Well At Least We Tried

The Seaport of Redondo Beach from 1888 to 1912

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Chapter 4: Mystery of the Wharves

The Destruction of the Wharves, 1915 to 1926

The mystery of the wharves involves three factors of their existence: (1) when they were built, (2) when they were demolished, and (3) how they were demolished. This brief analysis evolved out of two footnotes to the text of Chapter 1: Building a Seaport concerning the destruction and dismantling of the wharves at Redondo Beach. In unraveling the mystery of the wharves, it is interesting to see how the various Redondo historians differ.

Wharf No. 1 Built

Chris Schaeffer in an unpublished paper, “A History of Redondo Beach” says there was a wharf that preceded Wharf No. 1. According to this account, the first wharf was wrecked entirely in a storm due to its unsubstantial construction, though what year is unspecified. Says Schaeffer, “It had extended out eight hundred feet into the water and branched off to the north an additional two hundred feet. A new wharf was built on the same location. This wharf became known as Wharf No. 1.”[111]

Albert S. Karr, in his master’s thesis “The Port of Redondo Beach (1887 – 1926)” says of the first wharf, that this “Y” pier was built in the summer of 1888. One leg of the “Y” was wrecked and never replaced. The next sentence reads “In spite of this handicap, business was good” implying that this original structure remained only altered by the storm. Karr does not indicate that the first wharf built at Redondo was a different one than Wharf No. 1, as Schaeffer does.[112]

F. S. Haynes, in another unpublished paper, “City of the Piers” says that Wharf No. 1 was built in 1889.[113] Dennis Shanahan in the book Old Redondo[114] gives no date and repeats Karr’s version that one leg of the original “Y” was wrecked in a storm, but the surviving structure remained. Shanahan does say that the first vessel called at the port of Redondo Beach in June of 1889, yet the first official wreck report for an occurrence at Redondo is dated July 16, 1888 (see Wreck Report #6 on page 118). In this report, the master of the D.C. Murray says that on July 9, he “tried to move the vessel to the wharf” before she was thrown on to the beach.

Wharf No. 2 Built

Schaeffer says “a second wharf” was built in 1890, referring to Wharf No. 2 without calling it by this name. Karr says Wharf No. 2 was built in 1895 citing the Long Beach Press Telegram, April 11, 1926.[115] Haynes also says that Wharf No. 2 was built in 1895 and that this Wharf was the “Y” shaped one, “a ‘Y’ shaped structure one side tracked and the other for pedestrians and fishermen, converging 300 feet at sea and continuing out as a single pier another 175 feet.” Haynes’ confusion is understandable because photographs show Wharf No. 2 as a straight pier with a curved railroad track along the north side (Figure 65). The tracks ran parallel to the beach then curved out to the wharf joining, as Haynes says, offshore. Nevertheless, Wharf No. 2 was not the “Y” pier the original Redondo Beach Development Company designed with the help of William Hammond Hall (See Figure 3 on page 6). That pier had the open end of the “Y” to the sea not the shore as according to Haynes. Shanahan says the Redondo Railway and the wharf (i.e., Wharf No. 1) were sold in 1894 and “the next year” Wharf No. 2 was built by the new owners.[116]

Wharf No. 3 Built

Wharf No. 3, according to Karr, was begun in 1903 and in 1904 it was open for business. Karr again cites the Press Telegram, April 11, 1926.[117] Haynes says Wharf No. 3 was completed in 1903. Shanahan simply says Wharf No. 3 was built “some time after” Wharf No. 2.[118]

Wharf No. 1 Demolished

The confusion does not end with the building of the wharves. As to the demolition of Wharf No. 1, Karr says it had been “unused for years” but exactly what year is not specified.[119] Haynes says it “disintegrated in the great storm of 1914.” According to Haynes, 13.74 inches of rain fell in January and February driven by 85 mile per hour winds. Shanahan says it was 14 inches of rain late January through February and winds reached 85 miles per hour. Shanahan’s account seems a bit confused: he says Wharf No. 1 was destroyed in a storm on March 28, 1915,[120] and says it was “ripped apart by a killer storm in 1914”.[121]

According to Rick Becker in an article entitled “Redondo Beach History” published on the Redondo Beach Historical Society Web site, the Pacific Electric Company, offered to sell Wharf No. 1 to the City for $17,500 in late 1914. The City had not yet agreed to buy it when it was wrecked in the May 1915 storm.[122]

