In 1989, shortly after he was charged with helping to pump life into the newly designated Third Street Promenade, Jeff Mathieu, Santa Monica s economic-development manager, visited the outdoor mall to catch an evening movie. Mathieu entered the old Criterion, a cavernous 1,000-seat theater, sat down and looked around. I knew this would be a challenge. Today, Mathieu must squeeze past as many 15,000 visitors who, on warm weekend nights, pack into a single block of the narrow strip that stretches from Broadway to Wilshire Boulevard. Throngs gather round a boisterous assortment of street performers who draw, play, bang and dance for donations till well past midnight.
Diners fill sidewalk tables, and moviegoers form long lines to enter sold-out shows.
In 10 short years, the Third Street Promenade has gone from blight to boom, drawing an estimated 4 million visitors a year from across the region and around the world. It is the proverbial goose that lays the golden eggs, only the eggs keep getting larger and larger. It was so instantaneous. It was like winning a million bucks. But Third Street s sudden prosperity has placed the city in the unusual position of managing if not reining in success.