Port Redondo

Well At Least We Tried

The Seaport of Redondo Beach from 1888 to 1912

Home	Preface	Seaport	Presence	Six Days	Mystery	Legacy	Chronology	Sources	Additional Topics	Site Map	About

Additional Topics

The Landing at San Pedro/Wilmington

San Pedro had always been considered to be the "Port of Los Angeles" or the closest thing to it. In 1886, Col. Mendell of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers surveyed the California coast stating that there were no natural harbors on this coast except for San Francisco and San Diego. Of the various open bays and landings that afforded at least some shelter, "the bay of San Pedro is the best known... and is the only one which has now, or ever has had foreign commerce."

Figure 97: Photo of Dead Man's Island (at the top of the frame) in San Pedro from a daguerreotype taken by photographer William Godfrey in 1850. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Figure 98: The landing at San Pedro in 1860. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Figure 99: Wilmington harbor in 1870, showing the Los Angeles and San Pedro Railroad completed by Phineas Banning in 1869. This was the first railroad to the harbor. Earlier, freight was transported to Los Angeles by ox cart or horse-drawn wagon. Photographer Godfrey Photo. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Figure 100: Wilmington harbor at the foot of Canal Avenue, at Avalon Boulevard. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Figure 100a: San Pedro, California, 1882. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Figure 101: San Pedro Harbor in 1885. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Figure 102: LA Harbor in 1885 showing the many boats docked along the wharf. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Early Development in Redondo Beach

The Redondo Beach Development Company bought the 434 acres known as the "Ocean Tract" from the Dominguez family, owners of the Rancho San Pedro. Their intention was to develop Redondo Beach as a resort community. After subdividing the ocean tract into lots however, the developers could only manage to sell less than forty lots in four years. Having missed the land boom of the early 1880s, the company was finally sold in 1889.

Figure 103: Ocean View House, the first hotel at Redondo Beach, September 1888. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Figure 104: Redondo Beach in the late 1880s showing the earliest structures. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Figure 105: Redondo Beach from the wharf showing the railroad depot and casino. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Figure 106: Wharf No. 1. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Figure 107: Pacific Avenue, Redondo Beach in 1891. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Figure 108: Pacific Avenue, Redondo Beach. (Los Angeles Public Library)

The Hotel Redondo

The 225-room Hotel Redondo was opened May 2, 1890. It was located on the bluffs above the beach between Wharves No. 1 and 2. Tourists could walk up the walkway from the wharves or ride in from Los Angeles by rail and step off the train right in front of the hotel. A combination of factors caused business to decline through the late teens and twenties. Though prohibition may have contributed to the decline, the main factor was the lack of passenger traffic as the the Pacific Coast Steamship Company and others stopped calling at Redondo in favor of the developed harbor of Los Angeles at San Pedro. The Hotel Redondo was demolished in 1925.

Figure 109: Hotel Redondo. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Figure 110: Hotel Redondo from Wharf No. 2. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Figure 111: Approach to Hotel Redondo from the boardwalk. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Figure 112: Panoramic view of the Hotel Redondo and grounds. Wharf No. 1 is shown at the far left. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Figure 113: Ballroom of the Hotel Redondo. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Figure 114: Dinning room of the Hotel Redondo. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Figure 115: Billard room of the Hotel Redondo. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Figure 116: Interior of the Hotel Redondo. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Port Los Angeles: The "Long Wharf"

Port Los Angeles began operations in 1891. In order to reach water deep enough to accommodate large ships, the "Long Wharf" extended 4,700 feet into Santa Monica Bay making it the world's longest wharf. It had two sets of tracks that branched out into seven sets of tracks at the 130 foot seaward end. The docking area could accommodate three coal ships at once.

Figure 117: The Long Wharf. A white cloud of smoke can be seen from a train traveling out to the end of the wharf. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Figure 118: The Long Wharf from the end of the wharf towards the shore. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Figure 119: Passengers stand beside a Southern Pacific train on the Long Wharf . (Los Angeles Public Library)

Cargo Lighters

Lighters are flat bottomed vessels for conveying cargo from ship to shore. Cargo is loaded into the lighters which are then towed ashore and unloaded. The use of lighters is necessary when ships are unable to get directly to the dockside. Lighters are often used in salvage when a ship has run aground.

Figure 120: San Pedro Harbor showing cargo lighters on the shore in the foreground. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Redondo Wharf Scenes

Between 1888 and 1903 there were three wharves built at the port of Redondo Beach. The following three scenes show activity on the earliest wharf built, Wharf No. 1.

