Coast Guard Pier

The Coast Guard Pier extends into Monterey Bay as a long, concrete arm topped by a distinct, red-roofed signal station. Built in the nineteen thirties, it serves as the base for search and rescue operations that keep the surrounding waters safe. In nineteen forty-two, a Japanese submarine fired shells toward this coastline, striking the nearby Ellwood oil field. The pier stood ready for a naval defense that fortunately never arrived, remaining a quiet watcher of the Pacific until the war’s end.