Capitola Wharf

USA / California / Capitola /
Somewhere under the fog is Capitola Wharf. It was completed in 1838 for the benefit of local fishermen.

From the 1970s to the 1980s, there used to be a place to rent small wooden fishing boats. I do not know if they are still there.
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   36°58'12"N   121°57'12"W

Comments

  • I love this little wharf, it's pretty hardcore
  • The wharf has a long history in Capitola. The current Capitola Wharf was constructed in the 19800's following storm damage as an 855-foot-long structure that contains a bait shop, restaurant, restroom facilities, bench seats to watch the ocean and free fishing, like all public piers in California. Fish cleaning stations and decorative lights adorn this pleasant-looking pier. Founded in 1857, Capitola Wharf is a cooperative Fishing Pier Project by the City of Capitola and Wildlife Conservation Board with California Department of Fish and Game. Within view of the pier is the river mouth to Soquel Creek, where the first pier was constructed prior to 1857. When Capitola's regional assets such as produce, redwood lumber and livestock needed to be shipped for the rapidly growing commerce and growth boom California saw during and after the Gold Rush, a new wharf was built by for the Pacific Coast Steamship Company. Stretching to approx. 1,100 feet, it suffered storm damage and a portion was rebuilt. Like so many wharfs of that time, the impact of a railway infrastructure that was built made the wharf almost obsolete. Santa Cruz-Watsonville narrow gauge railroad depot at nearby Soquel Landing so devastated the shipping business that the wharf was abandoned in 1879 as goods were now shipped via train to larger regional ports. . The name Capitola is Spanish for capital and was apparently first used by F.H. Hihn of Santa Cruz when he laid out a new resort in the area in 1869. The good residents of Soquel had offered to let the State of California establish its capital in the upstairs rooms of Ned Porter's local store but California politicians (wisely) declined the offer. Hihn used that information when he named the site; it had been called La Playa de Soquel, the beach of Soquel, during Mexican rule, and Soquel Landing under American rule. With a long history as vacation playground, Capitola today thrives as it has for over 100 years as a pleasant place to visit, sunbathe, shop and dine at the beach. The wharf now serves as an anchor for the tourism industry and public's love of piers. Local passion over keeping and maintaining a wharf has required some effort. Funding sources to rebuild a weather-beaten structure were identified and this most beloved wharf 150 years or so in existence continues to inspire those who live in Capitola-by-the-Sea, or visit the beach community.
This article was last modified 15 years ago