My Old Friend

The Ocean Beach Pier is going to be torn down, and rebuilt.

Ever since 1984 when we first moved to San Diego, I have considered the Ocean Beach pier to be a friend. Ocean Beach is where we would return after a day of hunting for a place to live in San Diego, to remind ourselves why we moved here. The OB pier had been in San Diego, long before we moved. 

The date was July 2, 1966, the official opening day for the Ocean Beach Pier. Included in the 7,000 people who crowded the pier that day were local politicians, city officials (including Mayor Curran), and the main man, California’s governor, Edmund G. Brown who was scheduled to make the first cast from the pier. The San Diego Union reported the next day that Brown borrowed an angler’s rod, fished for five minutes, failed to catch a fish, and returned the rod. 

After successive years of major winter storms, the damage to the pier is too great to justify more repairs. A new pier, designed with community feedback, is now in the process of being worked out. I went to the pier recently to pay my respects to my old friend. 

My old friend the Ocean Beach Pier has some interesting facts about it:

• Originally Named the San Diego Fishing Pier. The original plaque is still there.

• Over 500,000 Visitors Per Year.

• At 1971 Feet It Is the Longest Concrete Pier on the West Coast. The Pier at Santa Cruz is 2745 Feet, Making it the Longest in the State.

• Often Called the "Queen Fish", Herring is the Most Common Fish Caught on the Pier. There is NO LIMIT!

  I will miss my old friend and keep my fond memories of it close.

  Jon Pinter