By the 1920s, it became possible to hop aboard a commuter train at 6th and Main streets in downtown Los Angeles, ride it to Los Angeles Harbor, switch to the Catalina Island Terminal line in Wilmington, and, at that terminal, catch a ride aboard a steamship over to the Island, all without using a car.Continue reading “The popular Pacific Electric Red Car line made getting to San Pedro easy for all”
Tag Archives: san pedro
It took many years for the two Cabrillo marinas in San Pedro to become reality
Los Angeles Harbor Area pleasure boat marinas have been around for a long time. The Al Larson Boat Shop, one of the oldest, opened its 128-slip small boat marina in 1924. Two marinas were built in Wilmington right after World War II, the Yacht Haven Marina in 1947, and Holiday Harbor in 1954, with moreContinue reading “It took many years for the two Cabrillo marinas in San Pedro to become reality”
Unusual financing plan launched San Pedro’s Hacienda Hotel in 1955
According to the San Pedro News Pilot, the idea arose out of a chamber of commerce meeting in San Pedro in 1950. Having observed the rapid postwar growth boom of neighboring suburban communities, a unnamed member of the group of local business leaders and boosters said something like, “What this community needs is a goodContinue reading “Unusual financing plan launched San Pedro’s Hacienda Hotel in 1955”
Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo explored the California coastline in the 1500s
In the decades following the historic voyage of Christopher Columbus to America in 1492, Mexico underwent much exploration and development – not to mention financial exploitation – by conquistadors under the aegis of the Kingdom of Spain. But Spanish and other European explorers knew very little about the lands along the coast north of Mexico.Continue reading “Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo explored the California coastline in the 1500s”
Why Assemblyman Vincent Thomas deserved having a bridge in his name
When Vincent Thomas was 16, he used his boxing skills – he earned $2.50 per fight – to help support his family. His parents, Visko and Vinca Tomas (shortened from Tomasevich) arrived from Croatia in eastern Europe in 1903. They were living in Biloxi, Mississippi, when Vincent, one of eight children, was born on AprilContinue reading “Why Assemblyman Vincent Thomas deserved having a bridge in his name”
San Pedro’s Al Larson Boat Shop has been a Port fixture for more than a century
Peter Adolph (Al) Larson emigrated from his native Sweden to the United States as a 16-year-old in 1890. He first began learning the boatbuilding trade in the San Francisco Bay area, and eventually moved south to Los Angeles. He founded the Al Larson Boat Shop on the Salt Lake Wharf at the harbor in WilmingtonContinue reading “San Pedro’s Al Larson Boat Shop has been a Port fixture for more than a century”
San Pedro’s public library keeps up with the times and its growing clientele
In 2011, I wrote a South Bay History blog post about the San Pedro public library building that opened in 1906. The distinctive domed building at 820 Beacon St. was funded by steel industry titan Andrew Carnegie, one of 1,689 libraries he funded during his lifetime. But that library, which closed in 1923, is onlyContinue reading “San Pedro’s public library keeps up with the times and its growing clientele”
The USS California served as flagship of the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet for nearly two decades
Seven U.S. Navy vessels have been named the USS California since 1867. Perhaps the most famous is the fifth one, the Tennessee-class battleship given the identification number BB-44 (“Battleship #44”) by the Navy. The ship got its official launch on Nov. 20, 1919 in Vallejo, California at the Mare Island Navy Yard where it wasContinue reading “The USS California served as flagship of the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet for nearly two decades”
San Pedro’s South Shores housing development proved popular in the 1950s
Veteran real estate developer Fred W. Marlow was fresh from launching major home building projects in Westchester and upscale Windsor Hills when he began looking toward the San Pedro coastline for his next project. By then, he’d established ten real estate brokerage offices in the southwest Los Angeles County area, where the Marlow-Burns Development Co.Continue reading “San Pedro’s South Shores housing development proved popular in the 1950s”
Cabrillo Marine Aquarium: Exploring the ocean for more than eight decades
The roots of the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium stretch back to 1934, when lifeguard Bob Foster set up a folding table displaying mayonnaise jars filled with shells and marine specimens at Venice Beach. Beachgoers would bring samples of marine life to Foster’s lifeguard tower, where they were displayed to fascinated beachgoers. The increasingly popular collection eventuallyContinue reading “Cabrillo Marine Aquarium: Exploring the ocean for more than eight decades”
