Swing back almost 97 years.

It’s 1927 and Crystal Pier in Pacific Beach is constructed and becomes a popular landmark and vacation spot. It’s a huge San Diego news story.

Initially known as Pickerings Pleasure Pier, the owners build a crystal ballroom at the end of the pier in 1937, which proves a short-lived enterprise. (As I write, the same pier is being repaired. More on that later.)

Fast forward to 1978.

I’m a 12-year-old kid who spends too many hours in my bedroom in front of his 13-inch tube (not YouTube) watching shows like “Fantasy Island,” “Love Boat,” “The Six Million Dollar Man” and “The Bionic Woman.”

As a San Diego teenager who thinks his hometown is the best city in the country, I always wonder in the back of my mind why San Diego is rarely if ever a backdrop for the TV shows and movies that I watch.

What does any of this have to do with Crystal Pier? Stay with me.

In 1978, I’m watching “Eight is Enough,” a series that takes place in Sacramento about a widowed dad (the actor Dick Van Patten) raising eight children.

I remember my excitement when Nicholas, the youngest kid in the family, ran away to San Diego. (Adam Rich, who played Nicholas, died last year due to the effects of fentanyl.)

One scene I still remember to this day is when Nicholas stood on Crystal Pier, accompanied by his new friend and questionable grandfather figure, an old drunk played by the actor Jack Elam. “No way, there’s Crystal Pier,” I shouted to myself.

As silly as it seems in retrospect, I felt validated seeing my home turf on a TV show. Justice for Diego!

Nicholas shares a bed with the disheveled man who somehow has enough money to live in a cottage on Crystal Pier. (They still exist today and go for anywhere from $220 to $600 a night.)

Here’s a couple of pics – I’m indebted to “2manyhotdogs” on Reddit who found the episode online and skimmed it for the San Diego scenes.

As 2manyhotdogs noted on Reddit, in addition to Crystal Pier, “the episode has lots of footage of San Diego circa 1978. There are scenes at Mission Beach where you can see Hamels before it added the crystal castle façade,” in addition to the County Administration Building, Seaport Village, Mission Beach, and Belmont Park.

A few years later, in 1981, the detective show “Simon and Simon” premiered, which was set in San Diego, at least theoretically.

After the first year, it continued to be “set” here but production and filming moved to L.A., where it was less expensive. But of course!

As you may know if you’ve been in PB recently, most of the 870-foot Crystal Pier is closed and has been since December due to storm damage. Tourists and locals alike have of course been disappointed with the closure.

The San Diego City Council approved emergency funding of $1 million so repairs can move forward, which are expected to be completed this winter. (But that assumes another round of storms doesn’t cause further damage and regression of the repairs.)  

The Crystal Pier hotel and cottages, which are situated on a private portion of the pier, have remained open.

Editor’s Note: Read about “Way of the Warrior Kid,” featuring Chris Pratt, and other movies that were filmed on-location in San Diego in 2024.

A couple more pics for your viewing pleasure: