crystal pier

Click Here to Order a Ready to Frame Luster Print The idea for a pier in Pacific Beach originated with Earl Taylor, a local realtor of the mid-1920s who was trying to sell property in the then sparsely populated (700 resident) area. Taylor felt he needed a gimmick, something to attract land buyers and more people to the area. He approached Earnest Pickering, owner of the Pickering Pier in Ocean Park, and soon had a partner, both financially and with insights regarding a pier.Although dedicated on April 18, 1926, the pier and its amusements would not be finished until the following summer (amid fierce competition between the Crystal Pier and the amusement park at Mission Beach). On the July 4 weekend of 1927, the 950-foot-long pier opened as the “Crystal Pleasure Pier Ballroom and Joy Zone,” an opening heralded in both the San Diego and Los Angeles areas. The main attraction was the towered ballroom that sat out at the end of the pier and featured a cork-cushioned dance floor and a