Jeffrey Stanton Santa Monica Pier: A History from 1875 to 1990, Donahue Publishing: Los Angeles, CA, 1990, 1983
Chapter 6: City Owned Pier (1974-1990)
"Winter storms along the Santa Monica Bay were nothing new . . . the pier's lower deck had been damaged three times in the previous ten years. But the storm that began building up during the wee hours of the morning on Thursday, January 27, 1983 not only had huge churning breakers but occurred during the year's highest tides . . ." p. 157
"The swells at sea were only eight to ten feet at most, but their sixteen to twenty foot faces that broke on shore rapidly eroded sections of the beach from Malibu to Redondo Beach.
". . . Shortly before 9:20 a.m., while hundreds of sightseers atop Palisades Park watched in the driving rain, the northwest corner of the pier broke off and fell into the pounding sea . . .
". . . Crowd control was a problem throughout the day and evening as the area was as crowded as during the Fourth of July . . .
". . . City Manager John Alshuler . . .
". . .
"Southern California beaches were designated a federal emergency area . . . Meanwhile a huge thirty ton crane was moved onto the pier's ocean end to remove the damaged lower deck.
". . . a second storm, more powerful than the first . . . 40 mph winds and fifteen foot waves and coincided with the year's extreme high tides.
"The storm built up quickly in the late afternoon, too late to move the crane off the pier before quitting time . . . The first hint of trouble came at 8:30 pm when the pier began vibrating and beams began to fall into the raging surf. Members of the City Council were informally meeting in the Moby's Dock Restaurant when Don Arnett, chief of Parks and Recreation, ordered it closed . . .
"As the huge waves began to pound relentlessly against the weakened pilings, they snapped one by one until the huge thirty ton crane toppled into the surf at 10:45 pm. The sea then used the crane as a battering ram to smash the pier further and further back towards shore. Within fifteen minutes, just before the tide reached its peak at 11:06 pm, Peterson's boat launch crane, the Santa Monica Fishing building, a rest room, 160 feet of pier deck, three cars, and a large refrigerator truck were swept into the sea.
". . .
"Damage to the pier was many times worse than from the first storm . . . Debris was stacked ten foot high on the beach south of the pier all the way to Pico Blvd. . . .
" . . . President Reagan surveyed the damage from a U.S. Marine helicopter. The coast was declared a federal emergency area for the second time . . .
"Assemblyman Tom Hayden and County Supervisor Dean Dana . . .
". . . Mayor Ruth Goldway . . .
". . . p. 159
". . . The Pier Restoration Corporation, a non-profit [which Christine Reed and David Epstein voted against]" p. 160
"The city, in an effort to show the public that the business end of the Santa Monica Pier still stood, scheduled . . . "Save the Santa Monica Pier Week". . .
"The opening ceremony on May 23rd featured thirty Arabian horses and numerous celebrities. Mayor Ken Edwards welcomed a crowd of five hundred . . .
"The pier hosted thousands who wandered through the art exhibit and crafts fair, watched street entertainers, or listened to the twenty bands . . . a Baby Contest; Pie Eating Contest; Build a Pier contest; hoola hoops and boogie board contests, and a kite festival staged by Colors of the Wind.
". . . a film festival that featured movies that were filmed on the pier: Elmer Gantry, 1960; Inside Daisy Clover, 1965, The Sting, 1973 and 1941, 1979. In the La Monica tent, dancing. A Salute to the Pier, by Ry Cooder, bluesman, singer Christine McVie from Fleetwood Mac, Billy Burnett's Band with drummer Mick Fleetwood, Blue Indigo, 50's swing, and an all-star comedy show led by Buck Henry. On Sunday, the L.A. Chamber Ballet and Ollie Mitchell's Sunday Band." p. 161
". . .
"On September 13, 1983, the City Council appointed twelve candidates to an expanded board. David O'Malley, who was later elected Chairman, was an architect and president of Welton Beckett Associates, Herb Katz was an architect, and Mary Houha, was a planner with the L.A. City Community Development Agency. Local businessmen included David Anderson, president of General Telephone, Chris Harding, an attorney, and Wayne Wilson, a management consultant. Other members were Ruth Goldway, former Mayor of Santa Monica, Judy Abdo, Ernie Powell, Henry Custis, and William Spurgin."
". . . p. 162