Pier Face Lift to Restore Grandeur

Time has not been kind to the 70-year-old Manhattan Beach Pier.

The Spanish-tile roof has disappeared from the roundhouse at the end of the pier, along with the distinctive weather vane that was atop the building when it was completed in 1921. At some point during the decades, ornamental light poles along the pier’s 928-foot length were abandoned in favor of modern stanchions.

Next year, however, the city intends to halt time’s destructive ways as it returns the sightseeing and fishing pier to its 1920s style through an almost-total reconstruction.

Only the concrete pilings will be retained as the pier gets a stronger reinforced concrete deck, a reconstructed roundhouse, new deck curbs and railings, and globe lights atop classical columns.

The $2.7-million project--funded largely with state and federal money--begins in January, when the pier will be closed. It will take 10 months to complete.

Patrick Kelly, city public works director, said the project was launched to halt deterioration of the pier. In one instance, a man was awarded $3.2 million when he was paralyzed after a 150-pound concrete chunk fell from the pier onto him. The area beneath the pier is fenced off for safety.

In designing the reconstruction, the city sought to recapture as much of the pier’s “original splendor” as possible, Kelly said. The pier was built to promote tourism and development in the city. The roundhouse--presently a marine education center for students--originally was a 40-seat restaurant. In the reconstruction, designed by architect Richard Gemigniani, the roundhouse will get French doors, a red Spanish-tile roof and a copper cupola and weather vane. When the work is completed, the education center will be returned to the building, which will gain a snack bar. A bait and tackle shop, now in a small building at pier’s end, will be moved into the roundhouse.