. . . HISTORY -COASTL~NE '

Gomm:lc:.;: :::;: i ~ r ; ? i s n File C i t y c .6 Tlf;:~iar Loan

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Pueirc LIBRARY HUNTINGTON REACH. CALIF.

A H i s t o r i c a l And Geographical Survey of The Hm~tington Beach 1,Tunicipal Iier and the Surrounding Beach

t, .

Linda ?,!ayer $g&q&%~J

D. Neil bIaloriey

The Huntingtol Beach Public Library and Cultural Resource Center i s enlarging i t s f i l e s on top ics of regional i n t e r e s t through the cooperation of l o c a l teach- e r s and students. The l i b r a r y assumes no r e spons ib i l i t y f o r accuracy of f a c t , grammar, o r spe l l i ng i n these contribu- t i ons . Needless t o say, each time addi t ional information i s gzthered, it '

enriches the e n t i r e community, so it i s received most g ra t e fu l ly .

History - Huntington Beach rn

Boundaries- Santa Ana River t o t h e old slough. a t Anaheim - - . . '_. . t ' ..Landing.

Original name w a s She l l Beach which was derived from the . . l a r g e , quant i t ies of ~ o d a x she l l s . The c i t y proper was

b u i l t on Huntington Mesa, from which t h e p i e r extends. 3

*P The mesa i s t i d a l eroded. Character is t ics of the area +..

behind the mesa were marsh and willow t 'hicket. The low

area was cal led Gospel Swap. k.

The land grant was given t o t h e Rancho Las Bolsas.

1901- name was changed t o Pac i f i c City.

c.1902-03- name was changed t o Huntingtor, Beach. - . + -- 1904- F i r s t p i e r constructed by Euntington Beach.Cornpany

( Standard O i l Company ) of wood.

Thomas Talbert bought l a ~ d knorrn as Gospel Swap. Vas a

r e a l e s t a t e salesman. Also one of t h e promoters of the

H.K.&T Syndicate- d r i l l i n g on the I w i n e Ranch. Was

t h e promoter and d i rec to r of t h e Whitt ier O i l Company,

d r i l l i n g a t Hmtington Beach.

He was responsible f o r the Talbert Drainage D i s t r i c t ,

which drained Gospel Swamp opening t h e peat . land t o

f m i n g .

- 1912-Winter- storm destroyed pier.

.- 1914- City held bond issue t o construct a concrete p ier .

. (Heading t h e promotion was Thomas Talbert.)

Was a court b a t t l e between the B untington Beach C0npar.y

and the I 'acifio E l e c t r i c Company on t h e r igh t -o f way.

<- P i e r Construction- *

1 ' , Concrete p i l e s , p i l e cap gi rders and beams, timber

s t r ings . Deck was paved concrete. P i l e s m e

approximately sunk 251 i n t o the ocean bottom. 1

19'20- Standard O i l Company f e l t o i l could be found under '

the dome of Huntington Beach . An indicat ion was gas 4-

i n t h e water wells. They s t ruck o i l a t 2,3811 bringing , < . 2 , 1 r , ~ l ~ 1 ~ t J ( . '

i n 150 bar re l s of o i l a day. Another company (could :P

not f ind the name.) s t ruck o i l a t Bolsa Chica #1-

bringing i n 4,000,000 cubic f e e t of gas and 1,742

' bar re l s of o i l a day. Lzter whip stocking Pias used t o +> *-

bring i n o i l from off shore.

-+ 1930- A 48898" addi t ion was begun and completed i n 1933..

The addit ion used t h e same mater ia ls except 4 p i l e

bents were used ins tead of 3 p i l e bents. Exist ing beams

and g i rde rs were repaired with wLre mesh and concre+;e

gunite. The t i d a l zone area was strengthened with

concrete jacket spl ices .

- 1939- A 3001 sect ion was washed away during a t r o p i c a l

storm.

- 1940- Repairs were completed bringing t h e length t o t h e

present 1,832,.

1945-54- Soundings were taken t o detemine p i l l i n g depth.

- 1950's- P i e r surface was rebu i l t . *

, . . . . . . .

-- 1967 O r 68- Fish and Gane Department durnped severa l tons

4 ' of rocks around the base of t h e p i e r f o r f i s h breeding.

I*

The program has been unsuccessful.

