Ventura Pier

Ventura Wharf, 1877 (Courtesy of UC Berkeley, Bancroft Library)

On May 20, 1871, two meetings of San Buenaventura citizens were held at Spear's Hall, one in the morning and a follow-up in the evening, to discuss the construction of a wharf in Ventura. Articles of incorporation and bylaws were adopted for the formation of a company to undertake the project.[14] Joseph Wolfson and his father-in-law Juan Camarillo were principal forces behind the wharf.[15]

On May 18, 1872, the first piling was driven into the ground for the wharf. A ceremony was held at which Arcadia Camarillo, the wife of Joseph Wolfson who led the effort to build the wharf, broke a bottle of wine over the first piling.[14][16] The wharf was completed nearly five months later on October 5, 1872. The Ventura Signal wrote: "At last a steamer can lay alongside of the wharf, and discharge and take on cargo and passengers. It is a grand improvement upon the old way, and duly appreciated by shippers and travelers." Robert Sudden was hired as the manager of the wharf, a position he held for more than two decades.[14]

The wharf was built to promote the city's growth. Prior to construction of the wharf and continuing until the arrival of the railroad in 1887, ground transportation to Ventura was difficult, particularly in the rainy season when the flow of the Ventura and Santa Clara Rivers isolated the city.[17][18][19] Accordingly, ships docking at the wharf also served as a principal means of transportation to and from Ventura.[14][20]

In its early decades of operation, the pier was known as the Ventura Wharf and was used as a commercial wharf. The products shipped from the Ventura Wharf included agricultural products and eventually crude oil from the local oil fields.[21] In its annual statement for the year ending April 30, 1898, the Ventura Wharf Company reported exports that included 518,204 barrels (82,387,900 L) of bulk oil, 80,384 bags of beans (all varieties), 28,819 bags of corn, 14,721 bags of barley, 11,855 boxes of oranges, and 6,285 boxes of lemons.[22]

Ventura Pier, c. 1910

During its years of operation as a wharf, the pier underwent damage on multiple occasions due to storms, shipwrecks, and fire.

In 1877 or 1878, the wharf was damaged by storms and repaired within weeks.[1][2]

On June 25, 1889, the W. L. Hardison, a steamer operated by oil interests which would soon become the Union Oil Company of California in Santa Paula, California, became engulfed in fire at the wharf after a cook spilled a pan of burning fat in the galley while the ship was taking on a load of 2,000 barrels of crude oil. The ship and cargo were a total loss, but the six crewmen on board were able to escape.[23]

Twenty-five years later, on December 19, 1914, the steamer Coos Bay was wrecked at the wharf. The ship was attempting to moor "when a strong rip tide swung her hard against the piling."[24] The ship swung under the wharf, and "heavy swell . . . made the steamer a trip-hammer pounding against the structure from the under-side and lifting large sections of the wharf almost at every blow."[24] The ship sunk in 12 feet (3.7 meters) of water, and for two days, the ship continued to "roll with the incoming waves . . . tearing the wharf to pieces when she strikes."[25]

On February 13, 1926, the wharf was destroyed by heavy surf during a winter storm. George Proctor, an accountant for the Ventura Wharf & Warehouse Co., was killed when he walked to the end of the wharf as the structure collapsed below him. A middle selection collapsed first, leaving Proctor stranded. The outer portion then collapsed, dropping Proctor to the water below.[26][27]

Again in December 1934, heavy waves cause a partial collapse of the pier.[28]

Ventura Pier in 2008

The pier reached its greatest length of 1,958 feet (597 meters) when it was rebuilt after being damaged in a winter storm in 1937.[21] At its maximum length, it was the longest wooden pier in California.[29][30]

Like the wharf that preceded it, the pier experienced repeated damage from storms and heavy surf. Notable instances include the following:

• On November 27, 1947, the Coos Bay, buried near the pier since 1914, was loosened from the sand and washed ashore, again causing damage to the pier. Hundreds of sight-seers "swarmed over the hull."[31]
• On April 22, 1950, the pier reopened after a closure of several months following storm damage. Members of the Ventura County Boat Club dressed in costumes of Indian medicine men and performed a ritual intended to assure good fishing.[32]
• In 1977 and 1978, the pier was again damaged in winter storms. It was closed for several months in late 1979 and early 1980 to undertake more than $163,000 in repairs, including the replacement of 35 pilings.[33][34]
• In January 1983, the pier was damaged in winter storms, and the last 600 feet (180 meters) were closed and barricaded. Thirty-one pilings and guardrails were replaced at a cost of $100,000. The pier was closed for repairs from September to December 1984.[35][36]
• In 1986, the pier was again damaged in winter storms and was closed for two years.[37][38] In July 1988, the pier was re-opened, though the last section of approximately 400 feet (120 meters) remained closed.[39]

In October 1993, the pier re-opened following a $3.5 million rehabilitation, including a new deck and the installation of a "swell-actuated sculpture" titled "Wavespout" that sprayed seawater as waves rolled by. With a deck length of 1,958 feet (597 meters), it was California's longest wooden pier.[40][41] A ribbon-cutting ceremony was presided over by Mayor Greg Carson.[42] The far end of the pier had been closed since 1986.[40]

After heavy surf knocked out more than 20 pilings in December 1994 and January 1995, the pier was again closed.[43][44][45] Then, on December 13, 1995, high surf from a storm sheared off approximately 420 feet (130 meters) of the pier. With the loss of this section, the pier ceased being the longest wooden pier on the California coast.[46][47] The "Wavespout" sculpture at the end of the pier was also lost in the storm.[48][49]

Following the 1995 storm damage, the city opted not to rebuild the pier to it prior length.[50] On April 1, 2000, the pier re-opened after a $2.2-million renovation that included steel-reinforced pilings and a new octagonal section at the pier's end.[51] The current length is 1,600 feet (490 meters).[21]

In 1976, the pier was designated as Ventura Historic Landmark No. 20.[52]