Transition tower

Folks on Coast Highway 101, passing by Cardiff by the Sea’s San Elijo State Beach campground, often ask what’s up with the scaffolding on the bluff with the lifeguard tower on top.

The three levels of open support poles and platforms remind one of the smaller judges’ platforms seen on nearby beaches during surf contests. Except for the lifeguard tower, one might also be reminded of media-circus criminal trials, where every TV network has an elevated broadcast stand; or perhaps even the massive scaffolding for Rose Parade attendees.

California State Parks has finally announced the replacement of the original lifeguard tower that was in danger of falling down due to decades of bluff erosion. Built in the mid-1960s when the campground opened, the original tower was torn down after major winter storms pounded the shoreline in 2010. Since then, while the small temporary tower is manned, there is no space for equipment or additional staff.

The original tower (and the ocean horizon behind it, looking south/southwest) has been featured on postcards and Cardiff souvenirs. San Diego’s local film studio, Stu Segall Productions, uses the image in its closing logo on many of the studio’s TV shows.

The tower’s bluff-top position allows lifeguards to monitor the entire three miles of state beach, from the southern tidepools and parking lot at Seaside reef, north to Swami’s.

State officials said at a recent community meeting that the proposed design is still open to changes. The state must first seek approval from the City of Encinitas and the California Coastal Commission before beginning its planned late-2015 replacement.

The new tower, to be built 43 feet back from the existing bluff line, will also serve a command center for the state’s two other North County jurisdictions, Torrey Pines and Carlsbad’s state beaches.

(corrected 11/28, 3:10 p.m.)