If you’re a California theme park fan, you’ll know that Disneyland opened in 1955, and although it began in 1923 as a roadside berry stand, Knott’s Berry Farm wasn’t really considered an “amusement park” until 1968. But did you know that for nine years in between (1958 to 1967), there was a 28-acre nautical-themed amusement park on a pier in Santa Monica, Calif. called Pacific Ocean Park (aka P.O.P.)?
On May 5, 2023, the Philosophical Research Society is hosting a lecture and book signing event in Los Angeles with Christopher Merritt and Domenic Priore, authors of “Pacific Ocean Park: The Rise and Fall of Los Angeles’ Space Age Nautical Pleasure Pier.”
Merritt says growing up in Southern California in the 1970s, he was “kind of obsessed” with theme parks, and as a result, he collected souvenir guidebooks.
“My mother had a few from the 1950s, and there was a P.O.P. souvenir guide – the one and only guidebook P.O.P. sold – which was created before the park was open, so it was full of concept art, as opposed to photographs of the attractions,” Merritt says. “This was really interesting to me because the concept art was gorgeous – full of the type of illustrations you really only saw done by trained motion picture set designers from the 1940s and 50s – but even more so because it was WEIRD.”
Pacific Ocean Park History
Not to be confused with the modern-day Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier, Pacific Ocean Park was located between the Venice and Santa Monica Piers. It was built to compete with Disneyland – and for a while, it actually did – but despite its popularity (and even appearances in popular television shows and movies), a decision by the city of Santa Monica to redevelop the area around the pier in the mid-60s resulted in reduced access to the shoreline and the demise of P.O.P.
Fun Fact: Walt Disney was approached by the P.O.P. developers to build Disneyland there in the early 1950s, and he told them, “A pier is the LAST place I’d build my park” – and it turns out, he was right.
According to Ralph Story, the host of the nostalgic KCET television programs “Things That Aren’t Here Anymore” (which sadly is also not here anymore), Pacific Ocean Park was originally just a “fun zone” at the base of a pier, but Story reported, it suddenly grew.
“In 1958, a tidal wave of money rolled in, and it became Pacific Ocean Park,” Story said in an episode titled “Pacific Ocean Park: The Lost Beach Amusement Park.” “28 acres of nautical nonsense which really rivaled Disneyland – and the all-day admission was just 90 cents.”
You can watch the entire “Things That Aren’t Here Anymore” segment about P.O.P. here:
Pacific Ocean Park Attractions
Some of the pier’s existing rides were renamed to fit the new ocean theme, like the High Boy roller coaster became the Sea Serpent, and the Stratoliner rocket ride was renamed Mr. Dolphin.
Other attractions were entirely new, including the Flying Fish roller coaster (the first steel Wild Mouse coaster in the U.S.) and the Tiki-themed Mystery Island banana plantation train ride that took riders into a jungle, around a simulated erupting volcano, and across trestles overlooking the ocean.
“In spite of it falling apart the way it did, Pacific Ocean Park was a timeless concept that would have done really well from the ’90s until now,” Priore says. “Especially with a Tiki ride at the end.”
But perhaps the most famous attraction at Pacific Ocean Park was the Ocean Skyway, which consisted of bubble-shaped gondolas suspended 75 feet above the Pacific Ocean, taking riders on a half-mile trip out to sea and back.
For the full roster of Pacific Ocean Park attractions, check out our article:
The Disneyland Connection
Pacific Ocean Park looked to the already-successful Disneyland for inspiration, including for the House of Tomorrow, which offered “looks at the future” like The Monsanto House of the Future in Tomorrowland and the Autopia-like Ocean Highway, which featured mini gas-powered cars.
“Attractions like the Deepest Deep, Flight To Mars, Neptune’s Kingdom, and the Mystery Island Banana Train were clearly inspired by the rides and shows at Disneyland, but also had very strange and unexpected elements,” Merritt says. “The ‘Goony Bird’ on the banana train ride would be a good example.”
