The Final Weeks of Pacifica Pier: A Lesson in Capturing the Ordinary
Last month, I took a day trip down to Pacifica, joining a friend for a photo walk as she introduced me to the area, capturing the moody coastal atmosphere, the rolling fog, and the rugged ocean bluffs.
Looking back at these photos now, the trip feels far more important than I knew at the time. Just a few weeks after walking along Sharp Park Beach and taking photos of the Pacifica Pier stretching out into the ocean, the iconic 53-year-old structure suffered catastrophic structural failures. Massive cracks buckled the concrete walkway, forcing the city to close the pier indefinitely and demolish the attached Chit Chat Cafe.
To be honest, I only captured one photograph of the pier itself. The grey concrete against the grey sky didn’t capture my attention that day and I undervalued the importance of capturing the iconic structure.
Built in 1972, the Pacifica Municipal Pier was a local institution. Stretching out over 1,100 feet, it was famously known as one of the best free fishing and crabbing spots in the San Francisco Bay Area.
When we were taking photos, the pier looked as steady as ever. Local residents gathered on logs to watch the surf, anglers spent hours waiting for a bite, and visitors took in the salty breeze. Knowing that the ocean finally caught up with it just weeks later gives these photographs a strange weight. It serves as a humble reminder of why we capture these moments in the first place, because landscapes are constantly shifting, and what stands here today might look entirely different tomorrow.
Looking through my lens that afternoon, I saw an ordinary concrete pier on an ordinary day. I had no idea I was documenting what could be the final weeks of a piece of local history.
It is easy to skip pressing the shutter when a scene feels mundane, or to wait for better light, different skies, or a more compelling angle. But photography has a funny way of shifting in value over time. What felt skippable in the moment becomes priceless once it is gone.
As the coast continues to reshape itself and the city prepares for what to do with the damaged pier, I am grateful for the few photos I took around the pier that day. It is a good reminder to keep taking photos of the ordinary things around us, because we never really know how long they will stick around.
