Our Santa Monica logo carries the California Republic bear and star above '1850,' the year of statehood — the shared retro emblem of every Merlin Classics California place. Drawn in a worn black-and-white that recalls a WPA poster or old pier signage, the bear-and-star is California in shorthand: tough, independent, sun-bleached. The bear is the through-line that links Santa Monica to every other California place we make. What makes this one Santa Monica is everything around it — the pier and the wheel, the Route 66 sign, the palm bluffs, and the long beach on the bay.
Then, in 1926, a number was painted onto the map that gave Santa Monica its most enduring identity. Route 66 — the highway that carried the country west from Chicago through eight states — was routed to end here, at the edge of the continent. The 'End of the Trail' became a destination in its own right: the place where the great American road trip finally runs out of road. For travelers who have driven the whole 2,448 miles, the Santa Monica Pier is the finish line, and that is a story Santa Monica has worn proudly ever since.
Why People Visit Santa Monica
Santa Monica rewards visitors with a rare mix — a historic amusement pier, the western end of Route 66, miles of beach, and a walkable downtown, all on a bright Pacific bay. People come for the pier and the End of the Trail, for sunsets off the bluffs of Palisades Park, and for an easy California beach day with a long history behind it. It is iconic, friendly, and unmistakably Southern California.
