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FEBRUARY 22, 2019 DIGS.NET PRESENTED BY CINDY SHEARIN, THE SHEARIN GROUP STRAND HILL CHRISTIE'S INTERNATIONAL REAL ESTATE FEATURE ON PAGE 76 SLEEK A BEACH- MODERN HOME GLORIES IN ITS PRIME WALK STREET LOCATION + INSIDE AN ARTIST'S HAND SACRED SPACE FOR THE LOVE OF ART SOPHISTICATION + A RENAISSANCE IN DTLA Reopened last year, Hotel Figueroa kept the best of its past PRESENTED BY CINDY SHEARIN, THE SHEARIN GROUP OF STRAND HILL | CHRISTIE'S INTERNATIONAL REAL ESTATE 310.200.8318 LIST PRICE $8,300,000 PHOTOGRAPH BY LINDA COTTER FEATURE ON PAGE 76 CREATIVE SERVICES & AD DESIGN/ORIGINAL ARTWORK PROVIDED EXCLUSIVELY BY SOUTH BAY DIGS. © 2019 m3 Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Publisher Associate Publisher Editorial Director Director of Operations Marketing Director Digital Media Director Senior Graphic Designer Graphic Designer Contributing Writers Senior Staff Photographer Warren J. Dow Carol Skeldon Amy Adams Lauren Potter Kyle Coats Kieron McKay Ryan Lyse Jim Alba Wendy Bowman Jenn Thornton Karine Monié Joclene Davey Paul Jonason SAN PEDRO – EARLY PORT HISTORY S O U T H B A Y History Tidbits By 1835, San Pedro had become the most important port on the Pacific Coast. Because of shallow water and mud flats, ships had to drop anchor about a mile off shore, and small boats would then transfer passengers and cargo ashore. These would often capsize, spilling both passengers and cargo into the muddy water. During this time, the Sepulveda family built a crude dock and landing at the base of cliffs near present day Fourteenth and Beacon Streets in San Pedro, which became known as Sepulveda Landing. Two major geographical features of San Pedro Harbor at this time were Deadman's Island (which was later dredged and became part of the current breakwater) and Rattlesnake Island (which later became Terminal Island). Rattlesnake Island was known as such because it was home to a large population of rattlesnakes who migrated down the Los Angeles River. The name was changed to Terminal Island by the railroad company because of the terminus of the rail line established there. In 1851, 21 year old Phineas Banning arrived in San Pedro from Philadelphia. Banning, and his partner, George Alexander, soon began operating a stagecoach service from San Pedro. When August Timm's bought the Sepulveda Landing, early in 1852, Banning was concerned (Sepulveda Landing then became known as "Timm's Landing"). When word came from Washington that San Pedro would soon be declared an official port of entry with its own customhouse, Banning negotiated to buy a tract of land from the Sepulvedas, located near Timm's Landing, and promptly built his own wharf. In November 1854, Banning and a group of investors (J.G Downey, Don Benito Wilson, and William Sanford) purchased 2,400 acres adjacent to San Pedro, for port expansion. This land later became the city of Wilmington, after Banning's Delaware birthplace. In the late 1860's Banning realized that for San Pedro Harbor to become a center of commerce, that three things needed to be accomplished: Building a railroad, constructing a break water, and dredging the harbor to accommodate large ships and to allow them to dock directly at the wharfs. In October 1869, construction was completed on the Los Angeles and San Pedro Railroad, Southern California's first railroad. On March 2, 1871, Congress voted an appropriation for construction of a rock jetty from the lower end of Rattlesnake Island to Dead Man's Island. In 1872, the Southern Pacific Railroad agreed to run their railroad through Los Angeles and purchased the Los Angeles and San Pedro Railroad. In 1881, they built an extension of the Los Angeles and San Pedro railroad across the Wilmington Lagoon on pilings to a point near Timm's Point, thus enabling direct railroad access to the deep water wharf. Phineas Banning died in 1882, but his dream of making San Pedro a major port of entry to the United States would soon be realized. The above is an excerpt from my book "Historic Tales of Palos Verdes and the South Bay". For more info see http://www.southbayhistory.com. DRE#: 01368971 Maureen Megowan 310.541.6416 mdmegowan@gmail.com 28 DIGS.NET | 2.22.2019

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