Newport Beach Pier
Arlington Springs Man is the name given to the oldest skeletal remains found in California, dating back about 13,000 years. Because of the year-round mild climate of the Newport area, it has have been a very agreeable place to live throughout its’ history and communities in the past would have thrived.
The area was first explored by Europeans in the 1500s, although they did not start to settle in the area until the second half of the 18th century.
After the American Civil War, James McFadden and his brother Robert promoted and developed trade in the area, and in 1888 built McFadden’s Wharf at the location of the present pier.
In 1902, as Newport became more of a tourist destination, James McFadden sold most of his interests in the area, including the pier. By 1906 thousands of summer visitors from Los Angeles visited Newport travelling in Red Cars along the new Pacific Electric Line.
The pier was remodelled in 1922, but was destroyed by a hurricane in 1939.
The current pier was reconstructed in 1940.
A fifteen-minute drive south along the coast road takes you to Huntington Beach Pier.
