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# Letter: Santa Monica needs a world-class attraction, not chain stores
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/042104-story-20040421-2/
- Published: 2004-04-21T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T04:14:18.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Opinion, Promenade, #archive-import

*By Ken McCrae Santa Monica*

I just finished reading David Pisarra’s column, “Politicians bark up the wrong tree...,” (SMDP, April 20, page 5).

In it, he touches on something that has bothered me since I arrived in town five years ago — the lack of a world-class “must see” attraction which draws visitors from around the world.

The Promenade used to do that, but since it has turned into a cookie-cutter version of every local mall, there is no longer any reason for visitors to brave the local traffic to see it. Even the Santa Monica Pier is becoming homogenized — Bubba Gump is only the tip of coming chain commercialization.

If the City Council can afford to spend $75,000 to have some consultant tell them what they could have heard for free from any frustrated would-be retailer, they certainly should be able find a way to search for and develop a true world-class attraction that will draw visitors from around the world for years to come, in spite of the smoking ban.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 21, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/042104.pdf?ref=smdp.com)