Santa Barbara highlight
Stearns Wharf
Built in 1872, California's oldest working wood wharf and a 2,300-foot landmark that transformed Santa Barbara from isolated coastal town to accessible port.
John Peck Stearns built the wharf in 1872 with financial backing from Colonel William Welles Hollister, engineered to break Santa Barbara's geographic isolation by providing a deep-water landing for cargo ships. The original structure was designed to be the longest deep-water wharf between San Pedro and San Francisco. The wharf stretches 2,300 feet, covers 3.8 acres, and is supported by 2,307 wood pilings driven into the seafloor. After more than 150 years of operation, Stearns Wharf remains California's oldest working wood wharf and a functional commercial pier.
The wharf has survived multiple disasters: a Chinese junk collision in 1878, fires in 1921 and 1973, a devastating fire in 1998 that destroyed 420 feet of the structure, and numerous severe storms. Despite these events, the wharf was rebuilt and restored each time. Today, seventeen businesses operate on the wharf, including restaurants, seafood vendors, shops, a coastal winery, and the Sea Center's marine exhibits. Visitors fish from the wharf's end, dine overlooking the ocean, or walk the full length to the iconic Dolphin Fountain at the far end.
For Santa Barbara families and business owners, Stearns Wharf represents the kind of enduring infrastructure that built the city. The wharf's survival across generations—rebuilt after each fire and storm—parallels how life insurance protects what families and businesses have built. A term policy ensures that the people who depend on your income, your mortgage, and your business continuity are secure even if an unexpected loss interrupts the plan.