Whether the remains of the wharf were eventually sold to the city or the Pacific Electric abandoned it, the city was receiving bids from contractors for the wharf’s removal in 1915. In December, Redondo Beach accepted the low bid for diving, blasting, and removing the wharf from marine contractor P. W. “Big Dutch” Kranz, a resident of Redondo. His diving time was under two weeks, and he saved the city over $2,000 from the next highest bidder.[123]

About a year before this, in May of 1914, Kranz had a near escape from death in a diving accident at Wharf No. 1 while salvaging two large mooring anchors for the Associated Oil Company lost by the tug Navigator. Underwater salvage during this time was done with a “Hard Hat” diving suit where, using a hand pump, air was forced through a hose directly into the helmet by a topside attendant on the wharf or the deck of a boat.[124] The hand pump could only provide an air supply at a pressure slightly above bottom pressure, so any hose rupture while the diver was submerged would cause the outside water pressure to become greater than the air pressure in the helmet. The result is that the diver’s breastplate pushes down on his shoulders and the pressure of the water on his ribs makes it difficult for him to breathe what little air may actually reach the helmet. The diver feels his eyeballs being forced out of their sockets, and the skin of his face and neck become swollen and turn black from ruptured blood vessels. This happened to Kranz in 125 feet of water below Wharf No. 1. Within three minutes after the break in the air hose was discovered he was brought up. Kranz, recovered from this accident and continued working at the Port of Redondo Beach for several more years. He was still working by 1928 when he won a contract to demolish the concrete “endless pier”, built in 1916, and construct a new Municipal Pier to replace it.[125]

Wharf No. 2 Demolished

According to Schaeffer, Wharf No. 2 was unusable because of sand silting but gives no date. Karr says Wharf No. 2 was removed soon after World War I.[126] Haynes says it was torn down in 1916 before the war. Shanahan says Wharf No. 2 was “totally destroyed” on March 6, 1919[127] and presents a photograph (Figure 86 on page 100) dated 1919, showing the remains of Wharf No. 1, the “Endless Pier”, and Wharves No. 2 and 3 intact with steamers alongside.[128] On another page, Shanahan gives a different date saying that Wharf No 2 was “nearly destroyed by a storm in 1915, and was torn down the next year.”[129] Shanahan also concurs with Schaeffer saying it was out of use because of sand silting.[130]

Rick Becker, drawing on the Gloria Snyder collection at the Redondo Beach Public Library, as well as other sources, also mentions the storm of March 6, 1919. According to Becker, the Pacific Electric Company chose not to rebuild the damaged Wharf No. 2 because the volume of cargo did not justify the maintenance of two Wharfs (Wharf No. 3 was still intact). Becker adds that local fisherman used what remained of Wharf No. 2 until it was torn down in 1920.[131]

Wharf No. 3 Demolished

Wharf No. 3 is the one everybody agrees on. This wharf was dismantled by the Pacific Electric Company in 1926. Rick Becker tells the story of this Wharf:

The 20 year lease on Wharf No. 3 was set to expire August 19, 1923. On July 2, 1923 at the City Council Chambers, the Board of Directors heard a debate over the Pacific Electric’s application for an additional 20 year franchise. Opposing speakers expressed opinions that freight service was no longer appropriate in the resort town of Redondo Beach. That night the Board unanimously denied a renewal of the P.E. pier franchise. Lumber companies of Redondo, Culver City, Hollywood and other areas then brought the matter before the State Railroad and Warehouse Commission. Redondo held a special election in December 1923 on the issue, and the majority of voters approved a short franchise extension.[132]

The extension lasted long enough for the local lumber companies to arranged shipments to be handled through San Pedro/Wilmington. By June 1926, the demolition of Wharf No. 3 was completed.[133]

Interpretation

This type of comparative analysis often shows that some works have more credibility than others do. Histories that cite their sources help the reader to evaluate the work seeing not only what sources were used, but also how the author’s conclusions were reached. Due diligence with regard to proper citation can give the work credibility. Without citing sources however, the work can appear questionable.

Schaeffer cites an occasional newspaper article. The most complete and most credible work is Karr’s. He documents thoroughly whereas the other works suffer from a serious lack of documentation. Shanahan offers an explanation (i.e., disclaimer) for this deficiency in remarks preliminary to his bibliography:

Since this has been an affectionate overview and not a work of scholarship, we will not encumber it with scholarly apparatus [like footnotes] which might be misleading.[134]

It is not immediately apparent how exactly Shanahan imagines footnotes become misleading. While this source is quite attractive in its presentation, there are some problems with Old Redondo. Various inconsistencies in the narrative, such as those already mentioned in this chapter, make the book a little frustrating for researchers. At times, Shanahan’s book raises more questions than it answers.