Figure 121: Unloading railroad ties on Wharf No. 1. Many of these ties came from Hilo Hawaii and Japan. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Figure 122 A steamship (probably the P.C.S.S.Co.'s Santa Rosa) docked at Wharf No. 1 taken from the Hotel Redondo as a passenger walks up the walkway to the Hotel. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Figure 123: A schooner anchored off the Wharf at Redondo. (Author's Collection)

Figure 124: The Brittish ship Kirkcudbrightshire and other vessels waiting to dock at Wharf No. 1. (California Historical Society)

Lumber Shipping at San Pedro

The building of the city of Los Angeles in the later nineteenth and early twentieth century required massive importation of lumber by way of San Pedro and Redondo Beach. The amount of lumber loaded onto railroad cars and reshipped to Los Angeles was often several times greater through San Pedro than it was by way of Redondo Beach.

Figure 125: Lumber schooner unloading at San Pedro Harbor. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Figure 126: Loading lumber from their ship to railroad. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Figure 127: The "Crescent Wharf" at San Pedro showing the lumber yard and various shipping vessels docked alongside the wharf. Railroad tracks run between the stacks of lumber. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Figure 128: San Pedro ca. 1890, showing a lumber yard in the foreground with Dead Man's Island and breakwaters in the background. (Los Angeles Public Library)

San Pedro Wharf Scenes

The following scenes show the port of San Pedro during the time Redondo Beach was operating in full force. As big as the business was at Redondo, it was always bigger at San Pedro.

Figure 129: San Pedro harbor, ca. 1900, showing a schooner rigged steamship alongside the Los Angeles Terminal Railway wharf. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Figure 130: Front Street, San Pedro Harbor. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Figure 131: San Pedro harbor in 1903. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Figure 132: San Pedro in 1904. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Figure 133: San Pedro harbor in 1905 looking toward Dead Man's Island, and the mouth of the harbor. The building at the extreme left is the Southern Pacific RR depot. In the distance is a dredge at work along the breakwater. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Figure 134: The San Pedro waterfront in 1906 looking south along Harbor Boulevard from 3rd Street. The Southern Pacific depot is on the left side and the small domed building on the hill is the Carnegie library. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Drawings of the Planned Port of San Pedro

Plans for improving the port of San Pedro with government funding were eventually approved and construction began in April of 1899.

Figure 135: Drawing of Wilmington Harbor, showing the breakwater, channel and basin. Wilson's College (top right) was established in 1873 and existed in the early 1880's. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Figure 136: Map of from 1899 showing "San Pedro deep-water harbor as it will look when completed". (1) Point Fermin. (2) San Pedro. (3) Terminal Island. (4) Long Beach. (5) Los Angeles. (6) Wilmington. (7) Terminal Railway. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Figure 137: Drawing of the docks at San Pedro. (Los Angeles Public Library)

The "Free Harbor" Celebration

In April of 1889 construction began on the government-sponsored Los Angeles Harbor at San Pedro. The celebration in San Pedro lasted three days.

Figure 22 [Also pictured in Building a Seaport]: The "Free Harbor" Jubilee Celebration held April 26 and 27, 1899, at San Pedro. (Los Angeles Public Library).

Figure 138: Men preparing food at the barbecue during the "Free Harbor" celebration in San Pedro. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Figure 139: Men making coffee for at the "Free Harbor" celebration, San Pedro. (Los Angeles Public Library)

The Construction of Los Angeles Harbor

In April of 1899 the first of the long-planned government sponsored improvements began at San Pedro with the building of a break breakwater. Later more wharves and sea walls would be built and dock basins dredged.

Figure 140: Dredgers at work on Los Angeles Harbor. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Figure 141: The first barge of rocks taken to fill the breakwaters, in 1899. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Figure 142: Train hauling rocks for the breakwater, ca 1900. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Figure 143: Workers watch as the substructure drops another boulder into the water to fill the breakwaters, 1905. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Figure 144: The Los Angeles Harbor breakwaters at San Pedro; 9,250 feet in length. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Huntington's Buildings

Among Henry Huntington's tourist attractions on the Redondo Beach waterfront were a bathhouse and a pavilion for concerts and dancing. These buildings were located near Wharf No. 1, running south. The first pavilion would be replaced by a grander pavilion in 1907. The Bathhouse would be replaced in 1909 by the "Plunge" and advertised as the "largest indoor saltwater heated pool in the world." Both these structures were built in what early 20th century American industrialists like Henry Huntington imagined to be "the Moorish style." The Plunge was four-stories tall and housed three pools heated by Pacific Light and Power's steam plant (originally built to generate electricity for the Red Cars). A diving tower, two diving boards, and a trapeze were features of the large main pool.

Figure 145: The Pavilion. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Figure 146: The Saltwater Plunge. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Figure 147: Huntington's buildings from Wharf No. 1, showing part of the plunge at extreme left, the casino and Pavilion. (Los Angeles Public Library)

The Port of San Pedro After 1912

After the decision for was made to develop the port of Los Angeles at San Pedro, building supplies, lumber, coal and just about everything else came to L.A. by way of this port. The port of Redondo Beach was left with nothing but passengers, and gradually became a nonentity along with "Port Los Angeles" at Santa Monica.

