- Pacific Avenue
Pacific Avenue is a street in
downtown Santa Cruz, California , known for its shopping area (formerly known as the "Pacific Garden Mall"), and arguably the city's cultural center with several book stores and independent movie theaters. The atmosphere is generally peaceful and relaxed; people play music and sing. On weekends, at the fork of Pacific Avenue and Front Street, nearJamba Juice cafe and theTown Clock , representatives of the local Brazilian and Portuguese-speaking populations have dance contests.Roy Rydell was engaged as the landscape architect for the former Pacific Garden Mall and other notable places in Santa Cruz including: Abbott Square beside the Octagon Museum, Plaza Branciforte on Soquel Avenue, the Town Clock Plaza, the Communication Building at UCSC, Deer Park Center, Santa Cruz City Hall Annex, and the
Alfred Hitchcock estate.During the
Loma Prieta earthquake in1989 , several buildings along what was known as the Pacific Garden Mall were destroyed, including the Cooper House.Clint Eastwood 's 1983 "Dirty Harry " movie, "Sudden Impact ", includes a car chase filmed in the business district several years before the earthquake. Since the earthquake, the old "Pacific Garden Mall" theme was eliminated, and an updated downtown design plan was implemented. Currently the few remaining empty lots on Pacific Avenue are currently in the process of being developed.External Links
*
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
