Santa Cruz Harbor celebrates 50th birthday
The Santa Cruz Harbor is celebrating its 50th birthday this weekend.
A re-dedication ceremony took place Friday with a special “pop-up museum” event planned for Saturday, April 19.
The Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History and the port district invite members of the public to come share harbor-related memorabilia — photos, documents, other artifacts — at the Mariner Park Lawn in the harbor for public viewing from 1 to 3 p.m.
The Army Corps of Engineers first surveyed the Santa Cruz coast for a possible harbor in 1879, but it wasn’t until after World War II that a strong enough local support group was organized to bring it to fruition. After numerous discussions, surveys and evaluations, it wasn’t until 1958 that fundamental federal legislation authorized the Santa Cruz Small Craft Harbor and Beach Erosion Project.
Construction didn’t begin until 1962, however.
The Santa Cruz Harbor now has space for approximately 1,000 wet-berthed and 275 dry-stored vessels, about 15 percent of which are commercial fishing boats. About half are pleasure sailboats.