'1967- S t ruc tu ra l survey was taken. ,

- ' , ~ t r u c t u k l Sunrey of t h e - ~ i n t i n g t o n

- Beach Kunicipal Pier- 1967

.,. ,

Lab Investigation- ' I .

i'

Wood p i l e samples show no evidence of penetration

. . . by Teredo marine worms o r other marine organisas

i d e n t i f i e d as major causes of wood p i l e damage. A t ,

t h e t i d a l zone, a depth of 3- 1&" of t h e p i l e i s

spongy due t o narine growths. + - 9

Seismic Forces-

These were not co&idLred s t r u c t u r a l l y p r i o r t o 1933.

There is no evidence of damage from the Long Beach

Quake. It would appear collapse i s no g rea te r r i s k . " .

than has ever been. e

Estimated Life From 1967-

The p i e r w i l l s tand anoth'er-fifteen gears with repa i r s

and longer, barring a catas t rophic event.

P i l l i n g Depth- * . .

As of 1967 t h e depth of t h e p i l e s i n t h e ocean f l o o r

E!ovenent of .Sand I n the Area

Huntington Beaah i s located i n tha San Pedro Cell.

Rate of Sand Transport- *

-' Averages:. 525 cubic yards/ day.

. . . . 1.92,OOO cubic yards/ year . Beach Erosion- e

, Extreme erosion takes place during t h e Summer months. -d-

This call be a t t r i b u t e d t o t h e protect ive act ion of t h e -,

Pzlos verhes Peninsula, t o t h e north &d t h e Channel

Is lands t o t h e west. This r e s u l t s i n an uiilimited h*

f e t c h which only occurs f r o n t h e south and west.

There a re no Winter o r Spring waves from t h e north.

The southern svrells go vern t h e drift d i rec t ion throughout

the year. The dumping of rocks around t h e p i l i n g s

would probably a c t a s a submerged groin causing

accumulation of sand on the south s ide of t h e pier .

There have-.been no recent surveys o f t h e condit ion of t h e

p i e r o r soundings pas t 1967 t o detersline p i l e

depth.

;,>lpl:lin-3 :';:1~ 70- 0: --~.zl;icF?al ~ L i . r - ... yo ~ s t n r z i - . ~ t h e ~ e ~ t i l oL" tile p i l l i i l ~ s 111 Tile Ocezq ?loor

FSET TO MX:CT DISTMTC:: FXOLI TOOT OF PIZ STITIOIT f ron Zorner of corner- stone

216'5" . 2151511

284'g1I- bera here - ladder 308r01t

330'7"- usual q p r o x . m t e r l i n e

353'7"

375'5" - first !ITu here 44+ 5"

513 ' 0"

n g r 6 " - second llT1l here 787 ' ltl

105gf11"- "Vn here

U 7 7 ' l l W - usual bredcer -e

1309'6t1- 20' gro~uld sr re l l bredcs here

. 1404'll"

19 49'3"

20 . 51r6"

21 49'1"- 4-79 - &es breaking

2 2 44 '4"

1832'0"- end of pier; rich% . front * : w

I *

. . ,, , " ..,!.w,,v~.. . ,* ; ,.;< >, ;,; -,,<.., L., ,- :,. A,.? ...,. ~-+..~.*~%*~.--~. .* ' ,* ,., ,. , i;;: ,, ,-..,., ,. ,-'.="'++. .. . .-..:;..-. - - " . - . - '

. .

sair;;gIF; "i;:~; 072. 1, 1954 - -

('last t s r e n )

1 3 0

ST .4T TOIT SOUITLIIITG -

5 4 17'3" . .

6 . 19'6" - high t i d e mark bi , . ' q

7 21*6". - mater l i n e a t 1 O : l O A.N. - .

. . = 8 23'8"' - first lvtll

i 2 3avrolr

13 35' 6" . .

14 37'6" - f i r s t . b reak & second "t"

20 ~ 5 r 6 " - pu-9 house

45'3" - th i rd ' I t n

44'O1I

4696" - fourth f r t l l beach side

@fg" - fourth l l t l l o:ean side

51' 011 1

53'0"

53'0" - el.-d r igh t f ront

5

The depth varies f r o m month t o month and year t o year

i n r e l a t i o n t o weather COP-ditions and e f f e c t s of a seismic .. .

dist i l rbmces. On August 20, 1947, a.t s t a t i o n 22 a readin5 :7as 1 -

tklcen of 45 ' ' 6" . The fol loving moath a reading rras taken t h r e e

days; a f t e r the end of a l a r g e ground smell storra. ' The reading . .

a t the sane s t a t i o n Eras 45r111r, &I"

