In celebration of San Pedro’s rich industrial history and at risk of a mountain of angry letters to the editor, I have to say that I love the industrial design of West Harbor.
It’s authentic to who we are and our history as a port town. The warehouse-like buildings in phase one are now a blank canvas for the tenants to customize and make uniquely “Pedro.” I look forward to the Los Angeles waterfront merging its industrial roots with active and engaging new offerings. I’m confident that when completed, people will welcome West Harbor like they did Brouwerij West and CRAFTED.
Except for Ports O’ Call Restaurant and the San Pedro Fish Market, there wasn’t a lot of authenticity in Ports O’ Call Village. I loved going to both restaurants and really miss Ports O’ Call Restaurant, the candy store, the clothing shops, and the cute small businesses from the old village, but to me, there wasn’t a lot of San Pedro authenticity in the village’s design.
Built in 1963, Ports O’ Call Village was meant to look both quaint and exotic. The main restaurant started as Polynesian-themed, with palm trees, a lagoon, and wooden footbridges. Ports O’ Call Village was a bit like a 1960s theme park with a tiki bar, Asian-inspired restaurant, pirate ship, and sky tower nestled within a New England fishing village. In the 1980s, it had reached an average of more than one million annual visitors. By 2002, half of the spaces were vacant.
San Pedro is an industrial town built on the success of many industries, from shipbuilding to fishing to cruise ships, and it has a port that moves more cargo than any other port in the Western Hemisphere. The Port of Los Angeles has always been the biggest or the best at building industries that have changed port operations worldwide.
As a harbor commissioner, I’ve read as much as I can about the port’s history and operations. Some of the books I’ve enjoyed are Chasing Zero by Kat Janowicz, Port of Los Angeles by Ernest Marquez, and books by former POLA executive director, Dr. Geraldine Knatz—Port of Los Angeles, Conflict, Commerce and the Fight for Control and Terminal Island: Lost Communities on America’s Edge.
On the Port of LA’s YouTube channel, you’ll find hundreds of videos and documentaries on the history of our area. I recommend watching The Port of Los Angeles: A History (a four-part series), The Smell of Money, and Great Unions Make Great Families.
I also watch Kings of Fi$h, now playing on Amazon Prime Video. It documents the pains that San Pedro Fish Market went through when it was faced with eviction. The fish market remains open in a new temporary location and will be one of a few returning tenants from Ports O’ Call Village.
West Harbor is bringing new restaurants and experiences to San Pedro in a way that is authentic to our industrial town. Building One, the first phase, is more than 375,000 square feet of retail, dining, and entertainment. There will be 1,200 linear feet of public dock for boat access and plenty of areas to sit and watch the ships go by.
The promenade will stretch for miles, taking you along the water’s edge from the Fanfare fountains near Catalina Express to West Harbor and beyond. I would love to see design ideas for monuments to honor all the industries, people, and cultures that built this town to be featured along the promenade.
The dirt beneath the warehouses required a lot of engineering to create such ample indoor and outdoor space that’s also flexible and can be used for future generations. Rather than trying to look like something or someplace else, West Harbor is adding to what’s available here in San Pedro: new restaurants, new art venues, and, if approved, a new 6,200-seat amphitheater. Check it out for yourself at westharborla.com. spt
