Third Street Promenade revisited

Saturday morning Farmer's Market in Santa Monica, at Arizona Avenue and the Third Street Promenade.

This past January, my son and I were back in Los Angeles for a father / son weekend to celebrate his 16th birthday. We took time to explore places he remembered from growing up in L.A. - and check out a few new things as well. The Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica was on our list of places to see. 

Third Street at Arizona Avenue hosts a Saturday morning Farmer's Market. We weren't planning on buying any fruits or vegetables - so we moved on this some of the outdoor mall that is Third Street. 

My son had toyed with the idea of getting a pair Doc Martens (shoes). At least he wanted to check them out. 

There are standard black - as well as this impressive hand painted (and pricey) shoes. Maybe sometime later. 

We stopped by Barnes & Noble, located on the corner of Third and Wilshire. The hardest class this past year has been "AP European History" (he took the AP exam later in the Spring and passed!). But last January he wasn't too too excited about the class, or at least the exam. 

We found the office to his old orthodontist - Dr. Scott Newhart (we highly recommend him!)

Another one of those "I remember going here" moments. 

Blast from the past: I dusted off a few photos from a 2010 office visit to Dr. Scott Newhart - my son was five years younger. 

Dr. Newhart. Hard to believe, but we actually continued with him as an orthodontist a few months after moving out of the area. This office visit was literally 400 mile round trip. Think we combined this trip with other things, but - yes - we soon found local orthodontist. 

Dr. Newhart's Santa Monica office has a private deck patio. How great is that?

The deck patio had some nice views - these were from the outdoor deck,  taken in December 2010. This is the Third Street Promenade looking north towards Wilshire Blvd. 

And from the intersection of Third and Arizona looking south towards Santa Monica Blvd. The white three story building on the left is the 1924 Criterion Building. 

Back to the photos from our trip last January:

I was sad to see that the Criterion Theater, located on the corner of Third Street and Arizona Avenue had been converted to retail. 

The Criterion Theater, originally opened in 1924, has gone through many changes, including going from it's original 1200 seat single screen theater to a multiplex back in 1983. 

I grew up in the are: back in the late 1970's the Criterion dropped their ticket price for a double feature to an incredible 49 cents. Adjusted for inflation, that would still be less than $2.00. And at those prices, the theater was packed. Good times. Sadly, the theater complex closed in 2013. 

Meanwhile, the Apple Store moved to a massive new location, in-between Santa Monica Blvd and Colorado Avenue. 

We've got an Apple Store where we live now ... but my son still wanted to walk around and check out the latest stuff. 

All the Apple employees in their red shirts. I had a good friend who worked at the Santa Monica Apple Store at their original location. It wasn't that great of an experience - at least for an adult who had done other things. But he did meet a lot of celebrities.  

Santa Monica prides itself for it's liberal / progressive political views. Someone had set up a table outside one of the stores - these bumper stickers were for sale. 

I liked the look and feel of Chili Beans. I assumed it was a restaurant. Wrong. They sell sunglasses. 

Outside Urban Outfiters. I think my son has the look going (black skinny jeans, denim shirt, white t-shirt.

Here's a link to a few more photos from a previous visit in the evening when my family and I lived in Los Angeles. The whole place becomes considerably more crowded during the afternoon / evening. 

Next stop: Metropolis II at the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art. 

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