to sleep on the beach under police protection.
" . . .
"It was fitting, when Santa Monica voted in December 1918 for Prohibition of alcoholic beverages, that the pier required no changes since drinking and gambling were never allowed. In fact, it pleased the town that the Looff Pier was a resort of character and refinement lacking the "honky-tonk' ribaldry that characterized many other sea side resorts . . .
"The initial 475,000 raised from the sale of stock was used to build a first class restaurant . . . on the seaward side of the bowling pavilion. . . Construction began . . . in time . . . to finish for the Christian Endeavor Convention on March 15th.
" . . .
" . . . Arthur Looff, president and general manager of the Santa Monica Pleasure Pier Corporation . . . wanted to complete the attractions by the end of the year.
"The Beach Marine Band under the direction of Signor Chiaffarelli was hired for the summer . . . The twenty five member band opened at the pier's bandstand on June 15th.
" . . . Charles Loof . . . died at his home in Long Beach on Saturday July 1, 1918. He was 66 . . . .
[Page 36 1917 Photo of Professor Caesare LaMonica and his Royal Italian Band which played from the bandstand adjacent to the Promenade in 1917 to widespread acclaim.]
[The page 40 photo of the Looff Pier shows the Whirlwind Dipper, an announcement that the La Monica Ballroom is under construction and a sign for Webster's Cafe.]
Chapter 3 Pier Expansion and Rebuilding (1919-1928)
"The United States' triumph in World War I brought a spirit of infectious patriotism to the nation . . . When the Pacific Fleet visited Santa Monica Bay on the weekend of August 16-17, 1919, thousands came to the area's three large amusement piers to board navy transports bound for tours of the fleet.
"It was a large fleet that anchored in the bay. The key ships included the U.S.S. New Jersey, Virginia, Texas, North Carolina, Arkansas, Nebraska, and the flagship New Mexico. The battleship, Texas, the supply ship Prairie, destroyers, Wicks, Woolsey, Anthony, and Sprotsum, anchored directly off the Santa Monica Pier.
"A large crowd, awaiting transport to the fleet, had gathered at the end of the Municipal Pier on Sunday afternoon when the north side at the end of the pier suddenly trembled, groaned and slowly slumped seaward.
"Within seconds it settled two feet lower than the main deck . . . Mayor Berkley, who was on the pier at the time, tried to reassure those involved. The police moved to evacuate the pier. Those already on the battleship were returned to Venice's Windward Pier.
"W.H. Carter, commissioner of public works, made an immediate statement to the press that he thought the pier had been damaged several years earlier when wreckage from the Long Wharf battered the end of the pier. He also felt that the unusual weight of the spectators didn't help. Carter, declaring the pier unsafe and the city liable if anyone were hurt, ordered the pier closed on Sept. 4, 1919 for at least sixty days . . .
"In early November, the engineers condemned the Municipal Pier. . . Their report showed that sixty piles were rusted in their reinforcement, six were utterly gone, ninety-one were cracked above the water line, and thirty cracked below the water line . . .
". . . in the December election . . . voters . . . approved the bonds, 2042 to 599."