The west pier is the second pier in brighton it was designed by eugenius birch opening in 1866 and closing in 1975 the 1860s was a boom time for pier building it was extended in 1893 to compete with brightons other pier the palace pier and a concert hall was added in 1916 the pier reached its peak attendance during this time with 2 million visitors between 1918 and 1919 the west pier was a firm locals favourite with the palace pier catering more for the day trippers today the pi