Los Angeles to Port of Los Angeles United States Tour
Approx. Time: 2 hoursActivity Level: Easy to Moderate
The harbor was an active shipping center in 1897 when a federal panel selected San Pedro Bay over other coastal communities as the site for development of a major port. Construction of the breakwater began in 1899. In 1906, the City of Los Angeles annexed a 16-mile strip of unincorporated land from its southern border to a waterfront tract in San Pedro Bay, which was christened Harbor City.
On December 9, 1907, the Los Angeles City Council created the Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners, marking the official founding of the Port of Los Angeles. In the early part of this century, the Port bustled with longshore gangs unloading millions of board feet of lumber for local construction projects. Thousands of commercial fishermen and workers in a dozen canneries were involved in catching and processing tuna. More than 20,000 ship builders were working in four yards on various cargo and tanker vessels. Busy and colorful commercial areas sprang up adjacent to the Port to accommodate these workers as well as the ship crews that would be in port of up to 10 days at a time.
The Port today may seem almost serene by comparison, yet it is part of the largest container complex in the United States, handling 3000 vessel arrivals a year, some of which transport as many as 5,000 cargo containers each voyage. A gateway for international commerce and an economic engine for the region, the Port supports one out of every 24 jobs in Southern California.
Photo courtesy of Port of Los Angeles
