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| Subject: Jul-10-03, 11:16 PM (PDT) "NEW YORK TIMES Article June 2003" | |
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Author: MalibuFrank |
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Date Posted: 16:57:10 08/21/04 Sat http://www.bayarea.com/mld/cctimes/news/state/6041733.htm Malibu pier seeks to catch wave with restoration By Nick Madigan NEW YORK TIMES MALIBU - Jay Wagner was one of those Southern California boys who would rise every day with the sun, tuck a surfboard under his arm and head for the sweeping waves. His favorite spot was Surfrider Beach, anchored at one end by Malibu Colony, where movie stars gazed placidly from their verandas, and at the other by Malibu Pier, the centerpiece of the town's oceanfront life since its construction in 1906. "We spent a lifetime here at the beach," Wagner, 49, said as he stood on the pier, watching surfers less than half his age ride the white-tipped crests. "This was our hangout. You'd get out of the water, cold and hungry; you'd warm up on the pier and eat, and you'd go back in. You wouldn't leave till dark." What Wagner could not have foreseen in the long, sunny days of his youth was that he would end up as the force behind the renewal of the 720-foot-long pier, which was closed in 1997 after becoming so battered by decades of storms that it was unsafe even to stand on. The $10 million restoration -- paid for by the state of California, which owns the pier; Los Angeles County; the city of Malibu and a small group of investors represented by Wagner -- was to have had a grand reopening this summer, complete with a ribbon-cutting by Gov. Gray Davis. But with the season just three weeks away, the task is nowhere near finished, and the Malibu Pier's debut will have to wait until next year. A deadline last fall came and went, too, after mishaps and disputes, the most visible a punch-up between two contractors who are no longer part of the project. Wagner is the latest of the pier's apparent saviors, and its revival, at last, seems to be a foregone conclusion, even if a requirement that the refurbished pier be almost identical to its forebear has added time and difficulties to the task. "We tried to open this summer," he said, "but with the state's need to replace everything with such detail, it was impossible." Though construction continues, fishermen have been allowed to cast from the pier for the past few months, now that dozens of new pilings and a new deck are in place. A week ago, workers installed a cobalt-blue sign by the pier's entrance on Pacific Coast Highway, identical to the faded one it replaced. It reads, "Malibu Sport Fishing Pier -- Live Bait & Charter Boats," even if any such amenities are months from being provided. When completed, the pier will house a 100-seat reincarnation of Alice's Restaurant -- which opened on the pier in 1972, its name inspired by the Arlo Guthrie song but unrelated to the one that inspired the songwriter. The pier will also have a second, less formal restaurant with a terrace at water's edge, a lifeguard station, a surfing museum and a branch of Wagner's surfboard shop, Zuma Jay's, which has been in business for 28 years. But Wagner -- whose partnership will pay the California Department of Parks and Recreation $250,000 a year in rent, as well as a percentage of revenues -- acknowledged that many potential visitors may not share his passion for the perfect wave. "The place has got to be for everybody," he said, "not just the surfers." In landing the overall concession deal for the pier, Wagner edged out dozens of applicants, many of whom are now appealing to him directly for a spot on the pier. One gentleman even suggested putting up an IMAX, a large-format movie screen, on the pier. The pier -- widened and lengthened in 1932, and partly rebuilt twice before following huge storms in 1942 and 1983 -- was declared a structure of "historical interest," one step shy of landmark status, in 1985 by California officials. Officials were then criticized for years for not maintaining it properly. In recent years, hundreds of pigeons made homes of the two buildings at the far end of the closed pier as pilings clanked against one another under the onslaught of the Pacific. "There was no money available to do what needed to be done," said Hayden Sohm, superintendent for the parks department's Malibu sector. "Our public was just crying out to get this thing opened again." For the moment, at least, the fishermen have use of it. The other day, someone caught a 29-inch halibut, and about a month ago, another visitor landed a three-foot tiger shark. The fishermen were following a long tradition here. Years ago, people like Clark Gable, Cesar Romero and Buster Crabbe used to stroll over to the pier, fishing rods in hand, from their beach houses in the Malibu Colony, where this week a local Realtor was advertising a property for $17 million. "It's beautiful here," said Johnny Musso, a retired record company executive, as he fished from the pier. "It's my favorite of all the piers -- Port Hueneme, Ventura, Santa Barbara. It's a good spot." But it's the surfers, ultimately, who claim the pier as their own. "It's such a classic feature of the most classic surf break," said Chad White, 36, a graphic designer who has been surfing next to the pier since he was 8. "The pier's an icon. You could stand on the pier and watch the surf all day long. It's been there 100 years, and hopefully it'll be there 100 years more." [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] |