"The occasional truck hits it," Alex Mebane wrote in a history of the Santa Monica Pier sign posted on Pacific Park's website. Mebane wrote a book on Santa Monica's signs, and he also noted that historical records show the sign was moved in the 1950s to sit closer to Ocean Avenue. Those two details tie the sign to the road it hangs over. It went up because of a roadway, it has been hit by traffic on that roadway, and it has already been moved once, toward the street.
This fall it moves again, and much farther. The City says the blue neon arch will come down in fall 2026. YESCO will restore it in Las Vegas and store it there while the new Pier Bridge is built. When it returns, it will stand about 10 feet north of where it is now and sit higher, with 17 feet of vertical clearance, "to improve visibility and provide increased clearance for vehicles," according to City officials quoted by the Santa Monica Lookout. The sign is the last visible piece of a change that has been rerouting how people get onto the Pier for most of this year.
A Sign Built for a Ramp
The arch was unveiled on June 17, 1941. It has appeared in many films, and the City has both landmarked and trademarked it. According to the history the Lookout cited, the sign went up after the Pier's old access was removed and a new ramp was designed to bring traffic from the end of Colorado Avenue onto the Pier. The Santa Monica Businessmen's Association paid the Pan-Pacific Neon Sign company $2,000 to design and build it. The result was a Streamline-Moderne arch in blue, white and gold.
The neon has gone dark at times, most famously during World War II, and the Pier's uses have changed over the decades. The words on the 35-foot curved arch never have: Santa Monica, Yacht Harbor, Sport Fishing, Boating, Cafes.
That first ramp led to the bridge that is now being demolished. The City's $35.6 million project replaces a structure that is nearly 87 years old. The new bridge is designed to meet modern seismic and safety standards and to last 75 years.
The Entrance Has Been Changing in Stages Since December
Anyone who has walked down Colorado toward the Pier this year has used a slightly different entrance almost every season. SMDP reported that construction began in December 2025. Since then, the work has gone in this order:
- February 9 to 27, 2026. The southbound PCH off-ramp at Moomat Ahiko Way closed so crews could build the foundation for a temporary pedestrian bridge.
- April 6. A temporary vehicle ramp opened and the Colorado Avenue vehicle ramp closed. That closure ended 85 years of cars driving onto the Pier beneath the sign. Emergency and delivery vehicles now go through the Pier parking lot.
- June 5. The temporary pedestrian bridge opened as the main walk-in entrance from Ocean Avenue, with demolition of the original bridge scheduled for mid-June.
- September 28 to November 28. The Moomat Ahiko Way on- and off-ramps are closed so crews can demolish the last and largest section of the old bridge and then build the new bridge's columns.
- October 5 to 9. Appian Way, which serves the south side of the Pier parking lot, is closed under the bridge for shoring work.
- Fall 2026. The original sign comes down.
- December 2027. The City expects the new bridge to be finished, "well ahead" of the 2028 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games.
As of the Lookout's September 24 report, removal was still upcoming. The City's own page still describes it as happening this fall, so its last day at the head of the Pier has not been publicly confirmed.
Getting On Right Now
The Pier, Pacific Park and the other Pier businesses have stayed open the whole time. Pacific Park points out that hours vary from business to business. Pacific Park's construction guide and the City's construction updates page list these ways in:
| How you're arriving | Where to go |
|---|---|
| On foot from Ocean Avenue | The temporary pedestrian bridge |
| On foot from the beach | Ocean Front Walk, or the stairs near Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. |
| On foot from the parking lot | The protected walkway along the temporary vehicle ramp |
| Bike, skateboard or other small vehicle | Seaside Terrace; these are not allowed on the pedestrian bridge |
| By car | Pier parking via PCH; the City also recommends Beach Lot 4 South, Beach Lot 3 North and Parking Structure 8 at Santa Monica Place |
| By Metro | E Line to Downtown Santa Monica at Fourth and Colorado, then about 10 minutes west on Colorado across Ocean Avenue |
While the Moomat Ahiko ramps are closed, the City sends southbound PCH drivers off at the California Incline or onto eastbound I-10 to Lincoln Boulevard. Drivers on Ocean Avenue headed for PCH are directed north to the California Incline.
The Clock Matters More Than the Map
The single most useful detail on the City's construction page is when the work happens. Crews work weekdays from 5 a.m. to 1 p.m., near Ocean and Colorado out to the Pier entrance. Right now they are drilling deep holes from the base of the Pier toward Ocean Avenue and filling them with steel and concrete to make the new bridge's support columns. The City warns this work may be loud.
The smaller disruptions follow the same hours. Ocean Front Walk closes now and then under the bridge on weekdays between 5 a.m. and 1 p.m., with flaggers directing pedestrians around the work. The City says these short closures will continue for the rest of construction. On October 5 and 6, signal work at Ocean and Colorado also closed the outside southeast lane and the bike lane during those hours.
So a weekday-morning run along Ocean Front Walk is the trip most likely to hit a flagger. Weekday afternoons and weekends fall outside the posted work window.
Business on the Pier seems to be holding up. A manager at the nearby Lobster restaurant told NBC Los Angeles that construction had not driven people away and that customer flow had stayed steady.
What Stands in the Sign's Place
For first-time visitors, the photo will look different for a while. A half-scale replica that lights up now stands farther down the bridge, just before Pier Burger, and will stay until the original returns.
Taking the original down is a careful, step-by-step job. The City says crews will disconnect the power and remove and crate the neon tubes first. They will then lift off the Crown Sign by crane while temporary supports hold the sign cage. Last come the arched truss and columns, which go into protective steel shipping frames and onto separate flatbed trailers. YESCO, which has restored the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign, will replace the neon tubing, remove rust, repaint and make structural repairs.
The bridge the sign comes back to will also be different. The City says it will be wider than the old one, keep one traffic lane in each direction, and add wider walkways, new lighting and new railing. With the sign raised and moved north, the next truck has a better chance of passing underneath.
Still on the Pier This Fall
The construction sits at the Ocean Avenue end. Out on the Pier, the regular schedule continues:
- Locals' Night runs on third Thursdays from September through May. Pacific Park's calendar lists the next one on October 15.
- Wellness & Waves meets on Saturdays through October 17, with a group run followed by yoga or Pilates.
- DÃa de los Muertos is November 1, with art installations, community altars, mariachi, folklórico, live performances and a procession.
- Pacific Park rides and games are open daily. On October 6 the calendar shows noon to 7 p.m.
The Santa Monica Pier's events page has the full lineup. The City posts closure changes on its Pier Bridge project page, where you can sign up for construction alerts. The Moomat Ahiko ramps are scheduled to reopen after November 28.
Big public projects near home tend to prompt one question: what does this mean for my property? If you own near the Pier or anywhere along the Ocean Avenue corridor and want to know how today's market sees your home while the new bridge goes up, Denise Marks Group can prepare a detailed, no-obligation estimate. Request your free home valuation.
