By Daily Press staff
The community is invited to a double celebration on Wednesday, Aug. 27, when the new public safety facility is officially dedicated and “Santa Monica Night Out Against Crime” is observed. The party begins at 5:30 p.m., with the dedication ceremony scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
Tours of the building and public safety exhibits and demonstrations may be enjoyed throughout the evening beginning at 5:30. Refreshments donated by local vendors will be served by Santa Monica firefighters and police officers at 7 p.m. Five hundred commemorative mugs donated by the Santa Monica Rotary Club and Jaycees will be given away, and license plate frames bearing the safety slogan “Let’s Watch Out for Each Other” will be available for a $1 donation to the Police Activities League.
The 118,000-square-foot, $63 million Santa Monica Public Safety Facility, under construction since late 2000, is the new headquarters for the Santa Monica Fire and Police departments and will include the jail, dispatch center for 9-1-1 calls and the city emergency operations center. The building includes many “green” features that will make it less expensive to operate than traditional buildings and friendlier to the environment.
Parking at the Civic Auditorium is free after 5:30 p.m. for the event and Big Blue Bus lines 1, 5 and 9 stop in the Civic Center near the new building, which is located directly behind City Hall at Fourth Street and Olympic Drive (an extension of Olympic constructed between Fourth and Main as part of the public safety facility project).
For more information about the grand opening or Santa Monica Night Out Against Crime, contact SMPD community relations at 458-8474.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 9, 2003. Read the original PDF.