New Hotel, Outdoor Mall and Unique Cultural Offerings Coming to Santa Monica

The Latest News From California's Beachfront City

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. April 14, 2010

SANTA MONICA, CA - April 14, 2010 - 2010 and 2011 are full of new developments and special events for Santa Monica. Known as one of the West Coast's most progressive cities, and home to some of the largest companies in the world, e.g. MTV, Google, Red Bull, Yahoo! and more, there is no shortage of exciting new offerings in this beach town.

“With our wonderful year-long weather, 340 days of sunshine on average, oceanfront views, casual lifestyle and cutting-edge mind-set, it's no surprise that we have so many new developments in the works right now,” said Misti Kerns, president and CEO of Santa Monica Convention & Visitors Bureau. “It's an exciting time for us as we are able to offer the travel industry and our guests even more options when they visit, which is what Santa Monica is all about - it just keeps getting better!”

Among the new developments are the following:

• Ocean Avenue Hotel - Set to open in the summer of 2011, Ocean Avenue Hotel will be set in Downtown Santa Monica, with great views of the beach and Santa Monica Pier. The hotel will be a great addition to Santa Monica as it will offer moderately priced rooms in an ideal location near the beach and Santa Monica Place shopping mall. The hotel's features include 164 rooms over four stories, an outdoor pool and jacuzzi, a meeting room, exercise room and outdoor courtyard space. It will also feature ground floor retail and restaurant space as part of the hotel, and will pursue LEED Silver Certification, joining many of the other eco-friendly hotels and businesses in Santa Monica. More information will be available on www.santamonica.com as progress on the hotel is made.

• Santa Monica Place Shopping Mall - Opening on Aug. 6, 2010, the new outdoor shopping mall will open in Downtown Santa Monica two blocks away from the beach, offering high-end shopping options in true California form. The mall will be anchored by Bloomingdale's and Nordstrom, and will feature shops like Hugo Boss, Burberry, Kitson, and more. Distinguishing attributes of the outdoor shopping haven will be the beachside setting and ocean breezes, unique meetings and event space, fine rooftop dining and bar scene, a modern outdoor fireplace, and a stunning view overlooking Santa Monica Beach. Santa Monica Place will be the fifth shopping area in the city as it joins Third Street Promenade, Main Street, Montana Avenue and Pico Boulevard - shopping and entertainment destinations that offer an eclectic mix of boutique and brand name delights. More information can be found about the new mall, including virtual tours and photo galleries, at: www.santamonicaplace.com.

• GLOW: A Dusk 'til Dawn Arts and Culture Festival in Santa Monica - GLOW is a beachfront arts festival that will feature cutting-edge art displays from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. on Saturday Sept. 25, 2010. This will be the second biannual Glow event in Santa Monica, where over 200,000 people will gather on the beaches of Santa Monica and the Santa Monica Pier to experience and engage with compelling, enchanting and awe-inspiring public art displays from dusk until dawn. With a variety of world-class art and cultural experiences and attractions, it's no wonder Santa Monica is home to one of the most unique arts festivals in the country. For more information about GLOW 2010, including footage from the inaugural festival in 2008, please visit: glowsantamonica.org.

• Two New Museums - The Museum of Flying, opening later this year, will be located in the South-side of the Santa Monica Airport directly adjacent to the DC-3 Aircraft Monument and Park. The museum will place heavy emphasis on Douglas Aircraft and the history of the Santa Monica Airport. Originally founded in 1974 by Donald Douglas Jr. as the Douglas Museum and Library, the museum reopened as the Museum of Flying in April of 1989. The museum gradually grew to a collection of more than 50 vintage aircraft with many still in flight-ready condition. The new museum will feature nearly two dozen aircraft chronicling the beginning of flight - from a replica Wright Flyer, all the way to the jet age, with the BD-5 micro jet and the FedEx 727 nose section. The museum will also feature a broad collection of aviation art, rare artifacts and ephemera from famous aviators.
  
  Opening in Fall 2010, the Santa Monica Historical Society Museum will be the first museum to tell the story of Santa Monica as it relates to California's arts and cultural diversity, as well as the history of the city. For years, the Santa Monica Historical Society has carefully collected and preserved artifacts, photographs and other memorabilia, which will now be displayed in interactive state-of-the-art exhibits, including a virtual roller coaster and a "Then and Now" touch screen map of Santa Monica. Learn more about our museums at www.santamonica.com/visitors/what-to-do/arts-and-culture/art/museums.

• New Meeting Spaces in Santa Monica - In addition to the new meeting space in Santa Monica Place and Ocean Avenue Hotel, there have been three new additions in the last year with various sizes of meeting and event space. To learn more, visit www.santamonica.com/meeting-professionals.

For more information about what's new in Santa Monica, please visit www.santamonica.com/whats-new.

About Santa Monica Convention & Visitors Bureau
Santa Monica Convention & Visitors Bureau (SMCVB) is a non-profit organization designed to increase visitor expenditures, tourism revenues and local employment opportunities through the promotion of Santa Monica as a travel destination. For travel and accommodation information or a free copy of the Official Visitors Guide, the public can write to the Santa Monica Visitor Center, 1920 Main Street Suite B, Santa Monica, CA 90405; call (800) 544-5319 or (310) 393-7593; visit www.santamonica.com; or email [email protected]. Follow SMCVB on Twitter @GoSantaMonica or become a FaceBook fan at
www.facebook.com/visitsantamonica.