According to Merritt, another reason P.O.P. attractions were similar to Disneyland’s is that some of the same people worked on both parks, including Pacific Ocean Park’s Creative Director who worked on Main Street, U.S.A. at Disneyland.
“Other early WED [the precursor to Walt Disney Imagineering] and Disneyland designers were also creatives on the project,” Merritt says. “They clearly were trying to ‘out-Disney’ Disneyland, but they didn’t have the financial backing to create rides and shows at the same level – although they came close.”
Even with all the similarities to Disneyland, Priore notes, there was one significant difference.
“Pacific Ocean Park was much hipper than Disneyland in respect to the upcoming generation and its rock ‘n’ roll culture,” he says. “They had people [performing there] like Ritchie Valens, Sam Cooke, and later, Pink Floyd – Disneyland would never have featured anyone that cool. It was also more of a swingin’ place where teenagers hung out, and a ‘day location’ where they might meet up with people after hanging out on the Sunset Strip the night before. It was a kind of teen culture that’s long gone, and P.O.P. epitomized that.”
P.O.P. in Pop Culture
“They called it P.O.P for short, but not for long,” Story said. “Nine years after it opened, business fell off and the whole fantastic fabulous foolishness just plain disappeared.”
But the story of Pacific Ocean Park didn’t completely end when the amusement park closed in 1967. In the 70s, L.A. surfers from the surrounding area (known as Dogtown) took advantage of the big waves that rolled through the abandoned ruins of the pier, and eventually, the Dogtown surfers transitioned to skateboarding.
The evolution of L.A.’s surf and skate culture – including its roots at P.O.P – was showcased in the 2002 documentary “Dogtown and Z-Boys” narrated by Sean Penn (available to rent on Amazon).
Pacific Ocean Park Lecture and Book Signing
The presentation on the history of this iconic Southern California amusement park will include never-before-seen images (including original ride designs and illustrations), as well as details about its appearances in movies and television shows throughout the ’60s, notably an episode from Season 4 of “Get Smart” called “The Wax Max,” which aired on Feb. 24, 1968, and was shot entirely on location at the park.
“The best part about doing events like these is the chance to show rare film footage from the park’s heyday,” Merritt says. “If you have any interest in theme park design and history for places like Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm, our book goes hand in hand with that sort of thing. I guarantee you’ll learn a lot if you come out for the presentation.”
The Pacific Ocean Park event will take place on May 5, 2023, from 7-9 p.m. PDT at the Philosophical Research Society Auditorium at 3910 Los Feliz Boulevard in Los Angeles. Following their presentation, Merritt and Priore will sign copies of their book, which are available for purchase in the onsite bookstore or on Amazon.
Tickets are $15 (in-person and Zoom options available). Tickets are available HERE.
Meet The Authors:
Christopher Merritt is a Southern California native with over 25 years of ride and show design experience creating theme park attractions and environments worldwide, including as an Art Director and Production Designer at theme parks in California, Florida, Tokyo, Singapore, and Shanghai. His other books include the Knott’s Berry Farm pictorial history, “Knott’s Preserved,” and the coffee table book “Marc Davis in His Own Words: Imagineering the Disney Theme Parks” (with Pixar Animation Studios Chief Creative Officer Pete Doctor).
Domenic Priore is a writer and television producer specializing in pop culture, sociology, and music. He is the author of “Riot on Sunset Strip: Rock’n’Roll’s Last Stand in Hollywood;” “Pop Surf Culture: Music, Design, Film, and Fashion from the Bohemian Surf Boom” (with Brian Chidester), and “Smile: The Story of Brian Wilson’s Lost Masterpiece.” Priore is also the primary writer of the AMC documentaries “Hollywood Rocks the Movies: The Early Years 1955-1970” (narrated by Ringo Starr) and “Hollywood Rocks the Movies: The 1970s” (narrated by David Bowie).
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Let’s Hear From You!
Did you already know about Pacific Ocean Park or are you eager to learn more about L.A.’s lost amusement park? What do you think would have happened if Walt Disney had decided to build Disneyland in Santa Monica instead of Anaheim? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
We hope to see you at the event!