Council Approves Plan to Reconstruct Pier

The Redondo Beach City Council has approved a pier reconstruction plan that would replace the city’s storm-damaged pier with a V-shaped structure that resembles a turn-of-the-century sailing ship.

The nautical design plan, which still faces state and federal review, was adopted earlier this week after years of wrangling over whether and how to rebuild the ill-fated horseshoe pier ravaged by storms and fire in 1988.

The new $7.5-million pier, the eighth in Redondo’s history since the late 1880s, will have sails flying overhead to provide shade, light poles in the shape of lighthouses and railings resembling the side of the old S.S. Santa Rose that used to dock off Redondo. Left out of the latest plan by architect Edward Carson Beall is a carousel like the one at the Santa Monica Pier.

Beall said the new design will distinguish Redondo’s pier from others in the region and will make the beach town an upscale destination point for tourists.