Figure 148: Harbor Boulevard looking south in 1912 showing ships anchored in the harbor, railroad tracks and cars, and buildings. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Figure 149: Los Angeles Harbor, 1915, showing a lumber schooner alongside the dock, stacks of lumber on the docks and loaded on railroad cars. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Figure 150: San Pedro Harbor showing sailing ships anchored on both sides of the channel with railroad tracks and cars in the foreground. (Los Angeles Public Library)

The Storm of 1915

In March of 1915, the devastating combination of heavy rainfall, high tides and high winds created conditions that wrecked much of the Redondo waterfront. Wharf No. 1 was completely destroyed, Wharf No. 2 was severely damaged as was the waterfront roller coaster, the "Lightning Racer". It was called the "racer" because it had two parallel tracks which gave riders the sensation of racing those in the adjoining car. The racer was so severely damaged in this storm that it had to be demolished, and another roller coaster, the "Giant Dipper" was subsequently constructed nearby.

Figure 151: The Redondo Beach boardwalk at high tide, 1915. Shows Wharf No. 1 still intact in the distance, but it would be a combination of high tides and high seas that would soon destroy the wharf. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Figure 152: Wharf No. 1 wreckage after the storm of 1915. The structure is the ticket office. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Figure 153: Wharf No. 2, severely damaged in the storm. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Figure 154: The storm so severely damaged the Lightning Racer, (opened July 4, 1913) that it had to be dismantled. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Redondo Beach After 1912

Horace Bell, in his memoirs On the Old West Coast remarks that after the decline in shipping activities at Redondo Beach, "the place lapsed into the status of an indifferent bathing beach."

Figure 155: Fishing from the Redondo pleasure pier, 1916. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Figure 156: The Pavilion and Wharf No. 1 in 1925. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Figure 157: Crowds of bathers at Redondo, May 1926. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Figure 158: Aerial view of Redondo Beach in 1926. The only surviving wharf, Wharf No. 3, would be dismantled this same year. (Los Angeles Public Library)

Shipwrecks at Redondo Beach after 1912

Chapter 3 entitled Six Days of Inconvenience covers shipwricks and mishaps up until the year 1912. Redondo continued to have strandings and shipwrecks after that time, however. The Shipwreck Database http://shipwrecks.slc.ca.gov lists fifteen wrecks between 1912 and 1977:

The William Bowden, a four-masted schooner was converted to a barge in 1925. She was wrecked at Redondo Beach on February 12, 1926.

The Fullerton, a barkentine built in 1902, was wrecked at Redondo Beach in 1927 where she was serving as a fishing barge.

Figure 89 [also pictured in Reading Between the Lines]: The Fullerton stranded at Redondo Beach in 1927

The Thomas P. Emigh, a four-masted barkentine, was built in 1901. She was later bought by H C Monstad (builder of Redondo's Monstad pier) to serve as a fishing barge. On April 20 and 21,. 1932, a nor’ wester hit the Southern California coast. Gusts up to 50 miles an hour drove four fishing barges ashore: the Melrose (anchored off Whites Point, San Pedro), the Gracia, the Charles Brown (off Laguna Beach), and the Thomas. P. Emigh (off Redondo Beach). All four barges ended up as total losses.

The Georgina, a four-masted bark, was built in 1901. She was laid up in 1923 when she was sold to Captain Larsen of Redondo Beach to become a fishing barge. In 1935 she was driven ashore in high winds.

The Irene, a fishing barge built in 1900, was blown ashore at Redondo in 1937.

The Novus, a fishing barge, was blown ashore at Redondo in 1940.

The Columbia Contract #41, a fishing barge, foundered off Redondo in 1941.

The Pan Pacific foundered off Redondo in 1950.

The Retriever, a fishing barge built in 1922 and owned by Gordan McRae, foundered off Redondo in 1951.

The Bonnie K, a fishing barge was driven ashore and wrecked near the Monstad Pier in a weekend storm on April 29, 1951 that killed three men and caused thousands of dollars in dammage. This was probably the same storm that sank Gordon McRae's Retriever.

Figure 158a: The Bonnie K stranded at Redondo. (California Historical Society)

Figure 158b: The Bonnie K stranded at Redondo, her back broken. (California Historical Society)

The Spare Time a fishing boat, exploded off Redondo in 1952.

The Sea King was wrecked near Redondo in 1956.

The Dominator, built as the liberty ship Mellville Jacoby in 1944, was sold after the war to a Greek shipping company, Compania Naviera Papanikolpulos. Thinking she was heading into Los Angeles harbor, she ran agound of Rocky Point on the Palos Verdes penensula in a thick fog in 1960.

