The Street Seen: POP – A Short History
Ocean Front Walk @ Kinney
Pacific Ocean Park, a nautical theme park that replaces the Ocean Park Pier (1926-1956), exists from 1958 to 1967.1
The Los Angeles Turf Club (LATC) - dba Santa Anita Park and Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) form Pacific Ocean Park, Inc (a $10MM investment) and lease2 the Ocean Park Pier, the Santa Monica Municipal Auditorium, and private property along Ocean Front Promenade to develop Pacific Ocean Park.
Pacific Ocean Park is designed to compete with Disneyland (opened in July 1955) and Marineland (opened in August 1954) - both resorts themselves having been designed to compete with the Venice/Ocean Park/Santa Monica Amusement Zones. LATC / CBS proceed on the assumption that POP can be constructed for a total of $3MM, and have an annual attendance of 2,250,000.
The 28 acre, sea-green and white art moderne Pacific Ocean Park opens on Saturday, July 28, 1958 with an attendance of 20,000. The next day, it draws 37,262, outperforming Disneyland's attendance that day. The 1958 season draws 683,642 visitors.
In January 1959, POP is closed for a $3MM renovation, and re-opens in May 1959. Despite the renovations, the 1959 season's attendance is down from 1958, and the owners decide to close POP in October 1959 for the winter and re-open in May 1960. LATC / CBS realize they have made a business mistake.3
Rather than the embarrassment of declaring bankruptcy, they announce in early 1960 that they have sold4 POP to John (“Jack”) Martin Morehart (1923 - 2007). At the beginning, the entrance fee includes access to Neptune’s Kingdom, the Sea Circus, and the Westinghouse Enchanted Forest exhibit, but rides and other attractions are run by independent concessionaires and require extra tickets. Morehart shifts the admissions and ride fee structure to a single ticket (“Pay One Price”) - some believe this is the beginning of POP’s decline.5 With a high overhead, the park skimps on maintenance - rides are often broken, and everything deteriorates in the tough ocean environment.
Even though the park is run down, it attracts 1,216,000 customers in 1963. In October 1963, Morehard sells the northern (i.e. Santa Monica) part of POP to Irving N. Kay (1909 - 2005), a San Francisco real estate developer, for $7.5 MM.6 Kay leases POP back to Morehart who continues operating it. Kay soon discovers that POP is “hopelessly insolvent,” and demands his money back. In January 1964, Morehart sells the southern (i.e. Venice, Los Angeles) part of POP to Jack Roberts7 for $2.5 MM.
The 1964 season is the most successful with 1,663,013 visitors.
In 1965, Santa Monica begins an urban renewal project - the Ocean Park Redevelopment Project. Buildings in the area surrounding POP are demolished and streets leading to POP are closed. Visitors find it difficult to reach the park, and attendance plummets to 621,000 in 1965 and then to 398,700 in 1966.
At the end of the 1967 season, POP's creditors force the park into involuntary bankruptcy. Santa Monica precipitates the action when they filed suit to take control of the property as Roberts owes them $17,000 in back rent.
The park closed on October 6, 1967, and its assets were auctioned off from June 28–30, 1968. POP's dilapidated buildings and pier structure remained until several arson fires. POP is finally demolished by Santa Monica in the winter of 1974-75.
Pacific Ocean Park: The Rise and Fall of Los Angeles' Space Age Nautical Pleasure Pier by Merritt & Priore is the definitive POP reference.
The City of Santa Monica grants LATC / CBS a 17-year lease on the pier and a 25-year lease on the Municipal Auditorium. The pier's most southern part is on the Venice (i.e. City of Los Angeles) side of the boundary line.
A report by Marco Engineering, ‘Public Reaction to Pacific Ocean Park,‘ September 1959, indicates that POP's annual attendance can not be expected to be greater than 1 million unless major revisions in the park are undertaken.
This sale (and future sales) have complex ownership structures. LATC / CBS transfer all of the POP shares plus $8.75MM (the amount owed to the bank) to Pacific Seaboard Land Co (Morehart is the sole owner). Morehart assumes all of POP’s liabilities (he immediately pays off $5 MM of the bank loan), and LATC / CBS take a tax write-off.
With all the concessionaires guaranteed a percentage of the gate, there is little incentive for them to spend to maintain their attraction. Things that break down, stay broke down.
Kay makes a $0.5 MM down payment. His deal includes 11% of the park gross proceeds with a minimum of $0.5 MM per year through 1992. In 1965, Kay sues to terminate the deal.
Jack Roberts (incorporated as Amusement Purchase Inc.) is a long-time concession operator in the park.