Overview

The first 1,000-foot-long version of the Huntington Beach Pier was completed in 1903, a relatively frail construction of pine boards. Storms caused significant damage to the pier on many occasions, including 1905, 1912, 1939, 1983 and 1988. In 1913-1914, the City of Huntington Beach completely reconstructed the pier using reinforced concrete at a cost of approximately $70,000, although sections of this concrete structure have had to be replaced and renovated during the last three dates listed. During this time span, the pier has increased in length from about 1,200 feet to about 1,800.

Building History

Development of Huntington Beach as a recreation center for Los Angeles (and the US) began in earnest in the first years of the twentieth century. Railroad mogul Henry Huntington (1850-1927) extended his Pacific Electric system to the unincorporated town on 07/04/1904, and other key amenities for tourists, such as a large hotel (the Huntington Inn) and a fishing pier, were erected at about the same time as the train's arrival. Although there is some inconsistency in historical accounts, it appears that the pier was completed in 1903.

Shortly after its 1903 completion, efforts at improving the pier took place. Other coastal cities in CA were building piers to attract visitors, and there was something of a civic competition to build the grandest and most novel. (This competition continued up to World War II.) In 1904, the Los Angeles Times reported: "The Los Angeles Wood and Iron Preserving Company has a force of twenty men improving the long pleasure pier. Six hundred feet at the outer end is to be six feet higher than the main pier, with a 'T' 35x60 near the end. The work is being done in a most thorough and permanent manner, with feeder piles at every bent and dolphins at each side for mooring light craft wishing to tie up. The piles are preserved with asphaltum and cement." (See "Huntington Beach Street and Pier Work," Los Angeles Times, 05/23/1904, p. 14.) The raising and reinforcing of the pier did little to safeguard it for any length of time.

A year later, a fierce storm during a turbulent July damaged the new pier. The Los Angeles Times stated: "Old ocean has been in something of a rage for several days and the currents running inshore have been increasing in violence since July 4. Yesterday at Huntington Beach a portion of the 1200-foot pier was torn away by the tide and washed out to sea, as though it had been constructed of bamboo. The portion torn away was an extension built two years ago and it will be replaced at once by the Beach Company (See "Pier Carried Away," Los Angeles Times, 07/12/1905, pt. II, p. 1.) The rapid destruction did not deter its owner, the Huntington Beach Company, from quickly planning an improved replacement. A reporter for the Los Angeles Herald said five days later: "The heavy tide which washed away the end of the pier a week ago bids fair greatly to benefit the town, as the Huntington Beach company is receiving estimates on an extension of 300 feet beyond the length of the pier before the accident. This will not only make it stronger, but extend it into waters where splendid fish abound, and offer greater facilities for fishing." (See "Huntington Beach News," Los Angeles Herald, vol. 32, no. 289, 07/17/1905, p. 5.) Not only did its owners not waste any time in reconstructing its damaged attraction, it took the initiative to market a new and improved pier to potential visitors.

A significant storm wrecked the wooden Huntington Beach Pier again in 1912. City officials spent 1913 rebuilding it, this time constructing it of more durable reinforced concrete. Construction was completed by 12/1913 by the Mercereau Construction Company, according to an article in the Los Angeles Herald. (See "Huntington Beach Pier Piling Work Almost Finished," Los Angeles Herald, vol. 24, 11/19/1913, pt. II, p. 1.) According to the City of Huntington Beach, Pictorial History of Huntington Beach, "Later, in 1912, the pier was heavily damaged in a severe storm. Coincidently, the City Council, during 1912, had been contemplating the construction of a new pier. A $70,000 pier construction bond was approved by popular vote in 1912. The new 1,350 foot long replacement pier was dedicated in June of 1914, and had the distinction of being the longest, highest and only solid concrete pleasure pier in the United States." (See City of Huntington Beach, Pictorial History of Huntington Beach, [Huntington Beach, CA: City of Huntington Beach, n.d.], p. IV. This history was included in Alicia Wentworth, ed., City of Huntington Beach Miscellaneous Historical Data, [Huntington Beach, CA: City of Huntington Beach, 1976], n.p.)

An article in the Los Angeles Times in 1913 reported: ""The first of the concrete piling [sic] of the new pier were sunk last week. The piling which have a heavy knob of large diameter at the bottom, are let down into the sand by hydraulic pressure. A powerful jet of water which passes both through and around the piling excavates a hole in the sand in which the piling gradually sinks. Since no clay or hard pan has been found under the sand to interfere with the work, the completion of the pier is promised by January 1." (See "First Piling Sunk," Los Angeles Times, 09/21/1913. pt.VI, p.2.) The switch to all-concrete construction proved wise, as the pier lasted about 20 years before it sustained any more significant damage.

An additional 300 feet were added to the pier in A rare hurricane in 1939 ripped the final 300 feet of the pier off, requiring another year's worth of repair.

El Nino storms of

PCAD id: 20860