USA > California > Los Angeles County > Ingersoll's century history, Santa Monica Bay cities prefaced with a brief history of the state of California, a condensed history of Los Angeles County, 1542-1908 > Part 22
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The Lincoln school building was completed in June and was dedicated by the graduating exercises of the high school class of the year. In September
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Santa Monica entertained three conventions at the same time, the Democratic, which met in a large tent on Ocean avenue; the Silver Republican, which held forth at the Arcadia, and the People's party, which met in Odd Fellows' hall. This was the year of fusions and a great deal of " fusing " was done during these sessions, with small results, as appeared in November.
1899.
January, 1899, was marked by the launching of the Santa Monica Improve- ment Club, an organization which had long been discussed and from which much was hoped. J. J. Davis was elected president, E. B. McComas vice- president, F. H. Taft secretary, Dr. S. P. Lindsey, treasurer. Sub-committees on finance, licenses, streets, pavilion, transportation, health and veterans' asso- ciation were appointed and a vigorous campaign for lower fares; for higher license for saloons ; to secure the erection of a suitable pavilion for public meet- ings ; and to capture the annual encampment of the veterans' association was begun. But like many other good things in Santa Monica, the Improvement Club seems to have exhausted its energy in getting started and it soon disappears from the scene, having accomplished only one very substantial change. Largely through its efforts the liquor license was this year raised from $300 to $500. A lively contest between the saloon men and the druggists followed this action. It was claimed that the druggists were regularly selling liquor without paying any license, and after considerable sparring, a suit was begun against a drug- gist. The druggists, however, pleaded unintentional violation of ordinance and the suits were dropped.
During this year the electric line on Ocean avenue to Montana was built and the first car was run on December 28th. In October the Southern Pacific reduced its train service to one train a day, instead of three. As they had the contract for carrying the mails, this aroused great indignation and caused much inconvenience to the business men of the town. Vigorous protests were made and resulted in a mail service over the electric road. In August it was announced that a new electric line was proposed between Santa Monica and Redondo. Mr. Abbot Kinney was the originator of the scheme and was con- fident that the project would be carried out, thus opening up a section of beach territory that had not yet been utilized and establishing a new and strong attraction for the tourist as well as a new and rapid transit line. This plan did not materialize at the time, but it has since been carried out in the Playa del Rey and Redondo line. Another ambitious scheme which was ahead of the time was the formation of the San Pedro and Santa Monica Excursion Com- pany, which put the little steamer, J. C. Elliott, on to make daily trips between the two points, landing at the Kinney and Ryan wharf. Some very enjoyable trips were thus made, but the venture did not prove profitable and was dropped.
Among new buildings of this year were an addition to the Bank of Santa
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Monica, the Collins building, corner of Utah and Second; the Tappener block on Third street, and the new power house of the Santa Monica Electric Company on the beach. This was a substantial improvement costing some $25,000. The gas plant was also built this year, including the largest gas tank in the state, the entire expenditure being over $40,000. Gas was turned into the mains December 14th and was a much appreciated improve- ment. In July, Mr. R. C. Gillis purchased 1,000 feet of beach front, north of the North Beach Bathhouse, put in a walk and erected several well constructed cottages. The Sisters of the Holy Name selected Santa Monica as a site for their convent this year and opened their school on Fourth street during the construc- tion of their handsome building on the corner of Third and Arizona. December 27th saw the destruction by fire of the Casino, which was built by the Santa Monica Improvement Company in 1888 and which had been the summer home of tennis in Southern California for many years and had seen many brilliant social affairs. The fire was evidently the work of an incendiary and caused a heavy loss as the insurance was small.
PORT LOS ANGELES .- From the time of the abandonment of the Santa Monica wharf by the Southern Pacific Company, in 1878, until the building of the " Long Wharf " in 1892-3, the people of this city hoped and worked for a new commercial wharf, which they firmly believed was all that was necessary to make their town an important center of commerce. During the later eighties and 1890-91, the agitation for securing a wharf was constant and sometimes became acrimonious.
