Replacing the old wharf, the pier building stood three stories high, with ticket, baggage and dock offices on the first floor, shops and an observation veranda on the second floor, and dorms and classrooms on the third floor. It was the main gateway to Chautauqua until the automobile made steamboat travel obsolete. Above the building stood a wooden tower containing Meneely bells, which were removed and placed in the current bell tower in 1911.