THIRD STREET + THE PIER / MAIN STREET + MONTANA AVENUE / THE ARTS / MALIBU SANTA MONICA In the 1800s, orator Tom Fitch called Santa Monica “the Zenith City by the Sunset Sea.” The 21st-century version of Santa Monica fulfills its early promise, with a bustling downtown and beach that attract millions of visitors per year. Pacific Coast Highway connects SaMo with draws such as Malibu and Marina del Rey. THE ARTS Visitors can take in plays at Main Street’s Edgemar Center for the Arts, housed in an angular concrete structure designed by Frank Gehry. An even wider variety of entertain- S ment is at the Broad Stage, HOTO P Santa Monica College’s first-rate, N O 499-seat performing-arts, I T film, dance and theater venue. SEC R E On Michigan Avenue, the T Bergamot Station arts center— IN III/ now a stop on the Expo Line— N O has emerged as a hub for L.A.’s CANN creative community. It’s home to about 30 galleries and a café. WN THIRD STREET + THE PIER Santa Monica Pier, built in Goetz. Father’s Office is known : BRO E Third Street Promenade, three 1909, is at the end of Colorado for its burgers, and Sweet Lady T MALIBU SI O pedestrian-only blocks on 3rd Avenue and features Pacific Jane is famous for its cakes. A few miles north of Santa PP Street between Broadway and Park, a mini amusement Just minutes south of down- Monica on Pacific Coast High- . O N UR Wilshire Boulevard, perpetually park with food stands and rides, town Santa Monica, Main Street way is Malibu. Formerly known B teems with people. Visitors can including a solar-powered, exudes a beachy, upscale vibe. as Rancho Malibu, Malibu’s H AS hit dozens of boutiques, watch LED-lit Ferris wheel. The long stretch between Pico land was once so coveted M SID movies at two cinemas and Boulevard and Rose Avenue that May K. Rindge, who took Y gawk at the myriad street artists. MAIN STREET + contains a number of galleries, ownership of it in 1905 after ES If they don’t refuel at the MONTANA AVENUE pubs, coffeehouses and restau- the death of her scion husband, OURT C many eateries along the Prom- Compared with the hustle and rants, plus shops such as Lost used armed guards to defend it ; enade, visitors can venture to bustle of Third Street Prom- & Found and Planet Blue. The from trespassers. In the 1920s, MAN R BE the surrounding blocks to The enade, Montana Avenue is California Heritage Museum is Rindge’s hefty legal bills, racked Independence or the Misfit and downright tranquil. Between 6th in a transplanted Victorian-era up from fighting developers, DALE enjoy drinks at The Bungalow and 17th streets are plenty of home, as is the aptly named Vic- forced her to invite stars to ; PLACE or the many pubs, such as fashionable boutiques and beauty torian, adjacent to the museum, live in Malibu Colony, and the Ye Olde King’s Head, that hint destinations, including Moon- which features a cool downstairs legacy of Malibu as celebrity- NICA at Santa Monica’s large dance, Clare V. and Malin + speakeasy, Basement Tavern. home central continues today. O M A population of British expats. T Anchoring the promenade SAN Y at Broadway is Santa Monica great fnd ES Place, a beautiful open-air OURT shopping center with Nordstrom, PERFECT FIT C Bloomingdale’s, 80 boutiques, FT: LE ArcLight Cinemas and the top- Explore designer Sid Mashburn’s take on menswear essentials in P his Brentwood Country Mart outpost: a locale as stylish and crisp TO level Dining Deck. Steps away M as his clothing. The streamlined offering includes the brand’s full is the new western terminus of line, as well as classics and hard-to-find favorites from other labels. FRO the Metro Expo Line, which Worth noting: GQ has named Sid Mashburn America’s top men’s WISE K connects Santa Monica by light store. 225 26th St., Santa Monica, 310.319.1339, sidmashburn.com C O rail to downtown Los Angeles. CL 26 SOCALPULSE.COM 26-29_Santa Monica_WLA.indd 26 8/18/17 1:47 PM.