page_title: Pier
section_title: Pleasure piers
hierarchical_section_title: Pier / Types / Pleasure piers
caption_attribution_description: Nice clear evening. Used a Hitech 0.9 Hard GND to hold back the Pier lights.
context_page_description: A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of water and usually juts out from its shore, typically supported by piles or pillars, and provides above-water access to offshore areas. Frequent pier uses include fishing, boat docking and access for both passengers and cargo, and oceanside recreation. Bridges, buildings, and walkways may all be supported by piers. Their open structure allows tides and currents to flow relatively unhindered, whereas the more solid foundations of a quay or the closely spaced piles of a wharf can act as a breakwater, and are consequently more liable to silting. Piers can range in size and complexity from a simple lightweight wooden structure to major structures extended over 1,600 m. In American English, a pier may be synonymous with a dock.
  Piers have been built for several purposes, and because these different purposes have distinct regional variances, the term pier tends to have different nuances of meaning in different parts of the world. Thus in North America and Australia, where many ports were, until recently, built on the multiple pier model, the term tends to imply a current or former cargo-handling facility.
context_section_description: Pleasure piers were first built in Britain during the early 19th century. The earliest structures were Ryde Pier, built in 1813/4, Trinity Chain Pier near Leith, built in 1821, and Brighton Chain Pier, built in 1823. Only the oldest of these piers still remains. At that time the introduction of the railways for the first time permitted mass tourism to dedicated seaside resorts. The large tidal ranges at many such resorts meant that for much of the day, the sea was not visible from the shore. The pleasure pier was the resorts' answer, permitting holidaymakers to promenade over and alongside the sea at all times. The world's longest pleasure pier is at Southend-on-Sea, Essex, and extends 1.3 miles (2.1 km) into the Thames estuary. The longest pier on the West Coast of the US is the Santa Cruz Wharf, with a length of 2,745 feet (837 m).
  Providing a walkway out to sea, pleasure piers often include amusements and theatres as part of their attractions. Such a pier may be unroofed, closed, or partly open and partly closed. Sometimes a pier has two decks. Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier in Galveston, Texas has a roller coaster, 15 rides, carnival games and souvenir shops.
  Early pleasure piers were of wooden construction, with the first iron pleasure pier being Margate Jetty, opened in 1855. Margate pier was wrecked in storms in 1978 and never repaired. The longest iron pleasure pier still remaining is the one at Southend. First opened as a wooden pier in 1829, it was reconstructed in iron and completed in 1889. In a 2006 UK poll, the public voted the seaside pier onto the list of icons of England.
caption: Brighton Palace Pier at dusk. Opened in May 1899, the pier has 3 bars, a restaurant, fast food kiosks, 2 roller coasters and an amusement arcade
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