The concrete pier at Manatee County Public Beach has closed indefinitely; it has been deemed unsafe.
I don’t know when this short and low concrete pier was originally constructed, but I know it has been here since I started coming to the beach in the 1960’s. Piers draw visitors, and that’s exactly what this structure has done for half a century.
I caught my first mackerel from this pier while on summer vacation in 1975. I walked a few blocks up the beach, took it into our kitchen and cooked if for lunch.
I started surfing at this pier in 1976. To avoid having to paddle out through the surf, we just walked to the end and jumped off. We also enjoyed snorkeling around the pier when the water was calm and clear. There was always a big snook lurking around the pilings with the sheepshead and schools of “shiners.”
But time and storms have taken their toll on the pier. Refurbishments and patches only last so long. Now an engineering report has indicated that our beloved pier is unsafe to walk on. Rick Catlin of The Islander, Anna Maria’s newspaper, recently wrote an article about the closing of the pier.
Manatee Beach pier is a gathering place for sunset-watchers. I've watched many a sunset from this pier.
Just below Rick Catlin’s article is an editorial about the issue of rebuilding the pier. But it goes much deeper than that. It’s a very interesting commentary on how our beaches in Manatee County compare to other beaches here on the gulf coast. I’ll be commenting on that in another blog post very soon. I think I’m qualified to throw in my two cents, since I have visited every beach access on the peninsular gulf coast, and actually wrote a book about Florida gulf coast beach accesses.
The Manatee beach pier provides a great view of the island. If you are used to places like St. Pete Beach, Siesta Key, Marco Island, and Clearwater Beach, the first thing that hits you is all of the trees. No high-rises. Yay! It's one of the reasons people come here.