About this time it became certain that the Santa Fe would build into Santa Monica. It also became evident that the new wharf completed in 1888 at Redondo was seriously encroaching on the business of San Pedro harbor and diverting freight from the Southern Pacific to the Santa Fe road. On Sunday, May 20, 1800, C. P. Huntington, Col. Crocker and other Southern Pacific officials, visited Santa Monica and made a careful examination of the town and surroundings. Mr. Huntington listened attentively to the arguments which various citizens presented as to the expediency of building a wharf at Santa Monica, and the great railroad magnate assured them that Santa Monica ought to have a wharf. After this, other S. P. men visited the town and the citizens of Santa Monica appointed a committee to visit San Francisco and confer with the officials of the Southern Pacific and make propositions looking to the building of a wharf,- even proposing to raise a subsidy to secure the prize. The community was kept in uncertainty as to the intention of the railroad people until 1890 when the Southern Pacific applied for a wharf franchise and put up a $5000 bond if the work were not begun within the specified time.
In August, 1891, a corps of S. P. surveyors arrived, made camp in the canyon, and began to make surveys. It was then learned that the S. P. Com- pany had secured title through Abbot Robinson to the Santa Monica Heights
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property, owned by Abbot Kinney, 247 acres on the north side of the canyon, with several hundred feet of beach frontage. It was also learned that right of way on the beach had been secured from Railroad street to the property of the company. By January, 1892, it was understood that the wharf was to be built north of the canyon and was to be the "longest wharf of its kind in the world." The people of Santa Monica were at first disappointed at the location of the new structure but when they learned of the elaborate plans to be carried out, they were satisfied to have the finest wharf in California-no matter where it was located.
March 6, 1892, the tunnel from the Railroad street to the beach was con- pleted so that the first train went through it. July 25th the first pile was driven. The work was under the supervision of the Thomson Bridge Company, of San Francisco, and was pushed as rapidly as men and money could carry it. In November, J. M. Crawley General Manager of the S. P. brought down an excursion of 200 merchants and members of the Chamber of Commerce from Los Angeles to inspect the new structure which was then 2100 feet long; and a little later H. E. Huntington, J. C. Stubbs and others of the S. P. officials in- spected the work and fully concurred in the decision that the best possible loca- tion for the wharf had been selected.
The first steamer landed on May 13th, and the Outlook, under the heading " The Dawn of Prosperity " discourses thus: "Thursday, May 11th, 1893, will long be remembered as a day fraught with deep significance to Santa Monica. It was the forerunner of an era of prosperity which shall grow into a permanent benefit, with results reaching into far ages. The important event was the landing of the first deep sea-vessel at the mammoth wharf, now nearly completed. The steamer San Mateo, of Comax, B. C., with a cargo of 4300 tons of coal consigned to the Southern Pacific, (Captain Edward Parks) enjoyed the honor of being the maiden vessel to touch at Port Los Angeles.
The citizens turned out in force to welcome the steamer, and fully 1000 people were present on the occasion, laden with flowers, the bright hues of which transformed the big collier into a "bower of beauty." Some of the citizens of Santa Monica had prepared speeches for the happy occasion, but evidently the flowers were enough for the old salt who commanded the San Mateo. The speeches were cut out. The editor of the Outlook had the advantage of the rest, however,-he published his remarks in the next issue. Among them we find this statement : " The full significance of the opening of the deep sea-port, where rail and ship come together in this particular portion of the southwest, is not yet apparent. It is a link in a grand commercial chain that will eventually belt the globe with the shortest and quickest commercial transit."
It was confidently believed at this time that the completion of this wharf would have an important bearing upon the "harbor question " and might ulti- mately result in making Santa Monica Bay the deep-sea harbor of this coast. In
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the light of present developments, the importance attached to the building of the wharf seems rather exaggerated; but it was generally thought at this time that only facilities for shipping were needed to secure the trade of the Orient. The fact that trade necessitates reciprocity seems to have been overlooked.