The goal of the historian is not to mislead but to uncover the true human condition as it existed in the community. Just about everything is the stuff of history, (diaries, letters, official documents, photographs, etc.), and the task of the historian is to retell the story. Through research and analysis, one can begin to construct a narrative that relates these facts in a meaningful way. The story of the American community is an important one and needs to be retold. Of course, most authors who set out to tell the story of their community do so because of a love for the subject and a natural affection for their community. It is not easy to set this inherent bias aside and set to the task objectively, still the attempt must be made. Some Redondo historians have been more successful at this than others have, and again, Karr seems to have succeeded where others failed. Overall, Karr’s treatment of the subject of the Port of Redondo Beach seems the most credible and helpful.

[111] Chris J. Schaeffer, “A History of Redondo Beach,” Redondo Beach, 1931. (Typewritten.) pp. 3- 4

[112] Albert S. Karr, “The Port of Redondo Beach (1887-1926)” (Thesis, University of Southern California, 1947), p. 16.

[113] F. S. Haynes, “City of the Piers,” Redondo Beach, 1972. (Typewritten.) p. 2.

[114] Dennis Shanahan, Old Redondo: A Pictorial History of Redondo Beach, California, designed by Wm. Fridrich (Redondo Beach: Legends Press, 1982), pp. 43.

[115] Karr, “Port Redondo”, page 44.

[116] Shanahan, Old Redondo, page 47.

[117] Karr, “Port Redondo”, page 47.

[118] Shanahan, Old Redondo, page 47.

[119] Karr, “Port Redondo”, page 72.

[120] Shanahan, Old Redondo, pages 80 and 102.

[121] Shanahan Old Redondo, page 99.

[122] Rick Becker. Redondo Beach History. Internet. Available from http://www.redondobeachhistorical.org/rb_pier.htm. [April 15, 2003]. Becker draws on source material obtained from: Gloria Snyder, The Redondo Reflex newspaper (various editions), Old Redondo (Legends Press), Ride the Big Red Cars (Trans-Anglo Books) and Santa Fe, Route to the Pacific (Omni Publications).

[123] Torrance Parker, “The Limitations and Hazards of Hand Pump Diving” UnderWater Magazine, Fall 1998, (Houston, Texas: Doyle Publishing Company). Internet. Available from http://www.diveweb.com/uw/archives/arch/uw-fa98.04.htm. [March 13, 2003].

[124] The aqua-lung was invented by Jacques Cousteau and Emile Gagnan in 1943.

[125] Torrance Parker, “Hazards of Hand Pump Diving”. Kranz’s story appeared in the May 6, 1914, edition of the San Pedro Daily News under the headline “Big Dutch near Death's Door”.

[126] Karr, “Port Redondo”, page 72.

[127] Shanahan, Old Redondo, page 81.

[128] Shanahan, Old Redondo, page 102.

[129] Shanahan, Old Redondo, pages 100 and 205.

[130] Shanahan, Old Redondo, page 100. Shanahan also mentions that the municipal pier was erected in 1916 but washed out in a couple of years (meaning 1919?). Haynes also says the pleasure pier was nearly destroyed and it became useless until it was renovated in 1929; “City of the Piers”, page 2.

[131] Rick Becker. Redondo Beach History.

[132] Rick Becker. Redondo Beach History.

[133] Some of the pylons from this wharf are still in place under the surface and are regularly explored by divers.

[134] Shanahan, Old Redondo, page 207.

"As soon as you bring historians in, you run into problems. You get distortions."

Anonymous (Carroll College History Club)

 

Figure 64: A view of all three wharves at Redondo Beach looking south. (Redondo Beach Historical Commission)

Figure 65: Wharf No. 2 from the Hotel Redondo. (Earnest Marquez Collection)

Figure 66: The remains of Wharf No. 1, after it had been destroyed by a storm in 1915. (Redondo Beach Historical Commission)

Figure 67: Diving helmet (Townsville Maritime Museum)

Figure 68: Storm Damage to Wharf No. 2, 1919. (Redondo Beach Historical Commission)

Figure 69: Aerial view of Redondo Beach in 1926. The only surviving wharf, Wharf No. 3, would be dismantled this same year. (Los Angeles Public Library)