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1872
In 1872 it was the longest deep-water pier between Los Angeles and San Francisco
Named for its builder, lumberman John Peck Stearns, the wharf served the passenger and freight shipping needs of California's South Coast for over a quarter century. Before the wharf, passengers and cargo had to be rowed ashore through the breakers and kelp.
Storms
Storms in 1878 washed away more than 1,000 feet of the wharf
During December 1878, storms washed away more than 1,000 feet of the wharf. It was another 52 years before Santa Barbara got its breakwater. When the railroad reached the city in 1877, Stearns added a spur to his lumberyard and the Southern Pacific Depot.
1,000feet or more of the wharf lost to storms in December 1878
Fires
Fires in 1973 and 1998 struck the wharf, which reopened in 1981
A fire in 1973 closed the wharf, and it stayed closed for six years until restorations were completed in 1981. Another fire in the winter of 1998 devastated the last hundred and fifty feet, including Moby Dick Restaurant.
Day 1, midday
It comes after Santa Barbara County Courthouse. Then East Beach.
More stories from this trip idea
The words are a retelling of the Wikipedia article Stearns Wharf, and are shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. They are checked against those articles, and a fact that is not in them is left out.
