Return of a Landmark : Ventura Pier Will Be Reopened Today After Receiving a $3.5-Million Face Lift

About a year ago, the Ventura Pier was falling apart. Parts of the deck were weather-beaten and rotting. Termites were chomping at the pilings holding up the structure. The end of the 1,958-foot pier was closed off by a chain-link fence because it was hazardous.

After a $3.5-million face lift, the Ventura Pier is reopening today. The longest wooden pier in California now has a new deck, some new pilings, a bait shop, snack bar and restrooms. New benches, light poles and fish-cleaning sinks have been added. Art plaques decorate the railings, and at the end of the pier sits a copper fountain that shoots seawater into the air.

“It’s essentially the same old pier--it’s just new lumber,” said Bill Byerts, parks manager for the city of Ventura. “It’s been here a long time, and it’s part of the community.”

At 11:45 a.m. today, Mayor Greg Carson is scheduled to cut a ribbon and officially reopen the pier. City officials said more than 20 boats from the Ventura and Pierpont Bay yacht clubs will surround the pier and give a cannon salute during the opening ceremony. About 200 swimmers from local swim clubs are expected to be bobbing around the pier.

For the next three hours, entertainment will be provided by local musicians, jugglers, magicians and acrobats. City officials said they expect 4,000 to 6,000 people to attend the event.

However, one of the pier’s main attractions--fishing--will not be allowed until after 4 p.m., said Steve Hartmann, who is coordinating the opening festivities.

“It’s because of safety concerns,” Hartmann said. “There will be so many people there. “It would be a bummer if someone got their lip hooked by a rusty hook.”

Hartmann said the city is spending about $5,000 for the pier’s opening.

“This is to give everybody notice that the pier is open,” Hartmann said. “It’s one of the area’s oldest and most visible landmarks, and now it can be fully enjoyed again.”

The 121-year-old historical landmark has endured fire, termites and storms. It was threatened with demolition in the late 1980s and parts of it were closed after 1986 because winter storms had ravaged the end of the pier.

City officials called the most current restoration one of the most extensive repair jobs in the pier’s history. A sprinkler system has been added in case of fires, and the pier was fortified to make it more stable.

“It was really in poor condition,” said Marquita Ellias, city construction engineer. “I was really worried that we would get our pier wiped out by storms before we could even get it restored.”

The entire fir and redwood deck of the pier was replaced, starting from the landward end to the edge of the pier. Planks were placed closer together to lessen the chance of visitors tripping on the cracks. The new Douglas fir deck cost about $1 million and is expected to last up to 50 years.

Workers also found that termites, worms and waves had ruined some of the pilings. About 17% of the pilings, which hold up the pier, were yanked out and replaced with new ones. Earlier reports had estimated that 10% of the pilings needed to be replaced.

The pier has 109 rows of pilings, with five to eight pilings per row. The new pilings, which cost about $227,000 to replace, are 14 inches in diameter and made of Douglas fir. They range from 40 feet tall near the pier base to 70 feet long at the pier’s end in the water.

Altogether, about 2.64 million pounds of lumber were used during the renovation, or the equivalent of 53 truck and trailer loads.

Ellias said the renovation project proceeded smoothly, with few glitches. The construction company, Santa Barbara-based Cushman Contracting Corp., finished about four months early, she said.

A dozen light poles were snapped off at their bases and pushed into the water at the beginning of the project. Vandals also put graffiti on some of the construction equipment, Ellias said.

But the new wood benches on the pier were chosen with vandals in mind, she said. “The benches are very hard wood,” Ellias said. “It’s hard to get a knife in it.”

More benches, light poles, fish-cleaning sinks, fountains and art panels have been added. The pier now has 73 benches, 37 light poles, five fish-cleaning sinks and three drinking fountains. Eighteen art panels about natural history subjects and the history of the pier are scheduled to be installed on the pier. Seven of them are ready for today.

The former Pier Fish House restaurant, the snack bar and bait shop were all demolished during the renovation. The new snack bar, bait shop and restrooms sit where the restaurant used to be. A 5,000-square-foot restaurant will be built across from the snack bar at the base of the pier, which was extended 55 feet along the coast to the northwest and 100 feet toward the water to accommodate the building.

