Stearns Wharf, Historical wooden pier in Santa Barbara, United States.
Stearns Wharf is a long wooden pier in Santa Barbara, California, running from the foot of State Street out into the Pacific Ocean. Along its length sit restaurants, shops, and a marine research center with open views of the coastline and the Channel Islands.
The pier was built in 1872 by John P. Stearns, giving Santa Barbara a direct link to maritime trade at a time when roads in the region were poor. Over the following decades it shifted away from commerce and became a place where people came to walk, fish, and eat.
The marine research center on the pier features interactive displays about local sea creatures and the underwater world that lies just offshore.
The pier sits at the end of State Street and is easy to reach on foot from downtown Santa Barbara. Weekdays and early mornings tend to be quieter, which makes walking to the end and back more comfortable.
A fortune teller has worked for decades in a small wooden booth on the pier, and the stand has become a long-standing fixture of the place. This kind of permanent, personal presence is rare to find on a public pier today.
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