Rebuilt Pier’s Opening Draws Thousands

Like friends welcoming home a long-lost companion, thousands of Southern Californians on Saturday celebrated the opening of this town’s new pier.

Cloudless skies and warm temperatures added to the lure of the beachfront festivities. Pedestrians crowded shoulder to shoulder along the Main Street shopping area, and Pacific Coast Highway was filled with bumper-to-bumper traffic.

Robert Poitras, 39, of Huntington Beach summed up the sentiments of many. “It’s like losing your wallet and then finding it all of a sudden. There’s such a sense of relief to be able to come back and enjoy this lifestyle again.”

“I love it,” said Pete Petersen, 53, of Westminster as he looked over the 1,856-foot pier. “When we didn’t have the pier, it was a period of deprivation, because being without it took away from the romanticism of the California beach scene.”

The state-of-the-art structure replaces a 76-year-old pier that closed in 1988 because of old age and storm damage. The new pier, built at a cost of $10.8 million, was opened Saturday morning as tens of thousands thronged the city’s downtown area.

The opening of the pier coincided with the hottest day of the year in Orange County, said Steve Burback of WeatherData Inc., which provides forecasts for The Times. Santa Ana reached 95 degrees, a record for the date. The previous high for the city was 92 degrees back in 1963.

The hottest spot in the county was Lake Forest at 97 degrees; Anaheim was close behind at 96 degrees. Beach cities were considerably cooler but still warmer than usual. Newport Beach reached a high of 73 degrees.

Business boomed as a party atmosphere permeated Huntington Beach, where residents and visitors alike celebrated throughout the downtown area. More Pierfest ’92 events and activities begin at 10 a.m. today at the pier and continue through 6 p.m. Most events are free and open to the public.

City officials noted that the pier is a natural draw for the businesses in the newly redeveloped downtown area.

“This new pier is a great economic boost to the city,” said Councilman Don MacAllister. Added Orange County Supervisor Harriett M. Wieder: “The pier and downtown renewal add a spirit of pride and unity to this city.”

A city historian, Jerry Person, said that the pier has always been the focal point of the city. He said Huntington Beach had two wooden piers built before 1914, both of which were destroyed by storms. Then in 1914 the city built a concrete pier that lasted until the winter of 1988. Storm damage and old age caused the pier to be closed that year, and torn down in 1990, when construction began on the new pier.

“If you mention Huntington Beach to anyone, they think of the pier,” Person said. “The pier is the real identity of the city.”

During the Saturday morning ribbon-cutting ceremonies, several city and civil leaders made brief speeches and expressed pride in the new structure.

“This is probably the most exciting day of my life,” Mayor Jim Silva said shortly before he cut the ribbon.

“This (pier) is going to last for another 100 years and is going to be the best pier in the United States, if not in the entire world,” said Assemblyman Tom Mays (R-Huntington Beach).

City officials told the opening-day crowd that community support made it possible to build the pier despite a prolonged recession.

Tom Bagshaw headed a grass-roots organization, PIER (Persons Interested in Expediting Reconstruction), that raised $100,000 for construction and helped snag $5 million in government funds. “Most of the people who gave to our efforts were those who couldn’t afford big donations,” he said. “They bought T-shirts and things like that so they could make a donation. . . . Time after time, they’d tell me stories about why they loved the pier.”

Ribbon-cutting ceremonies began at 10 a.m. By that time, police Sgt. Val Birkett estimated 25,000 had gathered around the pier site, Main Street at Pacific Coast Highway. But additional thousands poured into the downtown area as the warm, cloudless day grew older. “I wouldn’t doubt but that there are 100,000 or more people in the overall crowd,” said Dave Kelly, a spokesman for the city.

The dedication ceremonies skipped solemnity and pomp. Mostly there were lighthearted comments, and a few goofy moments, such as when look-alikes of President George Bush, Elizabeth Taylor, Pope John Paul II, Elvis Presley, Madonna and Michael Jackson pushed their way through the crowd to join the mayor and other political celebrities.

At 10:38 a.m., Silva cut a ribbon that crossed the pier. The crowd watching exulted in unison, as if on cue: “Yeaaaa!” And then guards and police allowed the spectators to walk onto the new structure.

Despite the size of the crowd, the walk onto the pier was orderly and without incident. But perhaps because of the heat, there was at least one heart attack in the crowd. The woman was taken to a nearby hospital. A small child also suffered apparent heatstroke and was carried off the pier.

Three unidentified young men leaped off the end of the pier and swam to shore about 20 minutes after the official opening. They apparently were not arrested or cited, but the incident nonetheless was frowned upon.

“It’s against the law to jump from the pier,” noted Tim Moilanen, 25, a city lifeguard.

Police and lifeguards said there were no serious problems Saturday with crowd control or misbehavior.

Thousands of spectators strolled the length of the pier, stopping to watch volleyball games on the beach, surfers riding the waves and fishermen trying their luck.

The first fish caught on the new pier was a baby sand shark. Steve Roy, 34, of Huntington Beach caught the shark about 10 minutes after the pier officially opened. “I didn’t expect to be the first to catch something,” he said. The shark was thrown back into the ocean.

One spectator, Rep. Christopher Cox, who represents part of Huntington Beach, noted that Huntington Beach is well known by its nickname, “Surf City.” And Cox said it was good, indeed, to see the pier back again as the focal point of Surf City on Saturday.

“St. Louis has got its arch, and Boston has (the ship) Old Ironsides, and San Juan Capistrano has the mission,” Cox said. “But nobody but Surf City has this pier and this history.”

Staff Writers Bob Elston and Davan Maharaj contributed to this story.