The snack bar and bait shop are not occupied because city officials have just finished soliciting bids for the proposed restaurant. Applicants for the restaurant were allowed to bid on operating the snack bar and bait shop as well.

City officials said they expect a new restaurant to be built and ready in as soon as 18 months. Friday was the deadline for bids on the restaurant.

City parks manager Byerts, who is in charge of selecting the new restaurant, said he received only three bids in July after contacting 65 businesses.

“It was a little disappointing,” said Byerts, who blames the recession.

Byerts extended the deadline, hoping to attract more restaurateurs.

“It’s a premier spot,” he said. “We want a nice, quality restaurant.”

City officials were also hoping to get developers to build about 15,000 square feet of restaurant and retail shops along the beach northwest of the pier, but the recession squashed those plans.

In May, 1991, Santa Monica-based Janss Corp. was granted rights to build the retail shops and restaurant, but the project never came to fruition.

“They just couldn’t put together the financing,” Byerts said.

The pier restoration is also part of the city’s long-term plans to revitalize the beach and downtown area. City leaders want to boost tourism, and the pier will be marketed as one of Ventura’s main attractions.

To that end, city officials commissioned San Francisco artist Ned Kahn to design an $80,000 sculpture at the end of pier.

Kahn created “Wavespout,” a 6-foot-tall copper fountain that shoots seawater up to 10 feet high. The circle of copper tubing is mounted in a 10-foot-by-60-foot opening in the pier deck.

As the waves roll past, water will pressurize air that is in the pipes, blowing a reservoir of water out of the fountain. A small electric pump feeds a steady stream of water into the 800-pound fountain.

“I wanted to make something that would be a link to the ocean,” Kahn said. “It seems to work best at medium tides.”

City officials said the restoration project was delayed about a year because three state agencies and the city were coordinating the project, and it took awhile to establish funding for the pier. The renovation was funded by about $3 million in state grants and $500,000 in city funds.

The city agreed to assume ownership of the pier from the California Department of Parks and Recreation in 1990 after state officials said they were considering demolishing the pier because the $100,000-a-year maintenance costs were too high.

The pier was last repaired in 1988, when the state spent about $150,000 to replace some pilings.

When city officials decided to renovate the pier, they turned to a citizens group to get opinions on how the new pier should look.

Residents told them they wanted the same pier--a jetty made of wood, with few buildings on it, and no structures over the water.

“One of the nice things about the pier is that it’s not commercial,” Byerts said. “You can go out there and do your own thing. Who wants to get out onto the end of a pier and go on a merry-go-round?”

City architect Don Marquardt said residents were insistent on retaining a wood pier.

“We could have bastardized the pier by using other materials like concrete,” Marquardt said. “But the community wanted a wooden pier. When the next storm comes, it will probably do some damage, but that has been the history of the pier. All wooden piers have a fight with the ocean and occasionally they lose, and they are rebuilt.”

According to historical records, the Ventura Pier has been repaired numerous times since its construction in 1872.

When it was built, it was known as the San Buenaventura Wharf. It was constructed by private businessmen for $45,000 and it opened Ventura to commerce.

Coastal steamers bearing farm machinery, lumber, kerosene and food visited the wharf about every 10 days. Farmers, ranchers and oil producers all took advantage of the wharf to ship their products.

In 1877 it was damaged by heavy surf and then quickly rebuilt. It was cut in half in 1914 when huge sea swells shoved a steamer against it. When it was repaired three years later, it was lengthened by 500 feet, to 1,700 feet.

Storms ravaged it again in 1926. In February that year, in front of scores of witnesses, a bookkeeper for the San Buenaventura Wharf & Warehouse Co. was drowned as he tried to run back to shore from the edge of the wharf.

Eight years later, the wharf was heavily damaged by fire and rebuilt.

In 1938, after suffering more abuse from storms, the pier was lengthened to its present dimensions of 1,958 feet.

