Railroad wharf
The structure commonly known as the "railroad wharf" had no official name. Constructed in 1875 by the Felton and Santa Cruz Railroad (FSC), it extended into Monterey Bay from the Santa Cruz main beach. Its main purpose was to carry the narrow-gauge railroad tracks bringing lumber down from the San Lorenzo valley to waiting ships. Contractor for the wharf was most likely S. J. Lynch. The South Pacific Coast Railroad (SPC) acquired the FSC in ~1880, which was in turn acquired by Southern Pacific (SP) later in the 1880s.
- A rare photograph of a passenger train stopped on the wharf appears in Santa Cruz County (1896 book) on p.25.
The photo at right was taken in 1913 (probably from the 2nd-floor balcony of the Sea Foam House), just as the new Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf was nearing completion. The much-longer new wharf could accommodate larger vessels, but only the locally-owned streetcar tracks were moved to the new wharf (an intentional anti-competition move by SP?) The railroad wharf was demolished in 1922, but the support pilings were left in place, remaining visible in later photographs for many decades (see Dream Inn).
Notes
- History Pages: 27 - How the trains came to Santa Cruz (part 1)
- "Notes on the History of Santa Cruz Wharves", MAH Online History Journal
- 1880s newspaper ads for the Sea Foam House hotel referred to the "Felton Railroad Wharf".
