3rd Street Promenade: Broadway to Santa Monica

3rd Street Promenade is a 3 block pedestrian-only street in the heart of downtown Santa Monica that opened in 1965 and is home to over 200 shops, restaurants, and entertainment venues.

Let's first exploer the area between Broadway and Arizona. As we cross Broadway, our attention is immediately drawn to a dinosaur-shaped topiary that has been standing there since the early 1990s. In 2015, the city of Santa Monica announced plans to remove the topiary which  sparked outrage among locals and visitors, who started a petition to save the topiary. In the end, the city agreed to keep the dinosaur topiary.

We may see a line of people ordering Ice Cream on our left. This is McConnells’s Ice Cream -  Local, sustainable and organic. Hailed by Time magazine as creating “the best ice cream in the world,” Family-owned since 1949, hollywood A-listers such as Jennifer Garner, Anne Hathaway, and Mark Wahlberg have been known to enjoy a scoop or two at one of thier several locations, as well as famous chefs like Wolfgang Puck and Giada De Laurentiis.

PacSun on your left started in 1980  a few miles south of here as a small surf shop in Seal Beach.

3rd Street Promenade is a favorite filming location for many movies and TV shows. Some of the most notable include "Pretty Woman," "Pee Wee Hermans Great Adventure", "Terminator 2," and "500 Days of Summer."

One of the most unique features of the 3rd Street Promenade is its street performers. These talented musicians, artists, and performers can be found throughout the promenade.