Portion of Graffiti Pier collapses into the Delaware River

No injuries were reported after a small portion of what is popularly known as the Graffiti Pier collapsed into the Delaware River early Wednesday morning, authorities said.

At 6:25 a.m., the U.S. Coast Guard received a report that a 10- to 20-foot section at the end of the pier near East Cumberland and Beach Streets in Port Richmond had collapsed and that there were unconfirmed reports of people on the pier.

The Coast Guard sent two boats and a helicopter to search the area and found no evidence of people in the water and no reports of missing persons. The search was suspended early Wednesday afternoon, said Coast Guard spokesperson Petty Officer 1st Class Matthew West.

Philadelphia police and fire department personnel also responded to the collapse.

The cause of the collapse was not immediately known, the Coast Guard said.

A spokesperson for the city could not be reached for comment.

A private security video posted on Reddit showed the front end of the pier tip over and collapse into the water.

The Graffiti Pier, also known as Pier 18, is a former coal loading dock that has served as the city’s open canvas since the 1990s — a place where street artists could generally work without fear of arrest.

A private security guard contracted by Conrail Properties and Northbank — the luxury townhome complex next to the pier — sat in her car blocking the entrance to the pier.

She had to turn away several gawkers since the pier collapsed, including a couple who drove up in a Jeep Compass. They only spoke sign language, and the guard had to look up the proper way to tell them a portion of the pier had collapsed.

Erica Faris was walking her dog, Emma, a Jack Russell terrier, just before 5 p.m., when she noticed that a significant portion of the pier was missing.

The entire front tip had collapsed, said Ferris, including a crucifix that was affixed to the top of the crumbling architecture.

Ferris, who has lived in the Northpark development next door since 2022, regularly takes photos of the pier from a distance. She was hoping to get out Wednesday night and photograph the wreckage at sunset.

”I’ve always been curious about Graffiti Pier,” Ferris said. “But I’ve been hesitant to go since getting there doesn’t look safe. You have to, like, crawl through a chain-link fence and I’m not about that.”

Max Cohen and Alex Ehasz were among the spectators that the security guard turned away Wednesday afternoon.

The buddies had visited Graffiti Pier last night, but came back so Ehasz — a photography hobbyist — could take photos in the daylight.

Cohen and Ehasz are visiting from New York City to see the electronic act Justice at the Met, but wanted to work the pier into their itinerary.

”It was really neat,” said Cohen. “And we felt fine. There was nothing about this place that made it seem like it could imminently collapse.”

In 2000, a pier south of Penn’s Landing with a nightclub called Heat collapsed, killing three women and injuring 40 others. The tragedy led to criminal charges and a $29.6 million lawsuit settlement. The pier’s owner and the owner of the nightclub were charged with third-degree murder and other offenses, but a jury could not reach a verdict. The defendants later pleaded guilty to lesser offenses.