Without Pier : Old Huntington Beach Landmark Is Giving Up Without Struggle as Workers Toil to Build New One

There is something eerie and otherworldly about it.

Where once the mighty pier extended grandly out into the roiling ocean, now only a small concrete island remains. That final bit of the 1914-built pier looks like an optical illusion, or perhaps, a magician’s trick.

By March, this last, lonely outpost of the old pier will be gone. But as the old disappears, the new will be emerging. And city officials last week said they are impressed with how quickly the contractor is demolishing the old pier and simultaneously starting work on the new one.

“It’s going very well,” proclaimed Mayor Peter M. Green, as he stood on the sand watching the busy work scene. “The demolition work is ahead of schedule because of the mild winter. I think the new pier will be finished early in 1992, just as the contractor has predicted.”

The contractor is Riedel International of Portland, Ore. Gary Davis, on-site project manager for Riedel’s work on the pier, said last week that about two-thirds of the old pier has now been torn down. “The work for the removal is ahead of schedule and going quite well at this point,” he said.

“One reason we’re able to remove it faster than we anticipated is that the condition of the pier is worse than anyone realized,” Davis said. “It’s falling apart; we’re not having to cut into it with much effort. One cut and it just starts falling apart.”

The pier was closed after heavy storm damage in 1988. Since then, several critics have challenged the closure, saying the pier could have lasted a few more years. But Davis and City Engineer Bob Eckblett both said last week that the closure came none too soon.

“I thought the old pier was in bad shape, but I had no idea how bad shape it was,” said Eckblett. “It was just hanging there. One of the reasons the demolition has moved so fast is because there wasn’t much to demolish.”

The concrete from the 77-year-old pier is so fragile and weather-worn that state Fish and Game officials have rejected using any of it so far for a proposed offshore artificial reef. “The material has not been acceptable,” said Kimberly McKee, a marine biologist with the state Fish and Game Department.

“The concrete just keeps crumbling. . . . We’ll keep looking at the concrete to see if any is usable, but so far none of it is suitable for putting offshore.”

The lifeguard tower remains on what is left of the old pier. It is staffed every day, but now lifeguards have to swim out every morning in frigid waters to get to the tower.

“It’s very cold swimming out there,” said Greg Crow, 35, one of the lifeguards. “We put our gear in a waterproof bag, grab a paddleboard and swim out to a ladder. Then we climb into the tower, where we have a small electric heater.”

Crow said the tower still is Huntington Beach’s prime observation area for watching swimmers, surfers, fishermen and others who flock to beaches, even in the winter months.

The tower next month will be moved to a temporary ocean trestle built by the contractor as a work-staging area. Davis said Riedel believes that the lifeguard tower is important and must be kept operative throughout the construction period. “The lifeguards have really been helping us by keeping swimmers and surfers away from the construction area, and we’re going to help them by making sure the tower stays in operation,” he said.

The city still lacks about $1.8 million in financing for the new pier.

Riedel International’s bid for the project was $8,588,000.

Green said that as of last week, the city had $5.7 million from federal, state, county and city grants for the pier. Another $1 million has been secured by private fund raising, the mayor said.

“Therefore we still have to raise about $1.8 million more in private donations,” Green said.

The City Council, which meets tonight at 7, is scheduled to get two more private donations for the pier. Green said that Anjou, Huntington Beach’s sister city in Japan, will present the council with $93,000 for the new pier. And Tom Bagshaw, president of PIER, a private fund-raising group in Huntington Beach, said he will bring $10,000 to the council meeting. That additional $10,000 will bring to $50,000 the amount PIER has raised through selling T-shirts and pier memorabilia, Bagshaw said.

Bagshaw said he feels sure that the remaining $1.8 million needed by the city can be raised by the various private and professional fund-raisers. “People in this city felt very sad to see the old pier go, but I can tell you that 90% of the residents are very supportive and enthusiastic about the new pier,” Bagshaw said.

Green, looking out to the ocean at the remnants of the old pier, said people have a fascination for such ocean structures.

“It’s mystical; almost magical,” the mayor said. “You know, it’s really strange when you look at what a pier is. There’s really no reason why we should build a walkway out on the ocean, going out about 1,800 feet. There’s no rational reason for it. But it does become a focal point for a city.”

FACTS ABOUT THE NEW PIER Cost: $8.5 million, excluding buildings.

Length: 1,800 feet (old pier was 1,820 feet).

Height: 38 feet above water (old pier was 26 feet).

Material: Concrete.

Design: Round pilings, same as old pier.

Buildings: Still undecided. City might reuse the buildings from the old pier or build new ones.

Scheduled opening: Spring, 1992.