Bummer: 20 feet of the iconic Graffiti Pier collapsed into the Delaware River earlier this week

Big loss for the city of Philadelphia. Graffiti Pier – which is tucked away in the Port Richmond neighborhood on the other side of the I-95 divide, collapsed earlier this week. 

The pier itself previously would jet out into the depths of the Delaware River until a 20-foot section of it collapsed into the water earlier this week. 

Graffiti Pier Collapse:

RIP to graffiti pier y’all pic.twitter.com/7sm0qQKsAL

— ♌︎ J. ˢˡᵃˢʰʸ 🫠 (@TheySemiDed) July 31, 2024

According to a Coast guard press release: At 6:25 a.m., Sector Delaware Bay watchstanders received a report that 10 to 20 feet of the Graffiti pier had collapsed into the water. It’s gone, hardly any debris. pic.twitter.com/4YEPzt0rnC

— PhillyChitChat (@HughE_Dillon) July 31, 2024

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Augmented Arts, LLC — Chip Starr 💫 (@augmented_arts)

The Delaware River is massive, obviously. It’s a 330 mile river that is bigger than the Hudson River (315 miles) and falls just short of the Potomac River (405 miles), and the Susquehanna River (444 miles) and has depths that reach over 100+ feet – at Big Eddy in Narrowsburg, New York.

Typically, the banks of the Delaware River will feature 4-6 feet depth before a massive 30-40 foot drop off away from the shore which would explain why the collapsed part of Graffiti Pier can’t even be seen in the water.

Graffiti Pier from the air ; water must be soo Deep there is no trace of the 2 to 3 story metal structure ; pier goers told me there was a crack along the retaining wall for a few weeks 🎥 @RobertJCassell pic.twitter.com/UTePftPCaz

— PhillyChitChat (@HughE_Dillon) August 1, 2024

In Philadelphia, the part of the Delaware River that passes along the outskirts from is the main transportation port. The 103-mile stretch from Philly / Camden is used to heavy traffic the whole way out to the to the Delaware Bay. 

Back in 2018, that area specifically was part of a decades-long deepening project that changed the depth of the river from 40 feet to 45 feet.

Originally built in 1925, Pier 18 aka Graffiti Pier was used as a coal-loading dock to transport an anthracite coal up and down the Delaware River. It was in operation for 68 years before it was shut down by Conrail (formerly Consolidated Rail Corporation) in 1993.

Once abandoned, people flocked to the pier and covered it with a blanket of graffiti on the concrete pillars, which once supported elevated rail lines used to transfer coal from train cars to ships.

From there, it became quite the destination spot as nature reclaimed the land and the graffiti provided an artistic scenery that morphed the abandoned pier into a social media influencer hot spot. 

Now, a large portion of it is however many feet below the water adding another chapter, possibly the final one, to a once historic landmark in Philadelphia. 

Join The Chase