The Third Street Promenade is a ghost town now - what happened?

I watched several videos about Santa Monica (among them at the link) and I was appalled. I used to live there in the '90s and it's night and day.

Parts of Santa Monica have been iffy for a long time. My partner was mugged not far from the Third Street Promenade way back in 1991.

The last time I went there about 4 years ago I saw so many women wearing hijabs I thought I was in Abu Dhabi.

I remember Santa Monica from the 80’s. I lived on 12th St. Twelve blocks from the beach. I’ve always been directionally challenged. But when I lived there, I always knew where west was.

There was a great pizza place nearby, Davitas. Santa Monica Blvd. Anyone remember ?

Last time I was there, shortly before the pandemic, it was just a lot of boring mainstream shops and overpriced fast casual type restaurants. I liked Venice better - at least it has a "vibe," not overly sanitized. Both places were overrun with crazy homeless people, so I didn't find SM much better in that regard.

If people want to just go to Footlocker and Starbucks or whatever, then you might as well go to an actual mall where you won't be panhandled and harassed. There's nothing unique left there.

R3, where the hell were you? By a mosque?

R4

No, but I remember Hank’s pizza in Playa Del Rey. Tiny and delicious.

[quote] If people want to just go to Footlocker and Starbucks or whatever, then you might as well go to an actual mall where you won't be panhandled and harassed.

Easier parking too.

They extended the subway line from downtown to 3rd St. Nuff said,

R9

This is why (well, it was simple racism back then) Georgetown in DC doesn’t have a metro stop. They didn’t want the dark people coming into their precious neighborhood. Now they have to live with mind blowing, constant, immovable traffic.

Graham Stephan (the Youtuber) is, at best, a conman and slumlord.

Not saying he is wrong, but his videos are the last place I'd go for the truth.

R10 It sounds like a better trade-off.

One of my favorite songs in the 90's was Santa Monica by Everclear. That's all I know about it, but my husband went there back in 1965 when I was just a year old, lol. He said it beautiful.

It used to be a great place to walk around because it was full of interesting, independent shops. The landlords got greedy, moved out the independent shops and moved in the chain stores. There’s absolutely no reason to walk around there now.

R14 makes a good point. I moved to LA in the early 2000s and back then it was a mix of corporate/chain names alongside independent shops and restaurants. It was fun to walk around. Last time I was in the area was 6 or 7 years ago for jury duty. They had redone the big mall that was at the south end of the promenade. It was going for a higher end clientele but there didn’t seem to be a lot of shops or customers

What happened is that there is no particular need for the Third Street promenade to exist, everything is the same as the Century City Mall except they don’t have homeless people so why go to Third Street?

Why sprinkle in dog whistles about extended subway lines and homelessness? If you live in LA, you deal with homelessness, and the 3rd Street Promenade was never a hangout space for the public transport crowd. It has to be that damned pandemic. You see the same thing in NYC. Major cities still haven't recovered.

[Quote] my husband went there back in 1965 when I was just a year old, lol.

You were married when you were just one year old? How was that allowed?

Jan scared everyone away when her tits charged the cameraman.

I was there in Jan and it was busy and fun with street musicians and some funky shops. Yes most of it was high end chains but certainly not a ghost town.

Is Veronica still there?

R6 No, coming out of that movie theater on the Promenade.

Lol, no R18. Sorry I worded it wrong. Of course I didn't know him then. He went to be a movie star, but it didn't work out. I met him when I was 19 and he was 42.