. After comp.iring the f i r s t and l a s t readings the averaging" 1"

i* u'

of the diTferences shor~s ayprodmately a 5' l o s s of sand -- *" from around Yne p i e r . Since t h e dumping of rocks around t h e

t -

p i e r there have--been..no -somdings -- %&en. T'ne net7 s i t u z t i o n - ----- ---_

could - present a radical ' change, gossibly e l iminat ing -the

eros ional process o r a t l e a s t slaving if dom,

Bibliography

ri

Amor, Sa~nuel. H i s to ry o f 0ranp;e County, ~ a l i f o r n i a . ,; ,,, ,.., , .. ,.,.,.,,, ., ,,,...,,,,, . 1921. Los ~ ~ ~ ~ l ~ " U"'4n-i -- - A - .Dannvd - -- .. Cc-nnxny;

' I n g l e , James C. Jr. The Movement of 3 k c h ~ a n d . New York: E l sev ie r Publ i sh ing Coapany, 1966.

, T a l b e r t , Tholias B. Edi tor . - The H i s t o r i c a l Volume and Referecce !7orks Vol~me 111 Orange County. Whi t t i e r , C a l i f : H i s t o r i c a l Pub l i she r s , 1963.

S t n c t u r a l Survey of t h e Huntington Beach I!!miicipal r:

P i e r . Koebig and Xoebig, Inc. LJS Angeles, C a l i f . : r.Tovember, 1967.

M r . Jim Way, Beach Supervisor. Harbors and Beach Depadment, - .# Huntington Beach, Calif. '. % v

The Huntington Beach Public Library and Cultural Resource Center i s enlarging i t s f i l e s on the his tory of the c i t y through the cooperation o f l oca l teach- e r s and students. The l i b r a r y assumes no responsibi l i ty f o r accuracy o f f a c t , grammar, o r spell ing i n these contribu- t ions . Needless t o say, each time addit ional information i s gathered, it enriches the en t i r e community, so it i s received most grateful ly .

The Huntington Beach Public Library and Cultural Resource Center i s enlarging i t s f i l e s on topics of regional i n t e r e s t through the cooperation of l o c a l teach- e r s and students. The l i b r a r y assumes no responsibi l i ty f o r accuracy of f a c t , grammar, o r spell ing i n these contribu- t ions . Needless t o say, each time additional information i s gathered, it enriches the en t i r e community, so it i s received most grateful ly .

Storm pictures We were all too busy t o get many

- ~ic tu res of the great storms of 1983 to snd t o friends and relatives to show

]*,hem that they should not consider mov- ing to Southern California, but the Public Information Office has just the thing on sale now.

There is a picture of the pier being ~ w v p t by the super high surf, one of the I4:rltl of ~hc: Pier Gft: hanging precariously it110 tht: nt:a and a c:alendar with the pier ilrld surf picture.

The pictures come unframed at $5 each, or in an acrylic frame a t $10 each. All proceeds above costs will be used t o offset pier rebuilding costs.

The same pictures are also on sale at KB Photo Finish, Springdale Street and Namer Avenue, Breakfast in the Park in Central Park, The Tackle Box, Neptune's Locker, Captain's Galley, all on the Hunt- ington Pier.

They make a great souvenir of the storm which brought the city international attention and will h e l ~ some with re- building our famous (and still standing) pier.

111 a " ' HUNTINGTON 'I 1 BEACH I ) Reference i

I FACTS OF THE HUNTINGTON BEACH PIER

Original ly constructed of (uncreosoted) rough pine, a to ta l of 1000 long. Pilings were practically destroyed by barnacles. Voters passed a 70,000 bond issue t o rebuild the pier i n reinforced concrete. Job completed. A 500 foot extension was added mainly for the fishermen and* boat operators. The wooded s tructure was destroyed by a Chubasco (Mexican Hurricane). Today the Huntington Beach Pier i s a local landmark vis i ted by mil l ions each year. &-.A U G K A a d , /?-01, - P C y / a s For the convenience of the public, there i s a b a i t and tackle shop, l i v e bai t s tore , three food concessions, tram service and sport f ishing boats on the Pier. A1 1 concessions are 1 eased t o private individuals.

f

**** There i s one restroom f a c i l i t y i n the center of the Pier and the main lifeguard tower situated on the Pier i s the central vantaged point and control center for

4 a l l main beach act ivi ty . 1

.... . **** Home of the United States Surfboard Championships each September.