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(cont'd)
Construction and Development of the Harbor
Berth 240 - View of Main Channel taken from Immigration Station
While city officials were primarily concerned with port infrastructure and
how to encourage and utilize regional economic development, they also understood
the importance of developing a port of global prominence. This was reflected in
additional improvements to the Harbor between 1911 and 1912. During that period,
the first 8,500-foot section of the breakwater was completed, and the Main Channel
was widened to 800 feet and dredged to a depth of 30 feet to accommodate the largest
vessels of that era. Concurrently, Southern Pacific Railroad completed its first
major wharf in San Pedro, allowing railcars to efficiently load and unload goods
simultaneously.
Berth 240 - Looking easterly from the turn in the
Timm's Point Viaduct
In 1914, the City of Los Angeles completed one of many large municipal terminals
in the Harbor, and in 1917, the Port constructed its first bonded warehouse to
store goods. In 1923, the City of Los Angeles passed a harbor improvement bond
measure that resulted in the construction of additional wharves to meet the demands
of increased imports and exports. By 1929, in an effort to streamline the railroad
portion of shipping in the Harbor, various railroad companies consolidated their
operations under the title of the Harbor Belt Line Railroad.
Despite a weak economy, the Harbor Commission continued to make improvements
during the Depression years, including a new breakwater extension, completed by
1937, and new cargo and passenger terminals. The federal government's Works Progress
Administration helped the Port finance passenger and freight terminals, as well
as wharf and other improvements.
Following World War II, the Los Angeles Harbor District launched a broad restoration
program. Many of the facilities in the Harbor required maintenance that had been
delayed during the war years. Although the adjacent Long Beach Harbor conducted
its own improvements while battling subsidence (the "sinking" of the land from
many years of oil extraction), the Los Angeles Harbor District improved a number
of its buildings and removed many temporary wartime buildings.
Looking east from a ship docked at Berth 191
In recent years, the advent of containerization resulted in dramatic changes
at the Port. Because of this new mode of shipping, the Port, like major new and
old harbors, modernized facilities to meet the needs of the new geometry required
by containerization. In addition to the new (container size and shape driven)
configurations, larger cranes and concrete wharves (replacing timber) were required
to handle the dramatically increased weight of cargo containers. Other major Harbor
improvements included deepening the main channel to accommodate the larger container
vessels entering the bay, purchasing land to expand terminals, and replacing older
wharves that could not bear the increased weight of newer containers. (View modern photos of the Port of Los Angeles.)
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