Berkeley Pier facts for kids

The Berkeley Pier is a long pier located in Berkeley, California. It was built in 1926 and used to stretch about 3.5 miles (5.6 km) into San Francisco Bay. Today, because parts of the bay were filled in, it's about 2.5 miles (4 km) long. For many years, only the first 3,000 feet (914 m) were open for people to visit. However, since July 2015, the pier has been closed to the public because it became unsafe.

History of the Berkeley Pier

Early Wharves and City Pier

Long before the Berkeley Pier we know today, there were smaller wharves in Berkeley. In the mid-1800s, two private wharves were built. One helped a soap factory, and another was used for moving goods.

In 1909, the City of Berkeley built its own pier. This pier was meant for a ferry that would carry people, but that ferry never started. Instead, this city pier was mostly used for moving freight.

Building the Ferry Pier

In 1925, a company called the Golden Gate Ferry Company wanted to start a new car ferry service. They planned to connect Berkeley with San Francisco. The City of Berkeley agreed to let them build a large new ferry pier.

Construction of the Berkeley Pier began in 1926. It was built from the end of University Avenue and stretched about 3.5 miles (5.6 km) into the bay. This long distance was needed to reach water deep enough for the ferries. The pier had a two-lane road along almost its entire length. At the very end, it became wider so cars could wait for the ferries. Two ferry docks were also built there.

Ferry Service Begins

On June 16, 1927, the car ferry service officially started. Ferries traveled between the Berkeley Pier and the Hyde Street Pier in San Francisco.

In 1928, the Golden Gate Ferry Company joined with another ferry system. They formed a new company called Southern Pacific-Golden Gate Ferries Ltd. On May 1, 1929, this new company took over the ferry service from the Berkeley Pier.

At first, four special diesel ferry boats were used. They were named Golden Bear, Golden Poppy, Golden State, and Golden Dawn. These boats were all painted yellow. After the companies merged, the boats were repainted white, like other Southern Pacific boats.

The Pier's Role in National Highways

From its opening in 1927 until 1937, the Berkeley Pier was an important part of the Lincoln Highway. This was the first road that went all the way across America. Later, it became part of U.S. Route 40.

End of Ferry Service and New Uses

The ferry line stopped running on October 16, 1937. This happened about 11 months after the Bay Bridge opened for cars. The bridge made it much easier to drive between Berkeley and San Francisco, so ferries were no longer needed.

After the ferries stopped, the part of the pier closest to the shore was turned into a place for fun activities. People mostly used it for fishing. The rest of the pier was left alone and slowly started to decay. You can still see this old, decaying part, but you can't reach it because there's a barrier. There's even a gap of about 50 feet (15 m) at the end of the open pier, which lets small boats pass through.

In 2007, there were talks about starting a new ferry service from a terminal near the pier, but this didn't happen.

In 2015, the pier had become too old and unsafe. Because of this, the entrance was fenced off, and it has been closed to the public ever since.

Images for kids

• 

  The gap between active and abandoned sections of the Berkeley Pier, viewed from the shoreline

• 

  Fishing and crabbing were popular activities on the pier prior to its closing July 2015

• 

  View from the deck of the pier westward

• 

  The barrier at the end of the pier. The old defunct pier section is visible through the barrier.

• 

  View of the defunct, inaccessible section from the barrier

• 

  Remnants of the original length of the Berkeley Pier

• 

  Late afternoon aerial view of the Golden Gate Bridge, looking west into the sun, with the Berkeley Pier in the foreground