The neon came off first. On Tuesday, Oct. 20, YESCO crews set up their equipment at the foot of Colorado Avenue and pulled the tubing from the Santa Monica Pier sign. On Wednesday they took down the crown. On Thursday the main sign came off in sections, lifted by crane, with forecast rain not expected to stop the work. By Oct. 26 it was scheduled to be wrapped and on its way to YESCO's secure facility in Las Vegas.

So this year's holidays begin at a pier with no sign over the entrance and a 1939 bridge that is mostly rubble. The City of Santa Monica has set up a two-month European holiday market on the Pier Event Deck, and it says plainly why: to draw visitors after the summer peak and send foot traffic to the businesses that have stayed open through the rebuild. Add the pier's own Thursday programs, and most of the season happens after the construction crews leave for the day.

Where the sign went, and what stands in for it

YESCO is known for neon restoration, and its past work includes the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign and the 105-year-old Sweet Candy Company sign. According to the City's release, the restoration covers the neon tubing, rust removal and treatment, repainting, structural repairs and the sign's historic features.

The sign will stay in storage in Las Vegas while the bridge goes up. When the project is finished, it will be reinstalled a little higher than before, which the City says will make it easier to see and give vehicles more clearance underneath. The City expects the project to be complete by 2028, in time for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

For now there is a half-scale, illuminated replica just before Pier Burger, on the left side as you walk out. From that spot the photo takes in the Pacific Park roller coaster and the shoreline. Not everyone thinks it's an even trade. Yo! Venice talked to a longtime resident who said the replica doesn't replace the original and worried that the changed view could mean fewer visitors. Councilmember Dan Hall told the outlet he had mixed emotions about the removal.

The bridge keeps morning hours

That worry about fewer visitors is the problem the rest of the season is built to solve, and the construction schedule shows why. Bridge construction officially started on Dec. 9, 2025. The finished bridge will be seismically upgraded, with reworked walkways onto the pier deck. It will also carry a 15-foot-wide sidewalk for pedestrians and cyclists.

The City's Oct. 30 construction update puts the next steps in order. Crews expected to finish demolishing the rest of the old bridge by mid-November. Drilling and shoring for the new foundation, already underway near Colorado and Ocean, should wrap up in late November. Column pours have started, and all 13 concrete columns for the new bridge are expected to be done by late December.

Most of the work happens Monday through Friday, 5 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The City warns that demolition and shoring can be loud and that some activities will cause vibration. The pier itself is open daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. The Pier Corporation's Thursday programs all start after the weekday crews are scheduled to stop.

Why a Swiss market, and why this winter

Swiss Winter Village opens on the Pier Event Deck at 200 Santa Monica Pier on Wednesday, Nov. 18, and runs through Jan. 3, 2027. The organizers, Fever and Swiss Xmas, Inc., are behind several of Switzerland's well-known Christmas markets. The City's announcement lists handcrafted gifts, seasonal food and drinks, live entertainment, visits with Santa Claus, Hanukkah celebrations and activities for all ages. Santa portraits run Thursday through Sunday, 1 to 7 p.m., from Nov. 27 to Dec. 20.

Mayor Caroline Torosis connected the market to the City's economic recovery plans. "Raclette, ice skating and holiday shopping on the Pier make Santa Monica the place to be this winter," she said in the City's Nov. 2 release, calling the market exactly what the Realignment Plan is about and adding that "every visitor who comes for a cheese tasting and stays for dinner Downtown helps power our economic recovery."

For people who live nearby, the useful part is what the City's agreement with the organizer requires:

• Resident access. The organizer pledged to donate 1,000 tickets to Santa Monica nonprofits through the City's Housing and Human Services Department, with priority for groups serving underserved children and foster families. Free and discounted admission for local residents is also planned.
• Local makers. Eligible Santa Monica businesses get weighted priority in vendor selection, and one rotating stall is set aside for first-time local creators.
• Pier tenants. The organizer will work with the Pier Tenants Union and give Pier tenants priority booth access. The agreement also calls for on-site cross-promotion of permanent Pier businesses and coupons that point market visitors toward them.
• Library tie-ins. The City is looking at seasonal programs with the Santa Monica Public Library, including holiday storytime and a free Arts Month concert at Miles Memorial Playhouse in April 2027.

The coupon clause reflects the City's stated reason for the market. The two-month event is meant to bring people onto the deck and then into Pier Burger, Pacific Park and the other businesses that have kept their doors open through the demolition.

Thursdays carry the local calendar

The Santa Monica Pier Corporation runs its own holiday programming, and nearly all of it lands on Thursdays. Locals' Night, the pier's free monthly series of local bands, DJs, art, a car show and youth activities, happens every third Thursday from September through May. Time Out lists this season's next two dates as Nov. 19 and Dec. 17, both starting at 3:30 p.m. The November date is the day after Swiss Winter Village opens.

Holiday Cheer on the Pier starts Nov. 19, when the Pier Corporation decorates the historic Merry-Go-Round windows, and builds to three Thursdays in December.

The Pier Corporation says it really does mail the Letters to Santa to the North Pole. The Dec. 17 car decorating contest awards a cash prize to the best-decorated car. The Pier's Happenings page also lists Giving Tuesday on Dec. 1, plus a free talk on Pier history on the last Thursday of each month from 6 to 7 p.m.

Each of these Thursday programs starts at least two hours after the weekday construction window closes. Families who come for the 3:30 storytime or the 5 p.m. marionettes will find a quiet worksite at the foot of the pier.

Getting onto the pier this season

The entrance has moved. The main way in is now a temporary pedestrian bridge about 30 feet south of the old entrance. You can also walk in from Ocean Front Walk, along the protected walkway beside the temporary vehicle ramp in the Pier parking lot, or by the stairs near Bubba Gump.

Driving takes more planning:

1. The Colorado Avenue ramp is closed. The old vehicle ramp onto the pier is shut, and the temporary southwest ramp is only for emergency and delivery vehicles.
2. Come in from PCH. The Moomat Ahiko Way on- and off-ramps to and from Pacific Coast Highway were still closed as of the City's Oct. 30 update. The Pier and beach parking lots are open and reached from PCH.
3. Have a backup lot. The City names Beach Lot 4 South, Beach Lot 3 North and Parking Structure 8 as alternates.
4. Expect weekday detours on Ocean Front Walk. The City says there may be intermittent weekday closures from 5 a.m. to 1 p.m., with flaggers guiding pedestrians around the work. Bikes are allowed on the pier.

Pacific Park says it is open and operating, but some attractions may have shorter hours or close temporarily, so check ride times before you go. One schedule has changed since summer. As of Oct. 19, Heal the Bay Aquarium has paused its regular weekend public hours and birthday parties for the rest of the bridge construction. It is holding special events and open houses in place of weekend drop-in visits.

At Davis + Burns Group, we follow how projects like the pier bridge affect daily life on the Westside, from parking access to which nights are worth the drive. If you have questions about the blocks near the pier, or how this rebuild fits into your own plans in Santa Monica, we'd be glad to talk it through. Work With Us.