Jeffrey Stanton Santa Monica Pier A History from 1875 to 1990, Donahue Publishing: Los Angeles, CA, 1990, 1909, 1907, 1905, 1904, 1903, 1902. 1900, 1875
Chapter 1: Santa Monica's North Beach [1875-1907]
"Santa Monica's citizens and city government were becoming more and more puritanical as the turn of the century neared. In 1900, the town voted 305 to 218 to ban saloons, but allowed restaurants and hotels to continue to serve alcoholic beverages. That year Ocean Park citizens became paranoid and circulated petitions advocating secession from Santa Monica. An election was finally held in the fall, but separatist's efforts failed; 341-59.
"In 1902, Fredrick Rindge's Good Government League swept into power [in Santa Monica]. A total prohibition ordinance, at the urging of the Anti-Saloon League was placed on the June 1903 ballot. It lost 543 to 286.
" . . .
"Abbot Kinney was a dreamer who had the knack of making his dreams come true. After he and his partners split up their Ocean Park property in 1904, Kinney . . . [chose] the salt marsh.
"He used his share of the profits of his family's tobacco business to create a planned community complete with . . . Three trolley lines provided transportation for thousands of visitors from Los Angeles and Santa Monica.
". . . His former partners in Ocean Park were forced to compete and they too built a beautiful new plunge and expanded their pier facilities. Santa Monica's more conservative business community sat back and watched." p. 19
(Photo caption, p. 19, A 1905 spring storm did considerable damage to North Beach's pier and promenade)
"The growth of Santa Monica and the need to dispose of the city sewage became the primary impetus in building it's first Municipal Pier. The city had been dumping its sewage at the Pier Street outfall beneath Ocean Park's Pier, but by 1907, its capacity was becoming overloaded and its agreement with Ocean Park ended. In those days it was necessary for health reasons to build a long pier or wharf to carry the outfall pipe far enough so that the tides would carry the untreated sewage out to sea.
"Since the city wasn't able to make alternate arrangements they had no choice but to hold a sewer bond election on September 27, 1907 . . .
"The funds were to be used to construct a municipal pier . . . whose concrete construction specifications were specified on the ballot, and a sewage pumping plant near the foot of the pier.
"The city engineers advertised for designers to submit plans after the War Department approved the project in November . . .
" . . .
" . . . Stutzer Cement Co. of Venice won the contract . . .
" . . ." p. 21
" . . . In August 1908 Mr. Stutzer's crane at the concrete pile works fell and knocked down the power lines at the nearby Edison plant. Later that month heavy seas damaged both his false pier and the nearby North Beach Pier . . .
" . . . on Friday, February 12, 1909, a severe winter storm struck and carried much of the pier's temporary scaffolding (false work) out to sea. Many wooden pilings snapped and the pile driver rested on the bottom of the ocean. The concrete piles, which were out to the 1060 foot mark, held like a rock." p. 23
". . . the City Council [decided] to change the pier's deck from asphalt to concrete, delayed the pier's opening until Admissions Day.
" . . .[North Beach interests] They envisioned a first class cafe overlooking the ocean on one side of the pier and a pavilion on the other side which could be used for picnic parties. The plaza, which the city was pouring at the foot of Colorado in front of the pier would feature a bandstand.
" . . . There were pipes for drinking water, toilets, and a two inch galvanized railing. The pier's T's would be fitted with a sun parlor, cafe, and concessions catering to the fishermen. The $10,000 electrolytic plant, established on shore for purifying the sewage, was tested and ready to discharge its sludge at the end of the pier.
"A flotilla of Navy warships, two cruisers and four torpedo boats arrived in time for Admissions Day. The festivities began with a parade led by Gregory's Band and a contingent of marines from the cruisers, St. Louis and Albany. Five thousand people listened to the dedication speeches by Santa Monica's Mayor, T.H. Dudley, then adjourned to watch the afternoon swimming and surf boat races. A diving board was set up on the pier for the high diving contest.
"The evening's entertainment included a band concert followed by a tableau vivant, Surrender of the Rex Neptune, that began after dark. The play was a modern day equivalent of a pagan ritual where King Neptune, god of the sea, was asked to spare the new pier.
"The show began when a monster with fiery eyes was seen approaching the outer end of the pier. A bugler on watch sounded the alarm. A fairy and a queen representing Santa Monica advanced to meet the monster at the pier's first T. The monster was commanded to halt and when the fairy waved her magic wand, it disappeared. A beautiful shell stood in its place.
"The pier's lights, which were then turned on, revealed a shell bordered with a row of lights. King Neptune sat on the throne beside a reclining mermaid. The Queen asked why Neptune had destroyed so many bay piers. He jested that he did it for the fun of it. She informed him that his fun was now at an end as the cement age had arrived. The new pier on which he stood was concrete and indestructible.
"Neptune surveyed the pier in amazement, surrendered to the Queen and was ordered back to the depths. The crowned Queen, attired in a flowing white robe and carrying a scepter mounted the throne vacated by Neptune. The lights went out and a blaze of fire erupted atop a 65 foot high tower. Neptune covered by flames dove into the sea. Afterwards a climatic fireworks show thrilled the thousands who watched from the bluffs, pier and beach . . ." p. 24.
"Once the Municipal pier was open, the city and others began improvements. The city committed themselves to building a twenty foot wide esplanade along the beach, south from Colorado to the Bristol Pier at Hollister St. It formed a continuous walkway to Venice when it was completed the following spring. A syndicate, headed by Carl Schader, planned to build a new luxury hotel on the site of the demolished Arcadia. . . . October 1909.
"T.J. Hampton and W.H. Bainbridge filed an application with the U.S. Engineer's office to build a breakwater 4000 feet in length extending north from the Municipal Pier. This concrete wall, which was 2000 feet from shore in 5 1/2 fathoms of water, would enclose a harbor for pleasure and fishing boats. They also planned to construct a bathhouse and hotel. The hotel would have an open court with a waterway where motor boats could come to a landing inside the hotel. Government permission to build was secured at the end of the year.
"The Santa Monica Harbor and Improvement Company . . .
" . . . closed its office and vanished with the stockholder's money."
"In Dec. [1910] the Southern Pacific dashed any lingering hopes that the city would retain . . . a harbor . . ."