The wharf constructed at Port Los Angeles was certainly a structure worthy of attention and admiration. The last spike was driven by Vice-president Stevenson, who happened to be visiting in Santa Monica at the time, on July 14th, 1893. The structure is 4,700 feet from the shore. The Long Beach wharf, completed in May, of the same year, is 1600 feet ; the Redondo wharf was 800 feet, and the Outlook chronicles the San Pedro wharf as "o" feet in length. In August the new pier was carefully inspected by the Board of Ex- aminers representing the various Marine Insurance companies and shipowners and merchants. They stated: "A careful examination of the structure showed that in design and execution every precaution had been taken for strength, and due regard for safety while at same."-"In view of the foregoing facts and with the experience gained by many year's use of other outside ports in that vicinity that are similarly situated, we are of the opinion that Port Los Angeles is a suitable port of discharge and loading for steamers and sailing vessels."
In October the depot at the end of the wharf was completed and the dining room opened with a banquet to the wharf builders and several Santa Monica people. The wharf was at this time placed under the charge of A. M. Jamison, agent, who still retains this position: T. M. Polhemus, chief clerk ; F. H. Oswald and W. T. Maher, clerks ; and Captain F. E. Dronfield, who had general super- vision of the wharf and charge of the tug Collis.
The approach of the wharf proper is 3120 feet long and 26 feet wide. On the south side is a walkway eight feet wide with railing on both sides. The materials used in the approach were 1500 piles, 975,000 feet of lumber and 37 tons of bolts and spikes. The main wharf widens out to 130 feet and is over 1500 feet in length. On the north side are coal bunkers and on the south the depot, warehouses and every convenience for passengers and shippers. The piles, of Oregon pine, were creosoted and set in such a manner as to make the wharf practically immovable. It is known as one of the most substantially built wharfs in the world and has stood the test of fifteen years without strain.
The Southern Pacific Company, in locating it's wharf here was obliged to ‹lo extensive work in order to secure a proper approach and ground for neces- sary warehouses, engine houses, and so on. The entire expenditure for the Port Los Angeles undoubtedly reached a million dollars.
As soon as completed the passenger business between Los Angeles and San Francisco practically ceased at other ports, as so much time was gained by land- ing at Port Los Angeles. Los Angeles was made a Port of Entry in 1893, with Port Los Angeles, Redondo and San Pedro as sub-ports. Deep-sea vessels, which could not enter the inner harbor at San Pedro, but must unload by the
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aid of lighters, came to Port Los Angeles and nearly all deep-sea vessels reach- ing this coast since the completion of this pier unload here. In the earlier years of its construction Port Los Angeles was the point of entry for the coal used on the Southern Pacific system, and this item alone created a large business. Very large shipments of railroad ties were also delivered here. With the adop- tion of oil as a fuel on the railroads, shipments of coal have fallen off and, with the improvement of San Pedro inner harbor so that coastwise vessels can land, lumber shipments have decreased. But the bulk of the deep sea tonnage is received at Port Los Angeles, and is constantly increasing. Some statistics may be of interest : In 1903, 283 vessels entered at Port Los Angeles and 302 sailed ; 18,733 passengers entered and 15,676 sailed. The import duties received were $311.740; in 1904-5 the duties were $309,826.48; in 1905-6 duties and tonnage amounted to $513.939.96.
THE HARBOR QUESTION.
The question of the location of a deep-sea harbor to be constructed by the government of the United States upon the coast of Southern California was, for ten years, 1889-1899, the most vital interest of Santa Monica. It is true that the contest was waged for the most part in Los Angeles and Washington and between forces which gave little consideration to the interests of the town of Santa Monica. It became, indeed, a national question in which individual inter- est was supposed to have little bearing; yet it directly affected every citizen of Santa Monica and made the name of this place a familiar one in the political and commercial world.
