San Pedro, Los Angeles, California
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While many cities use water towers to welcome visitors, San Pedro has its name painted on a smokestack. |
San Pedro is a community within
Los Angeles, California, annexed in
1909 and a major seaport of the area. The town has grown from being dominated by the fishing industry to become primarily a blue collar working town. The name of the town is often pronounced by residents as San PEE-dro rather than its Spanish pronunciation, San PAY-dro.
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The Angel's Gate Lighthouse has stood at the entrance to the port since 1913. |
The site, at the southern end of the
Palos Verdes Peninsula, on the west side of
San Pedro Bay, was used by
Spanish ships starting in the
1540s.
San Pedro was named after St. Peter of Alexandria, a 4th century bishop in Alexandria, Egypt. His feast day is November 24th, the day on which Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo discovered the bay which would become "San Pedro." (Santa Catalina Island, named after St. Katherine of Sinai, was claimed for Spain the next day, on her feast day, November 25th)
Regular settlement began in
1769 as part of the effort to populate California, although trade restrictions encouraged more smuggling than regular business. When
Mexico won its independence, the trade restriction were lifted, and the town flourished, and under
United States control after
1848, the harbor was greatly improved under the guidance of
Phineas Banning, and San Pedro became a major port of the
West Coast.
In
1888, the
War Department took control of a tract of land next to the bay, and added to it in
1897 and
1910. This became
Fort MacArthur in
1914, and was a coastal defense site for many years. Many other facilities were established in the San Pedro area, and it was a popular
port of call for
U.S. Navy ships.
In
1906 the city of Los Angeles annexed a long narrow strip of land connecting the city to the coast, and in
1909, the city annexed San Pedro and the adjacent town of
Wilmington. The odd shape is still seen in the map of the city.
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San Pedro is connected to Los Angeles by a thin strip of land called the "Harbor Gateway" which roughly follows the 110 freeway. |
Main article: Port of Los Angeles.
San Pedro and Wilmington are the locations of the Port of Los Angeles.
One San Pedro landmark is the
Vincent Thomas Bridge, a 1,500-foot long
suspension bridge linking San Pedro with
Terminal Island and named after
California Assemblyman Vincent Thomas. Nearby is the
Los Angeles Maritime Museum, the largest
maritime museum in California, is here, as is the
museum ship SS Lane Victory, a fully operational
victory ship of
World War II and
National Historic Landmark.
The
Frank Gehry designed
Cabrillo Marine Aquarium is also in San Pedro. The Point Fermin Lighthouse, a Victorian-era structure built in the late 19th century, still exists as a museum and park on a bluff overlooking the ocean. The
Korean Bell of Friendship is a massive bronze memorial
bell donated by
South Korea in
1976 to the people of Los Angeles.
San Pedro High School is the primary senior high school within the region and is home to protected landmarks in the form of The English Language Arts and Administration Buildings (c. 1939, 1936 resp.).
In 2003, the
San Pedro Waterfront Red Car Line was opened, along the waterfront between downtown San Pedro and the Cruise Ship Terminal. This tiny strip of track is of no use to anyone(except tourists for photo-op value) and stands as testament to pork spending within municipal bureaucracy. This line includes two newly constructed streetcars built to resemble the wood-bodied cars used in the early days of the
Pacific Electric railway, which once operated more than 1,000 miles of track running city and interurban streetcars in Southern California. The 1.5 mile line actually operates along former PE trackage. The line, built and maintained by the
Port of Los Angeles, also has one original restored
Pacific Electric streetcar, which is used only for special charter excursions and special events. This original car was used as a model for construction of the two new replica streetcars. Discussions have been held to extend the line to the
Cabrillo Marine Aquarium.
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The Korean Bell of Friendship. |
San Pedro was a magnet for
European immigrants from various countries for years, reflected in thenumber of restaurants representing diverse cuisines, especially
Portuguese, Côte D'Ivoirian, Somalian, Bosnian, Turkish, Mongolian,
Croatian,
Italian and
Greek. San Pedro is home to the largest Italian American community in Southern California, centered on the "Via Italia" (South Cabrillo Avenue). Estimates state that the community numbers to about 45,013 Italian Americans. San Pedro is also considered a heart of the Croatian community in Los Angeles and the community, originally comprised of seafarers and fishermen from the
Dalmatia(especially the islands of Brač, Hvar, Vis and Korčula) region, has been present in San Pedro since European settlement began over 200 years ago. Until February 1942, San Pedro was home to a vibrant
Japanese immigrant community of about three thousand people who lived in what had been described as a "typical Japanese Fishing Village" on
Terminal Island (East San Pedro). The forty-eight hour, forced expulsion of these San Pedro residents and the razing of their homes and shops, as part of the
Japanese American internment during
World War II, is described in
Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston's memoir
Farewell to Manzanar.
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Point Fermin Lighthouse, built in the 19th century, functioned as one of the harbor's two principal lighthouses. |
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Elmer Batters, nylon/foot fetish photographer
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Charles Bukowski, author and poet, lived there in his later years.
"San Pedro is real quiet. It used to be a seaport full of whorehouses and bars. [The latter are still in abundance.] I like the quietness. They ask you how you're doing, they really want to know."*Anthony "Coach" Dobra, coach of San Pedro High School's Champion Girls Softball team
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John S. Gibson, Jr., a
Los Angeles City Councilman, lived there until his death in
1981.
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James Hahn, former
Mayor of Los Angeles, is a current resident.
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Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, author of the popular memoir
Farewell to Manzanar on the internment of Japanese-Americans during
World War II. She briefly lived in East San Pedro (
Terminal Island).
"In those days it [East San Pedro] was a company town, a ghetto owned and controlled by the canneries. The men went after fish, and whenever the boats came back-day or night-the woman would be called to process the catch while it was fresh. One in the afternoon or four in the morning, it made no difference...I can still hear the whistleand she [Mom] and Chizu would be out of bed in the middle of the night, heading for the cannery." Excerpt from
Farewell to Manzanar*
The Minutemen: the band members for the influential and eclectic
punk rock band grew up in San Pedro and the band was formed there. Bassist/songwriter
Mike Watt still lives in San Pedro and is an active participant in its music scene. Drummer
George Hurley still lives in San Pedro, as well.
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Scott O'Dell, author of young-adult literature, lived in East San Pedro (Terminal Island) during his childhood.
"Island of the Blue Dolphins, though it is based upon the true story of a girl who lived alone on a California island for eighteen years, came from the memory of my years at San Pedro and Dead Man's Island, when, with other boys my age, I voyaged out on summer mornings in search of adventure."*
Art Pepper,
Jazz saxophonist, was born and raised there.
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Norm Schachter, three time
Super Bowl referee in the
National Football League.
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Rob Van Dam, an American professional wrestler
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San Pedro homepage*
Port of Los Angeles*
Japanese Immigrants at Terminal Island *
Japanese Immigrants at White Point *
Port of Los Angeles Waterfront Red Car Line*
Furasato: The lost Village of Terminal Island*
Citizens For A Harbor Line
