Port of Los Angeles + Long Beach

plinko · #1 Posted **Feb 18, 2020, 6:05 AM**

The area around San Pedro Bay is home to what is (combined), the 5th largest port in the world and the largest in the Americas. While not as naturally stunning as say, San Diego or San Francisco Bay, the mudflats of Terminal Island and associated environs are brutally industrial, but also bracketed by the Palos Verdes Peninsula and downtown Long Beach.

I've been spending some time down there for a project Rolling Hills, and have been able to do more exploration than I normally get to do with the kids. We generally hit Long Beach about once a year to do the Aquarium of the Pacific, but there are beautiful neighborhoods throughout the area which i have yet to really scratch beyond drive-throughs.

Interestingly, in the 1890's, Santa Monica had designs on creating a major port in that city on Santa Monica Bay. The city of Los Angeles had other ideas and eventually annexed all the way through Wilmington and San Pedro by 1910 and lobbied congress and the President to provide funds to create a major port.

It's the largest polluter in the region, but absolutely vital to the economy of the state and the nation. Cabrillo actually called it the "Bay of Smokes". Interesting prognostication.

Originally the bay had three natural islands, Terminal, Mormon, and Deadman's. Terminal was substantially enlarged over many years, including being home to the U.S. Navy's Pacific Fleet from World War II through the early 1990's. Mormon Island was captured onto the rear of the bay with landfill, and Deadman's Island used to sit at the mouth of the LA River, and was dredged and demolished as a part of a Long Beach Port expansion.

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The Vincent Thomas Bridge was built in 1962 and substantially altered access to the harbor. It's not a particularly long bridge, but it seems to have one of the most arched decks on a suspension bridge I've ever driven on.

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Santa Catalina Island some 20+ miles offshore. Most of the ferry service to the island originates from San Pedro or Long Beach (though Newport Beach has seasonal service).

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The breakwater is 8.5 miles long, with a large break for shipping traffic to each of the ports. Originally the breakwater was only 3.5 miles long, built in 1899, but enlarged 2X before World War II. The eastern breakwater is a source of much controversy as it severely affects the tides and beach conditions in the City of Long Beach.

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Some of the properties up in the Palos Verdes hills are absolutely stunning, and quite expensive.

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Once upon a time, Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose was housed within the dome, before being moved to Oregon.

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The Gerald Desmond Bridge, a steel arch bridge on the eastern side of the port leading to downtown Long Beach, is being replaced by a new cable-stayed span, with towers well over 500ft tall.

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I find cranes deeply fascinating.

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A very zoomed in shot of downtown Los Angeles some 20 miles distant from the top of Rolling Hills (only accessible if you can get through the gate).

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This is one of the few photos I have of San Pedro, which has nice bones and a decent commercial district.

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I loathe cruise ships, and both ports are major launch points.

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The USS Iowa sits in San Pedro, as a museum.

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Long Beach has a wonderful and interesting architectural history, and the 4 small oil islands just off downtown were disguised as modernist apartment towers and festooned with interesting curvilinear walls and palms. The islands are named after the Apollo 1 astronauts.

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Long Beach City

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This is the old Long Beach Civic Center, a wonderful example of Brutalist architecture, now being renovated substantially now that the City government has moved across the street.

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Long Beach used to have a boardwalk with rides, etc. similar to Coney Island (though smaller). Now it has a cheesy pedestrian bridge with a structure like a coaster.

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Ocean Boulevard east of downtown out to Belmont Shores has some wonderful old mansions pre-war and apartment buildings. One of these days I need to get over there and take some photos.

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Thanks to ChrisLA for his thread on the new central library by SOM. It's a wonderful place to grab a desk and work for the day if necessary.

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