By then, commercial vessels were no longer tying up at the wharf. The railroads and major ports to the north and south had successfully squeezed it out of competition.

Gradually, it became a fishing and recreational pier for residents.

The city purchased the pier for $7,000 in 1940, but after several years of rising maintenance costs, Ventura officials gave the pier to the state in 1949.

In 1977 the pier was closed for repairs. After storms in 1986 pummeled the end of the pier, about two-thirds of the pier was closed. It was partly reopened in 1988 after some repairs.

City officials estimate that yearly maintenance costs will be about $50,000. They want to put another $50,000 aside each year to save for future major repairs.

Since June, civic and business leaders have been raising money for an endowment fund to help pay for the pier’s maintenance costs. More than $250,000 in cash contributions have poured in, said Monty Clark, head of the Pier Into the Future committee.

Clark said the committee’s goal is $1 million. The recession has slowed down some donations, but on the whole, residents have been very supportive because the pier has a high sentimental value in the community, he said.

“It’s a very positive thing,” Clark said. “The pier deeply affects people.”

As an enticement, the committee is offering to engrave names of contributors on a granite monument in front of the pier. Clark said one plaque of 800 names is ready now, and more will be added in the future.

The group is also selling other promotional items, such as Ventura Pier T-shirts and sweat shirts. Earlier this week, officials unveiled a “Ventura Pier Chardonnay,” a private label bottle of wine that will be available next week at local retail shops, restaurants and hotels. A dollar from every bottle, priced about $7 at retail shops, will be given to the endowment fund.

Councilman Tom Buford, who led a group to preserve the pier when it was threatened with demolition, said the pier is a key Ventura landmark.

“I remember going out with my grandfather there,” said Buford, a Ventura native. “You fight to save something like this not because it’s a relic of the past, but it’s a part of us. It’s part of Ventura, and so it’s part of us.”

THE PIER REOPENING

KICKOFF: The Ventura Pier will reopen at 11:45 a.m. today, when city officials kick off opening festivities.

NO FISHING: Because large crowds are expected, city officials said fishing will not be allowed on the pier until 4 p.m.

FREE PARKING: The California Department of Parks and Recreation will provide free parking at the San Buenaventura State Beach--the entrance is on San Pedro Street, near the Doubletree Hotel.

PAY PARKING: Parking will also be available for $1 at the Ventura County Fairgrounds, and motorists will be charged $3 if they park at the Holiday Inn’s multilevel parking structure off California Street.

PARKING FOR DISABLED: Parking for disabled people can be accessed through the Harbor Boulevard entrance to the state parks and recreation parking lot located about 100 yards south of the pier.

Ventura Pier Renovation The Ventura Pier, the longest wooden pier in California, has suffered through fire, termite infestation and countless storms. The 1,958-foot structure was closed 13 months ago for extensive repairs. After a $3.5-million face lift, the 121-year-old historical landmark will reopen today with a new fountain, decking, pilings, a bait shop, snack bar and public restrooms.

Snack Bar and Bait Shop Standing at the former site of the Pier Fish House Restaurant, the building is not yet occupied. City officials are soliciting bids for the proposed restaurant nearby, and applicants are allowed to bid on operating the snack bar and bait shop as well.

Restrooms A public restroom has been added to the base of the pier. Like the snack bar and bait shop, it is made from wood and has a copper roof with stained cedar siding.

Wavespout fountain The $80,000 copper fountain uses an electric pump and harnesses the energy from ocean waves. Environmental artist Ned Kahn has designed “Wavespout” to imitate the action of a blowhole. It can spurt water up to 10 feet high depending on the size and timing of the waves.

Pilings About 17% of the pier’s old pilings were yanked out using a crane and steel cable sling and replaced for $227,000. The new Douglas fir piles are 14 inches in diameter. They range from 40 feet tall near the waterline to 70 feet at the pier’s end.

Restaurant The base of the pier was widened to accommodate a new 5,000-square-foot restaurant to be built within 18 months.

Decking The entire decking of the pier was replaced, costing nearly $1 million. Made of Douglas fir, it is expected to last up to 50 years.