The pier you see today in Redondo Beach is the seventh to stand on these shores. Since 1889, Redondo's waterfront has been built, battered, burned, and rebuilt — each time reflecting what the city needed from its coastline. What started as a lumber wharf for the railroad became a resort destination, then a fisherman's haven, then a tourist trap, then a pile of ashes, and finally the 70,000-square-foot concrete structure that stands today. This is the full story.
Before the piers: Tongva and the salt lake
Long before any wharf was driven into the sand, the Tongva people used this stretch of coast. The Chowigna band of Tongva maintained a village called Ongovanga — “Place of Salt” — near a spring-fed salt lake roughly 200 yards from the ocean. The wetlands that once occupied the area near today's waterfront were a source of halibut, lobster, sea bass, and salt that the Chowigna traded with neighboring tribes for centuries.
In 1854, Manuel Dominguez sold 215 acres of Rancho San Pedro — including the salt lake — to Henry Allanson and William Johnson for the Pacific Salt Works. The era of European-American industry on Redondo's coast had begun.
The lumber port era (1889–1920s)
Redondo Beach's first wharves were industrial, not recreational. The city's deep natural harbor made it an ideal spot for moving lumber from ships to the rail lines that connected the coast to inland Los Angeles. Wharf No. 1, built in 1889, was a simple iron-and-wood structure near Emerald Street designed for exactly that purpose.
As the town grew, so did its ambitions. Wharf No. 2, built in 1895 near the grand Hotel Redondo, split into a Y-shape — one arm for railroad freight, the other for tourists. The Hotel Redondo, built by the Redondo Improvement Company, marketed the town as a beach resort for Angelenos arriving on the Pacific Electric Railway. For a brief window at the turn of the century, Redondo Beach was one of the most fashionable seaside destinations in Southern California.
Wharf No. 3 followed in 1903, serving the lumber trade until Pacific Electric's lease expired in 1923. By then, the lumber industry had moved on, and Redondo was evolving from a working port into something else entirely.
The Endless Pier and Captain Monstad (1916–1929)
In 1916, George W. Harding built the most ambitious structure yet: the Endless Pier. Made of reinforced concrete — a cutting-edge material at the time — it featured a V-shaped design with two 450-foot legs meeting at a massive platform. The name stuck. It was the showpiece of a town reinventing itself as a leisure destination.
But Pacific storms showed no deference to ambition. A 1919 storm damaged the structure, and by 1928 it was condemned for safety reasons.
Meanwhile, Captain Hans C. Monstad had quietly built something more modest in 1925: a 300-foot wooden pier for fishing boats and pleasure craft. Extended over the next decade to 400 feet long and 50 feet wide, the Monstad Pier would outlast every structure built before or after it. It is the only historic pier structure still incorporated into the modern pier complex today.
The Horseshoe Pier and the boom years (1929–1988)
After the Endless Pier was demolished, the Horseshoe Pier took its place in 1929 — a wooden structure whose shape gave it the name. In 1983, the Monstad Pier was connected to the Horseshoe Pier's central platform, creating the interconnected waterfront that a generation of Redondo residents would grow up around.
The 1970s were the golden age of the pier district. The waterfront was packed with tourists and locals. Restaurants, shops, and entertainment venues thrived. The nearby Seaport Village development promised even more growth.
Then the decline began. Seaport Village went bankrupt in 1982. Foot traffic dropped. The pier district that had been the social center of the South Bay started to feel tired and empty. And worse was coming.
The fire of 1988
On May 27, 1988, an electrical short circuit ignited a fire on the pier. It burned the Horseshoe Pier to the waterline.
The blaze was enormous — so large that a SigAlert was issued for the San Diego Freeway, several miles inland. Residents across the South Bay could see the smoke. Earlier that year, two winter storms had already battered the aging structure, leaving it vulnerable. The fire finished the job.
A portion of the southern Horseshoe Pier survived and remained open to the public through 1995. A smaller section of the northern end was closed for safety and eventually removed when reconstruction began.
Rebuilding: 1993–1995
It took five years just to get construction started. On July 29, 1993, the City of Redondo Beach held a formal “Launching” ceremony to mark the beginning of pier reconstruction. Initial plans were ambitious: a carousel, wax museum, aquarium, and multiple new restaurants. In the end, most of those amenities never materialized.
What did get built was substantial. After 18 months of construction and over 150,000 man-hours of labor, the seventh Municipal Pier opened on February 11, 1995. The statistics tell the story of the scale: 70,000 square feet of deck sitting 25 feet above the water, supported by 202 concrete piles — the longest extending 120 feet into the ocean floor — with over 3,000 cubic yards of 6,000 PSI concrete.
