I never expected to use the words “mall,” “civic-minded,” and “context-sensitive” all in the same sentence, but here I am, attempting to encapsulate my overall positive thoughts on Santa Monica Place (SMP) – that sparking new palace of retail consumption by the sea.
Since a professional architectural critic has already covered the main points, allow me to draw attention to two of SMP’s most thoughtful yet overlooked features:
- Public restrooms. Mall retailers typically seek to hide their bathrooms: on the top floor, down a long corridor, behind inadequate signage. But SMP has decided to go the other route, conveniently placing one of its restrooms within 50 feet of the street-level entrance from Colorado Avenue. If it survives the inevitable petty vandalism, this will stand out as a much-needed public amenity.
- Built-in Heat Lamps. Everyone loves to glorify Southern California weather and conclude that of course malls should be open-air here. But for most of the year, beach city weather can only be described as “FF” (f—ing freezing), as my Mom likes to put it. Attuned to this reality, SMP has placed built-in heat lamps near all of the outdoor tables. The lamps are set into the concrete, presumably to survive one of the other enduring Southern California realities: earthquakes!
Built-in heat lamps are one of the mall's most thoughtful, context-specific features. (Photo: Architect's Newspaper)
As an organic extension of the Third Street Promenade, SMP is perhaps most successful in capitalizing upon existing flows of pedestrian traffic, but its generous orientation toward the street has also breathed new life into the formerly moribund Colorado Avenue. No longer a barrier to those approaching from the south, it makes an extended stroll from Main Street to the Promenade much more tolerable.
Even as Santa Monica Place is inhabited by many of the same high-end national and chain stores found elsewhere in LA, the beach views make it a retail experience distinct from the high-rise, in-the-city feel of the Century City Mall or the paparazzi-lined sidewalks of Robertson Boulevard. Plus, it is too geographically removed from its would-be competitors to cannibalize much of their customer base or retail dollars.
Not to bitch, but I do hate all the new evening traffic on the 4th Street exit from the 10 West. Now it is routinely backed up onto the freeway. At least the underutilized, LEED-Certified Civic Center parking garage on 4th St/Olympic is getting some additional off-peak occupancy and will hopefully start to generate more revenue for the City of Santa Monica.