PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — The historic Merry Pier, located in the Pass-A-Grille area of St. Pete Beach, reopened on Thursday after being closed for six months for extensive renovations.

"When we undertook this, it was a huge engineering feat," said Commissioner Melinda Pletcher. "We've actually been working on the design phase of it for five years." ​

The pier construction cost about $1 million for a new deck, pilings, electrical, plumbing and lighting along with other upgrades. Pletcher said one of the challenges was finding a contractor willing to work in the fast-moving intra-coastal water.

"There's not a lot of folks that want to build docks over here on this rough water," she said. "This pier's going to be here fore the next 50, 100 years and it's going to be great." 

The Merry Pier first opened in 1902.

"If you look at some of the historical photos from 100 years ago, you'll see these folks that came in through the Merry Pier on steamboats," said Pletcher. 

One reason the pier was still standing after all these years was because the Hollenback family organized a donation rally to save the pier back in 1979, according to Ehren Hollenback, 50.

"At the time, the pier was in pretty bad shape. In fact, so much so that the city wanted to condemn the pier," he said. "My parents had heard about that and they organized a donation rally to save the pier." 

Hollenback's parents owned a restaurant and home across the street from the pier.

"The Merry Pier was literally my front yard," he said. "At night, we'd come over here shrimping the outgoing tides. We'd just have dip nets with a big spotlight. So, the shrimp would literally go into our nets." ​

In order to raise enough money to save the pier, Hollenback said his parents, Carl and Jackie, had a woodcarver set up shop in front of their restaurant.

"You could have your name etched onto the pier for a $10 donation or you could buy a whole plank," said Hollenback. "I think they said $30 for that."

The Hollenback family played such an integral role in saving the Merry Pier that the City invited them to the ribbon cutting ceremony.

"Here we are on a resurrected, brand new pier that the city has put together," said Hollenback. "It's good for the community. It's good for those that are visiting." 

It's now a fully operational pier that future generations get to enjoy as well. 

The Merry Pier is located at 801 Pass-A-Grille Way in St. Pete Beach. The pier also features a store with a fish market that has right-off-the-boat seafood and docks for water excursions.