Page 110 - 2015 Travel Guide to California

LA WATERFRONT
Bring the family and explore LA’s maritime past
B Y J A C Q U E L I N E Y A U
»STROLL, DINE,
PLAY, EXPLORE!
LA Waterfront
Visitor Information
lawaterfront.org
facebook.com/LAWaterfront
FIREWORKS LIGHT UP the LA
Waterfront during the Cars & Stripes
Forever! car show, above; Banning
residence, below.
TWENTY MINUTES SOUTH of down-
town Los Angeles, framing the busiest
container port and global trade gateway in
the United States, is the LA Waterfront. This
emerging destination encompasses LA’s San
Pedro and Wilmington communities and
delights even native Angelenos, many of
whom don’t yet know that this place exists.
More than a decade ago, redevelopment
began to turn the waterfront from an indus-
trial area to a place filled with recreational
spaces, artists’ studios and restored historical
sites all geared for families and visitors.
In 1542, Portuguese explorer Juan
Rodriguez Cabrillo visited San Pedro Bay, sur-
rounded by tidal flats and marshes. Centuries
later, through the efforts of the “Father of Los
Angeles Harbor” Phineas Banning and his
sons, the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914
and the result of shipbuilding for both World
Wars, LA’s working class harbor has trans-
formed into one of the world’s busiest ports.
The LA Waterfront is not only a multi-
ethnic stew of descendants from the original
fishing families that came from Italy, Croatia,
Greece, Portugal, Norway and Japan, and of
“new” residents with Mexican and African
backgrounds, it is also home to the first
Wienerschnitzel restaurant, the world’s
largest lobster festival and the only
remaining Warner Brothers theater in the
nation (the Warner Grand, a gorgeous Art
Deco movie palace). Due to the work of John
Olguin, San Pedro’s beloved marine life edu-
cator, the nation’s first commercial whale
watching program for children launched
here in 1972, and the Frank Gehry-designed
Cabrillo Marine Aquarium was established.
For an easy way to get around, hop on the
restored LA Waterfront Red Car trolley and
explore more than fifty points of interest,
starting with the spectacular water ballet at the
Gateway Fanfare Fountain near the World
Cruise Center. Visit San Pedro’s historic art dis-
trict, LA Maritime Museum, Ports O’Call Village,
CRAFTED weekend artisan marketplace, Ban-
ning Museum, the Battleship Iowa museum
and S.S. Lane Victory (fully operational World
War II era cargo ship museum). Events include
open art studios during 1st Thursday Artwalks,
live music performances and annual classic car
shows and film festivals.
LA WATERFRONT
108 2015 T R AV E L G U I D E TO C A L I F O R N I A