Mission Beach Boardwalk, Seawall, and Lamppost Reconstruction

The iconic Mission Beach Boardwalk, used by hundreds of thousands of locals and tourists a year, was constructed in 1925 as part of the Mission Beach Amusement Center (now Belmont Park).

Nearly ten decades later, the original detailing had become unrecognizable due to many incompatible repairs.  Layers of concrete covered spalling rebar and very little of the original design was visible.

To honor the National Register Eligible Boardwalk, the City of San Diego retained IS Architecture and the design team of Michael Baker International to reconstruct the Boardwalk, seawall, and lampposts to their historic aesthetic.

To reconstruct the seawall, the project team used the original 1925 drawings of the Boardwalk and performed exploratory demolition. Using historic photographs and observing existing conditions, the walkway scoring pattern and color were reconstructed. And for the lampposts, historic newspaper articles revealed the original model was the Edgewater series.  To everyone’s surprise, Spring City Electric in Pennsylvania still makes the Edgewater series and with approval from the City, the lampposts were reconstructed to match the original design.

Quoting Mayor Kevin L. Faulconer, “The historic Mission Beach boardwalk has been brought back to life and restored to its original glory for future generations of San Diegans to enjoy.”