An Elegy for Ocean Park Pier

After years of plummeting attendance rates and ensuing legal battle between creditors and owners, Santa Monica’s Pacific Ocean Park (and Pier) closed on October 6, 1967. The park was originally intended to compete with Disneyland, which it did successfully from 1958 to 1965, but fell into disrepair after urban renewal projects in Santa Monica prevented local street accessibility to the park. Pictured above: Norman Bailey of Lawrence Welk’s Orchestra sounds taps near the Hi-Boy roller coaster as lights go out on Ocean Park Pier, 1957. Photo: Los Angeles Herald-Examiner Collection. Courtesy of the Los Angeles Public Library.

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East of Borneo on January 30, 2012
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