Santa Monica Pier Deputy Director and Pier Historian Jim Harris with cast perform, "Save the Pier The Play," at the end of the Santa Monica Pier on Monday, September 9, 2019. In the early 1970’s, the Santa Monica City Council voted to build a 35-acre island in Santa Monica Bay, featuring a high-rise hotel, a convention center, restaurants and other amenities. The Santa Monica Pier would be torn down and a four-lane bridge would be built in its place to provide access.The play dramatizes the fight to stop the island plan and save the Santa Monica Pier. Save the Pier The Play