The western terminus of Santa Monica Boulevard is at Ocean Avenue near the Pacific Ocean. From there until
Interstate 405 (I-405), Santa Monica Boulevard is a densely urban commercial street. From Centinela Avenue, Santa Monica Boulevard heads northeast through the wealthy areas of
West Los Angeles,
Westwood,
Century City, and
Beverly Hills before entering the decidedly urban
West Hollywood. Santa Monica Boulevard, being a major street, is for most of its length at least four lanes wide. Most of the
Westside car dealerships are located on Santa Monica Boulevard. After
Sepulveda Boulevard, Santa Monica Boulevard passes by Century City and
its shopping center and intersects with
Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. After intersecting with Wilshire in Beverly Hills, Santa Monica Boulevard continues northeast towards West Hollywood, spanning
Beverly Boulevard and
Melrose Avenue. At Holloway Drive, in the middle of West Hollywood, Santa Monica, now north of
Melrose Avenue turns to run east. In West Hollywood, between
Doheny Drive and
Fairfax Avenue along Santa Monica Boulevard, bronze name plaques are embedded in the sidewalks as part of the
West Hollywood Memorial Walk. The original southern end of
SR 170 was at the intersection with
Highland Avenue. Santa Monica Boulevard merges on its eastern end with
Sunset Boulevard in the Sunset Junction neighborhood of
Silver Lake. The south roadway of Santa Monica Boulevard, often called Little Santa Monica Boulevard in Beverly Hills, runs parallel to the state highway (north) roadway of Santa Monica Boulevard from the city's west limit to Rexford Drive. After Rexford Drive, Little Santa Monica turns east, becoming Burton Way. Burton Way merges into
San Vicente Boulevard at its intersection with
La Cienega Boulevard. It is noted that the south roadway of Santa Monica Boulevard in Beverly Hills is a city street while the north roadway of Santa Monica Boulevard is a California state highway, each roadway handling bi-directional traffic. ==2020 protests==