Huntington Beach Pier Pressure

Piers jut into the Pacific from several cities in Orange County, but none seems to have attracted as much attention as the crippled and closed pier at Huntington Beach. Constructed in 1904 as a wooden structure, it was rebuilt with concrete 10 years later and closed indefinitely in July, 1988, after being severely damaged by stormy seas the previous January.

The community has squabbled for years over downtown redevelopment, but it does not question that the pier must be rebuilt. Even plans for a new Mediterranean-style entrance to the pier that include a museum and amphitheater have been approved in concept and draw support from city factions that agree on little else.

The only thing in short supply is money to finance completion of the project. City officials estimate that it will take about $11 million to rebuild the 1,800-foot pier. The city is counting on government to cover most of the costs of restoring the pier, and rightly so. Huntington Beach has about half of the money it needs and expects another $3 million from the state. The city seeks $1 million more from individuals and businesses.

Although the pier is a local landmark, many of the people who visit the pier and make use of the beach come from somewhere else. One city survey estimated that between 30% and 40% of the people using the pier are from Los Angeles County. The countless people from all over Southern California and the nation who have enjoyed the pier have an interest in helping rebuild it.

But it is most encouraging to see city residents so unquestionably united. They are displaying an old-fashioned, small-town spirit in devising ways to find the money needed. A seniors’ dance raised $14,000 and students selling bookmarks, buttons and iron-on patches have raised another $6 million. A Pier group has been formed and is selling sweat shirts, T-shirts and books. So far, it has raised $45,000.

Grant deeds at $25 each are being sold, giving buyers a square foot of the pier. Huntington Beach Tomorrow, a slow-growth group, has joined the pier-rebuilding effort. Residents have held a block party on the pier and raised $3,000. And a developer has hired a professional fund-raiser to help the city find major donors for the pier.

Until it was closed last year, the pier had been the focal point of life in Huntington Beach for decades. Because of the concern for its reconstruction, it is a focal point again, this time perhaps generating a harmony that has been missing from the downtown redevelopment project.