Pleasures of the Pier : Santa Monica Crowds Reminiscent of Boardwalk Glory Days

George Stone is dancing.

Swinging his arms, hopping from foot to foot, jiving and prancing, Stone is doing everything he can to keep up with the beat pounded out by the Barbara Morrison Quartet.

”. . . I never tried to make the news/I’m just a girl who likes to sing the blues . . . “

Barbara Morrison is belting out the blues, and Stone is dancing. Outfitted in a plaid shirt, sunglasses and a cap proclaiming “Swingin’ Senior,” the 78-year-old former railroad man sways to the music along with the rest of the crowd on the Santa Monica Pier.

Morrison and her band have brought out more than 500 people on this hazy afternoon, one of the biggest turnouts for the winter Sunday concerts on the pier.

Young and old, bicyclists, teenage skateboarders, retired couples, Westside shoppers, children clutching bags of blue cotton candy and blues fans stomping their feet all converge on the wooden planks in a medley of color.

Behind the stage framed by a veiled Santa Monica skyline, a small amusement park boasts a faded Ferris wheel, tilt-a-whirl and other vestiges of the pier’s glory days.

Eighty years ago, droves of people promenaded up and down the wooden boards, enjoying the amusements perched on the shores of the Pacific Ocean.

Then, pleasure piers dotted the coast between Venice and Santa Monica. Now, the pier stands as a lone reminder of those days.

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”. . . I ain’t got nothin’ but the blues . . .”

Missy Lane and Gwinn Dandridge-Perry are dancing. The two University High School seniors have grabbed each other’s hands and are swinging to the music in front of the stage. What brought them out here?

“The blues,” Dandridge-Perry says simply.

Others came merely to absorb the sights.

Lyn and Ian Dale, vacationing from Sydney, Australia, are impressed with the Mardi Gras music.

“This is as good or better as anything we’ve seen in New Orleans,” Ian says.

Lyn admires the streams of people filling the pier: “It’s just what I’ve seen on the movies.”

On this afternoon, a bustling crowd strolling on a pier decked with music, carnival rides and restaurants may recall the heyday years of boardwalk life. But as recently as the 1970s, the city was prepared to tear down the dilapidated facility. The winter concert series, which has been extended through Memorial Day, is reviving pier culture, organizers say, and providing a meeting place for Los Angeles’ diverse population.

“It’s an eclectic scene,” says John Gilcrest, director of the Santa Monica Pier Restoration Corp., co-sponsor of the concert series with the pier merchants. “Everybody from people who live on the street to people who can afford to buy the pier come and enjoy themselves.”

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“I’m a brand new woman now, and everyone can see . . .”

Dillan Woods is not dancing, but he and other pier walkers are not immune to Morrison’s blues as they stroll by.

“It’s great--I can’t stop my feet from hopping,” says Woods, a personal trainer who lives on the Westside, carrying a plastic gray and black dumbbell he won at the basketball toss.

Ron Wheeler, an attorney and Woods’ trainee, says he is impressed with the restoration of the 1930s-era pleasure pier.

“It’s a symbol of L.A. as a whole reviving,” Wheeler says. “Building new things, bringing back the amusement parks and getting people out who are less fearful.”

Strollers of every shape and size amble down the length of the pier, past a large sign announcing “Coming Spring ‘96--Pacific Park Santa Monica Pier.”

On Memorial Day, a $12.5-million amusement area will open at the pier, boasting an 85-foot Ferris wheel, roller coaster, virtual reality center and other features, all the work of a private investor.

Today, pier walkers flow by the empty construction site and silent machinery, drawn back to the blues music rising out over the water. In the midst of the crowd, George Stone is still dancing. He shuffles, skips and sways raptly, engaged with every note.

“I can dance to anything,” he shouts over the music. “I don’t know how to dance, but whatever my feet do, I have to keep up with them. Country, soul, you name it--my feet get going.”

Stone has lived in Panorama City since 1955, and he took an hour and a half bus ride to get to Santa Monica. It was worth it, he says, an MTA schedule sticking out of his back pocket as he dances.

He’s coming back again.

The Comments

’ It’s an eclectic scene. Everybody from people who live on the street to people who can afford to buy the pier come and enjoy themselves.’

John Gilcrest

Santa Monica Pier

Restoration Corp. director

’ It’s a symbol of L.A. as a whole reviving. Building new things, bringing back the amusement parks and getting people out who are less fearful.’

Ron Wheeler

Attorney