Crowd joins officials to celebrate reopening of Santa Cruz Wharf's south end

SANTA CRUZ - More than a year after part of the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf broke off during strong ocean swells, members of the public joined local officials Wednesday to celebrate the reopening of the south end of the wharf.

The city of Santa Cruz threw a ribbon-cutting ceremony to reopen the end of the Santa Cruz Wharf, inviting community members to learn more about the wharf's history, the new construction process and about the Monterey Bay as a whole with speeches from Santa Cruz lawmakers and family activities from local businesses. The wharf, California's longest public pier, was damaged in December 2024.

The reopening celebration saw visits from Santa Cruz City Councilmembers Renee Golder and Scott Newsome, former Santa Cruz City Councilmember Sandy Brown, as well as representatives from Assemblymember Gail Pellerin's office, state Sen. John Laird's office and U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta's office.

"The wharf is an iconic landmark, and it is so much more," said Brown, who attended the event on behalf of Santa Cruz County Supervisor Justin Cummings. "It is a community resource that others come and enjoy. It's a reflection of the connected and committed community we have that we're all here today."

Over 100 community members wandered through the wharf's newly constructed end, peering into the sea lion viewing hole, playing with bubbles from "Bubble Diva" Rachel Maryam Smith and learning about Monterey Bay marine life from the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Exploration Center.

Originally built in 1914, the 2,245-foot-long wharf draws tourists to stroll across the shore with a cup of clam chowder and to shop, fish, eat and get a glimpse of the sea lions lounging on its supports.

The wharf has been an iconic piece of Santa Cruz's identity for generations, said Mike Godsy, superintendent of parks for the city of Santa Cruz. The wharf is a strong economic driver - creating jobs and providing locals and tourists with opportunities for eating and shopping on the shoreline.

"We know that it has thousands of unique memories for each person that comes and visits it," Godsy said. "So we treat it with the respect that it deserves and we admire the wharf's structure and we invest heavily and we have a very passionate team out there that provides that day-to-day maintenance."

In December 2024, 180 feet of the end of the Santa Cruz Wharf, which was already undergoing construction, fell into the water amid a winter storm that caused powerful ocean swells. Two workers fell into the ocean during the collapse and were rescued by lifeguards after standing on the floating debris, sustaining minor injuries. Debris washed up on beaches around Monterey Bay, and some remained in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary waters.

City officials reopened what remained of the wharf 11 days later after deeming the rest of the structure safe, Godsy said.

Newsome said the city acquired over $13 million in local, state and federal funding to invest in the wharf over the next few years for rehabilitation, including the south end construction and other projects like parking lot rehabilitation.

Earlier this year, Panetta announced $3.1 million in federal funding for the Santa Cruz Wharf, said Emmanuel Garcia, a representative from Panetta's office.

"We were watching hundreds of jobs and businesses hang in the balance," Garcia said. "Representative Panetta believes this is precisely when federal government needs to be a better partner and show up for local communities."

Construction for the new end of the wharf began in November 2025, as the city wanted to do construction during the quiet time of the year in preparation for the tourism economy, Godsy said. With over 400 people who work on the wharf, Godsy said, construction timing and impact were essential to keep in mind.

The wharf has no-frills engineering, instead it was designed to provide as much lateral support to be able to handle future wave and storm events, Godsy said.

"You won't notice that just standing on the top side, but if you were ever underneath the wharf or taking a paddle by, you'll see that it's very well constructed and built out purposely," Godsy said. "The teams are down there weekly inspecting and assessing and documenting any change or status quo and then providing the maintenance and general clean up."

Norm Daly, the project manager for the estimated $1.5 million wharf reconstruction project, said that crews had to factor in waves, ocean currents and marine animals during construction, which came with its own unique set of restrictions and challenges as opposed to working on land.

Daly, one of the people who fell off the wharf during its collapse, said the city wanted the new construction to mimic the rest of the historic wharf.

"What we built back here mimics what has existed back on the rest of the wharf for over 110 years," Daly said. "It's just as strong now as it ever was."

The city plans to seek public input about the future for the new end of the wharf starting this summer, Godsy said.

Now that the construction and resiliency are confirmed, the city will begin planning what the wharf's future will look like in terms of what businesses and resources will live on the wharf's new space. Godsy said the wharf's project managers will get public input, meet with Santa Cruz City Council for guidance and have something to present to the public around next winter.

The wharf provides a great outlet for people to connect with nature, Godsy said, and is something the city wants to ensure is planned well and built with resilience to be around for the next generations.

"It provides for all walks of life - children, seniors, folks that maybe don't have great access to the beach can really connect with nature out there and see the sea lions and smell the salt air and really feel nature in all its glory there," he said.

The composition of the wharf's new end was designed to lend itself well to potential future construction, should the city decide to extend the wharf in the future, Godsy said.

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