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Feedback sought on pier tower plan
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Pedestrians walk through full-scale replicas showing the size of proposed twin towers flanking the entry to the turns HB Pier. Photo by Robb Fulcher |
by Robb Fulcher
The city has erected green netting covered scaffoldings representing twin 25-foot towers that may stand at the entrance to the Hermosa Beach Pier. The scaffoldings are designed to show the size of the towers so residents can decide whether they want the towers built.
The scaffolding stands just over 11 feet square at the base. They are scheduled to remain standing through the weekend.
Permanent towers have been proposed as part of a sweeping renovation of the base of the pier, which would include a raised observation platform to the south, amphitheater seating to the north, and a refurbished lifeguard station just south of the pier. In addition, the aging public bathroom building would be replaced.
City officials discussed placing a rendering of the towers themselves at the base of the pier so that residents can see the appearance of the proposed towers as well as their size.
"Unfortunately what we see down there is not the same as what the end product would be," Councilman JR Reviczky said at a Monday meeting of the city council.
"I hope I’m wrong, but I think some residents will not like it just because it looks like a square box," Reviczky said.
Mayor John Bowler agreed that the scaffoldings look "a little too monolithic." But he said some early feedback from the community was positive.
"I had two merchants come out and tell me they liked them, when they found out what they were," Bowler said.
The towers would house electrical and communications equipment for the pier and the lifeguard station.
Renderings and computer graphics showing the current redesign plan are available for public view at City Hall, and at the Los Angeles County Library branch on Pier Avenue next to City Hall, officials said.
Residents can offer their reviews of the replica towers by emailing the city manager at sburrell@hermosabch.org or by calling the city manager’s office at 318-0216.
The renovation at the base of the pier is being funded primarily by a $1 million gift to the city by longtime resident David T. Schumacher.
Plans call for an expansion of the lifeguard station to include a women’s locker room and a garage for vehicles and boats just east of the station.
Atop the garage would stand a concrete observation platform, rising about 10 feet above the Strand, with a view to the ocean. Architects have proposed that the platform, reached by a set of steps from the base of the pier, would be adorned with a depiction of a stylized sun, perhaps imbedded into the concrete with ceramic tile of a muted color.
A large concrete area directly in front of the pier would be decorated with a spiraling design, muted gray-blue in color, depicting seven stylized waves representing the seven seas. Benches and short palm trees would stand in that area as well.
To the north of the pier, the amphitheater-style seating would afford views of the ocean or the pier head area. ER