The Ventura Pier is the longest wooden-and-concrete pier in the United States. It used to be the longest wooden pier in the U.S., but after being damaged and reconstructed several times due to severe storms, the City Council finally came to their senses and used concrete pylons near the end of the pier. The current pier is 1958 feet long.
You can see the pier from the Ventura County Star's ![[WWW]](http://wikispot.org/wiki/eggheadbeta/img/sycamore-www.png){kind=small}
webcam
There is an Eric Ericsson's Restaurant on the pier, hovering over the beach, as well as another place (name?).
You can park right next to the pier, but you have to pay a fee to the San Buenaventura State Beach. A better idea is to park for free at the end of Ash Street near Front Street across the railroad tracks, and walk across the pedestrian bridge straight to the pier. It's a dirt parking lot, but hey, free!
The pier was originally built in 1872 to accommodate steamships. Decades before the 101 Freeway was built through the Norwegian Grade, it was much simpler to make the trip to LA by boat. A lot of agricultural products also left Ventura by ship as well, so the pier was a happening place. When ships stopped coming, the Pier was converted to more recreational uses. There used to be a bath house at the end of the pier (where the freeway is today).
