Lifeguards find massive, century-old ship anchor off Santa Monica Pier

A 100-plus-year-old anchor was pulled up from the ocean off Santa Monica Pier, a relic from the days when the area was a major shipping port.

Lifeguards found the anchor two miles up the coast from the pier about three weeks ago. The discovery occurred around the former site of the Long Wharf, a shipping center that served Southern California on Santa Monica Bay from 1892 to 1919.

“It’s not every day you find something like that,” said Andrew Greger, rescue boat captain with the L.A. County Fire Department, who spotted the anchor three weeks ago during a training dive.

The Long Wharf was built by railroad tycoon Collis Huntington. At the time, it was the world's largest and  became a tourist attraction. Huntington wanted to make Santa Monica the region's main port, but L.A. city leaders eventually chose San Pedro.

The anchor was pulled up Tuesday with the help of a tractor. It’s  resting in a garden just outside the Los Angeles County lifeguard station at 1642 Ocean Front Walk in Santa Monica.

--Baxter Holmes

Photo: Scott Grisby / L.A. County Fire Department