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The Gap store on Wilshire Boulevard will close July 23 after nearly 55 years in Santa Monica.
The site at the corner of 20th Street is set to be redeveloped into a mixed-use complex with 260 apartments.
“Gap has been proud to be part of the community in Santa Monica for more than 50 years,” the company said in a statement to The Sun. “As our lease comes to an end this summer, we will be closing this location with deep gratitude to the customers, employees and neighbors who have made it so special over the decades.”
Opened in 1971, it was the first Gap store in Southern California and only the third in the company’s history. The brand was founded in 1969 by Donald and Doris Fisher, initially selling Levi’s jeans and vinyl records before launching its own label in the mid-1970s.
Over the years, the Santa Monica store became a fixture for local shoppers and a first job for many residents.
“Worked there in the 80s and Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn came in to buy jeans,” Reddit user stone fruit-sf remembered fondly.
The company said it is helping workers explore opportunities at nearby stores. However, an employee, who asked not to be identified, said no positions were available locally. With the Century City store closed, the nearest Gap location is 30 minutes away at The Grove.
Over its five decades, the Santa Monica Gap store has also been connected to major moments in the community.
In 2001, store manager Ronald Gamboa, 33, was killed in the September 11 terrorist attacks along with his partner and their 3-year-old child while returning from a trip to Boston and Cape Cod.
In 2006, comic singer “Weird Al” Yankovic used the store as a backdrop in his classic parody music video, “White & Nerdy.”
More recently, during the January 2025 wildfire in Pacific Palisades, the store served as a distribution site for N95 masks, hygiene kits, water, and other supplies. “Times like this show the true humanity and heartbeat of communities,” CEO Richard Dickson posted to LinkedIn at the time.
Gap’s closure comes as city leaders continue efforts to revive retail in Santa Monica. In 2025, then-Mayor Lana Negrete met with Gap Inc. representatives to discuss bringing the brand back to the Third Street Promenade.
Negrete called the meeting “a full-circle moment,” pointing to her own early experience working retail in Santa Monica and the role shopping districts play in the city’s identity. No update has been provided since. Emails seeking comment from Ms. Negrete were not returned.
There was previously another Santa Monica Gap location on the Third Street Promenade. It has been closed for nearly a decade. The future of the brand on the Westside remains unclear.
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