It is the largest “endless” pier on the California coast. And it is the seventh pier to be built on these shores.
The full timeline
Wharf No. 1 — The Lumber Wharf
An iron-and-wood wharf built near Emerald Street to facilitate timber delivery from ships to trains. It stood roughly where today’s pier sits. A Pacific Coast storm destroyed it around 1915.
Wharf No. 2 — The Hotel Redondo Pier
A Y-shaped wooden pier built south of Wharf No. 1 near Ainsworth Court, in front of the grand Hotel Redondo. One prong carried railroad tracks; the other welcomed fishermen and tourists. A 1919 storm severely damaged the structure, and it was eventually demolished for safety.
Wharf No. 3 — The South Wharf
A wooden wharf built south of its predecessor near Sapphire and Topaz Streets. It served the lumber industry until 1923, when Pacific Electric’s lease expired and was not renewed. Manually demolished as the lumber trade phased out of Redondo Beach.
The Endless Pier — Reinforced Concrete
George W. Harding built the first reinforced-concrete pier in Redondo Beach. Its V-shaped design featured two 450-foot legs connected by a 160×200-foot platform at the western end. It was the showpiece of a city reinventing itself from a lumber port into a tourist resort. A 1919 storm damaged the structure, and it was condemned for safety in 1928.
The Monstad Pier — A Fisherman’s Wharf
Captain Hans C. Monstad built a 300-foot wooden pier for fishing and pleasure boats. Extended to 400 feet in 1937 and widened to 50 feet in 1938, it is the only historic pier structure still standing today — incorporated into the modern pier complex.
The Horseshoe Pier — Replacing the Endless Pier
After the Endless Pier was demolished, a wooden horseshoe-shaped pier took its place. In 1983, the Monstad Pier was connected to the Horseshoe Pier’s central platform, creating the interconnected waterfront structure locals would know for the next five years.
The Golden Era of the Pier District
The pier area reached its peak popularity, heavily crowded with tourists and locals. Restaurants, shops, and entertainment venues turned the waterfront into the social center of the South Bay. The Seaport Village development opened nearby.
Seaport Village Bankruptcy
The Seaport Village project — a large commercial development near the pier — failed and went into bankruptcy. The pier district began a long decline in foot traffic and economic activity that would last more than a decade.
Winter Storms Batter the Pier
Two severe winter storms struck the pier, causing major structural damage to the aging Horseshoe Pier. The battered structure was left vulnerable.
The Great Pier Fire
An electrical short circuit ignited a fire that burned the Horseshoe Pier to the waterline. The blaze was so massive that a SigAlert was issued for the San Diego Freeway several miles inland. It was one of the most dramatic events in Redondo Beach history.
Reconstruction Begins
The City of Redondo Beach held a formal “Launching” ceremony to announce the pier’s reconstruction. Initial plans included a carousel, wax museum, aquarium, and at least three new restaurants — though most of those amenities never materialized.
The Seventh Pier Opens
Redondo Beach celebrated the opening of its seventh Municipal Pier — a 70,000-square-foot reinforced concrete structure sitting 25 feet above the water on 202 concrete piles. It required over 150,000 man-hours of labor to build. The current pier is the largest “endless” pier on the California coast.
Revitalization Discussions
With some tenant vacancies and aging infrastructure, pier revitalization remains a recurring policy topic. The California Surf Club opened in King Harbor in May 2025 as the first major new waterfront project in over a decade, and harbor-area lease negotiations continue to shape the pier’s future.
Where it stands today
The 1995 pier brought back commercial activity to the waterfront, but three decades later, the district faces familiar questions about its future. Some tenant spaces sit vacant. Infrastructure is aging. The broader King Harbor area — which includes the pier, the marina, and Seaside Lagoon — is the subject of ongoing lease negotiations and revitalization planning.
In May 2025, the California Surf Club opened in King Harbor, combining the old Ruby's and On The Rocks buildings into the first major new waterfront project in over a decade. A boat launch ramp has been approved. Discussions continue about the Marine Mammal Care Center and broader harbor improvements.
Mayor Jim Light, who spent years on the Harbor Commission before taking office, has made incremental waterfront revitalization a central part of his agenda — explicitly rejecting the kind of large-scale redevelopment that defined the failed CenterCal mall project, which voters defeated via Measure C.
The pier has been rebuilt seven times because Redondo Beach keeps choosing its waterfront. The form changes — lumber wharf to resort pier to concrete landmark — but the impulse is the same. The coast is the city's defining feature, and for 135 years, residents have fought storms, fires, bankruptcy, and bad development deals to keep it public and alive.
For more on the pier and King Harbor, see our Redondo Beach Pier and King Harbor reference pages, or read our coverage of the ongoing waterfront lease negotiations.