Figure 159: The Dominator aground at Rocky Point 1960. (Los Angeles Times)

Figure 160: The Dominator was a total loss and her wreckage can still be observed on the stony beach. 1960. (Author's Collection)

The Georgia was built in 1902 and serving the Alaskan salmon industry. In 1929, she was converted to a tug then to a fishing barge in 1948. The Georgia spent the winter of 1966 safely behind the breakwater in King Harbor. When she was found to be taking on water from some unknown source she was towed out to the south side of Redondo submarine canyon where she finally sank.

Figure 160a: The Georgia as a fishing barge off Redondo Beach. (California Wreck Divers)

Figure 160b: The Georgia sinking off Redondo, 1966. Another fishing barge is pictured in the background. (California Wreck Divers)

The Sacramento, was built as the Newark in 1877 for the Southern Pacific railroad as a ferry in San Francisco. She was brought to Redondo Beach in 1956 to serve as a fishing barge. On December 2, 1968 a winter storm caused the Sacramento to capsize and sink.

Figure 160c: The fishing barge Sacramento. (California Wreck Divers)

The Palawan, a liberty ship built in 1945 was sunk for an artificial reef by the Caifornia Deptment of Fish and Game in 1977.

Wharf No. 3 Dive Site Today

The following description of the wharf #3 dive site comes from the Pacific Wilderness website, an excellent resource. At this dive site today, all that remains is about 20 pilings that rise 10 feet off the sandy bottom. (Image courtesy of Pacific Wilderness Online, 2002)

"These pilings, fortunately, are divers-delights. The pilings are covered by beautiful and colorful sea anemones. Nudibranchs, octopii, sheep crabs, welks and other interesting marine life frequent these pilings. For divers who love collecting artifacts, the sandy bottom near the pilings have yielded many turn-of-the-century artifacts such as bottles and dishes, some bearing insignias unique to the era.

The outermost pilings are about 200 yards off shore right at the edge of the Redondo Submarine Canyon, in about 40 feet of water. North of the pilings, the canyon begins to drop off gradually. The pilings closest to shore are about 100 yards from the beach in 30 feet of water. To locate the pilings, swim on the surface to the end of the jetty and from there, descend to the bottom and swim on compass heading 300 (Northwest direction) for about 300 feet. If you find yourself dropping into the canyon, that means that you have missed the pier. In this case come back up the slope and head south. Using a long tether line of about 15 feet, buddy pairs may have a better chance of locating a piling on the first try. The pillars are quite far apart (30 to 50 feet). The center column of pillars are marked, each with a green tag. Each tag has holes punched in it to indicate which pillar it is. For examples, two holes in a tag indicates pillar # 2."

Figure 161: A map of the Wharf No. 3 dive site. (Pacific Wilderness Online, 2002)

Postcards from Redondo

The following are postcards showing photographs of the port of Redondo Beach. Some of these postcards document Redondo's use of fishing barges -- old vessels that fulfill their last use as a commercial fishing barge permantely anchored in the Santa Monica Bay off Redondo Beach.

Figure 162: Wharf No 2 at Redondo Beach. (Walt's Postcards).

Figure 163: The Govenor of the Pacific Coast Steamship Company, a frequent caller at Redondo Beach. (Author's Collection)

Figure 164: The President of the Pacific Coast Steamship Company, about 1909. A frequent caller at Redondo Beach. (Gasoline Alley Antiques)

Figure 165: A fishing barge off Redondo Beach. (Author's Collection)

Figure 166: The fishing barge Lahina off Redondo Beach. Built as a four-masted barkentine in 1901, she was stranded on the beach in 1933. (Author's Collection)

Figure 167: A fishing barge off Redondo Beach. (Author's Collection)

Figure 168: "A Daily Fishing Scene on the Pier at Redondo Beach,Cal." Probably Wharf No. 1.

Figure 169: The Pleasure Pier and Bath House Redondo Beach about 1916. (CardCow.com).

Figure 170: The Redondo Beach Bath House At Night, 1911 (CardCow.com)

Figure 171: The Pavilion, Casino, and Bath House at Redondo Beach. (CardCow.com)

Figure 172: Gathering moonstones at Redondo Beach, 1912. (CardCow.com)

Figure 173: A view of the Interior of the Redondo Beach Bath House,1917. (CardCow.com)

Figure 174: The New Pleasure Pier, Redondo Beach, 1921. (CardCow.com)

Figure 175: The Redondo Beach waterfront. The Pavillion is shown at the right of the picture. (TrainWeb.com)

Figure 176: King Harbor, Redondo Beach, 1960. (CardCow.com)

Do You Have Photos?

If you have photographs of the port of Redondo Beach that you would like to share,
please send them to the author:

Hosted by www.Geocities.ws