From the time of the building of the first wharf at Santa Monica in 1875, the possibility of a breakwater and improvements which would make of this a safe harbor of refuge and of commerce had been discussed. As the commercial importance of Southern California increased, it became evident that in time the government must assist in creating a harbor on this coast. Since 1871 efforts had been made toward making an inner harbor at San Pedro and up to 1892 one million dollars had been expended upon operations there. After the great ex- pansion in business of the later eighties, the question of what was to be done toward creating a deep-sea harbor was pressed at Washington and in response to it, a number of distinguished men, members of the Committee of Commerce of the United States Senate, visited California.
During all the years of his editorship of the Outlook. L. T. Fisher had made a careful study of the conditions here. He was also thoroughly familiar with affairs at Wilmington. He had been assured by Captain H. C. Taylor, who in 1874-5 conducted the coast survey on this coast and made a chart of this bay, that the conditions here were favorable to a deep-sea harbor, and he had consistently and effectively proclaimed the advantages of Santa Monica as a sea-port.
October 13th, 1889. the Outlook publishes a " challenge " as follows: "We
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challenge Colonel Mendell, Dr. Widney, General Brierly, and all others who favor San Pedro as the best place for a harbor for deep-sea vessels to success- fully disprove the following propositions :
Ist. Santa Monica is nearer by at least eight miles, to Los Angeles, the commercial and railroad center of Southern California, than San Pedro.
2nd. Santa Monica Bay, by virtue of its shape, depth of water and general topography, is a more suitable place for a deep-sea harbor than San Pedro.
3rd. Santa Monica Harbor, when enclosed by a breakwater, will remain unchanged for all time to come, while a similar enclosure at San Pedro will rapidly shoal and become worthless in less than a quarter of a century.
4th. Santa Monica is within a few miles of the material for a break- water, which can be obtained at less than two-thirds of the expense required at San Pedro.
5th. Santa Monica having these advantages, it is neither the part of wisdom nor of economy, for the general government to expend a large sum of money upon a less favored community."
October 26th, 1889, Senator Frye, chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, with Senators Dawe, of Massachusetts ; Platt, of Connecticut ; Davis, of Minnesota ; Morgan of Alabama and Turpie of Indiana, visited San Pedro and was shown the proposed deep water habor by Dr. Widney, Col. Mendell and others interested. On this occasion, after listening to their eloquent ex- planations, Senator Frye remarked: "Well, as near as I can make out, you propose to ask the Government to create a harbor for you out of the whole cloth. The Lord has not given you much to start with, that is certain." A day or two later the same party visited Santa Monica, spending a couple of days here, as the guests of Senator Jones. That they were favorably impressed is shown by their remarks quoted in the following issue of the Outlook. One of them, after taking a view from the bluff, said, "Why, this is a better place for a harbor than San Pedro." Another declared, " more can be done here with $2000 than can be accomplished at San Pedro with $10,000. A third pointed to the mouth of Santa Monica canyon and declared that nature certainly intended that spot for a dock for repairing and building vessels. All of this, it must be remembered, was before there was any question of railroad control. It was considering the harbor proposition from a purely unbiased standpoint, by men who had no interest, except to secure the best returns for the money expended by the United States government.
In January, 1890, the Santa Monica Board of Trade sent a strong resolu- tion to General Vandever, then representing this district in Congress, asking him to call attention to the commercial need of a deep sea harbor and present the claims of Santa Monica Bay for the consideration of the government. As a result of the agitation for a deep-sea harbor located on the shores of Southern California, $5000 was appropriated to pay the expense of preparing
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a project for a deep-sea harbor, to be located between Points Dumé and Capis- trano. A Board of Engineers of the War Department, consisting of Col. G. H. Mendell, Lieut .- Col. G. L. Gillispie and Lieut .- Col. W. H. H. Benyaurd, was appointed. Of these men, Col. Mendell had been connected with the pro- jects for improving the inner harbor at San Pedro since 1871 and Col. Benyaurd was then in charge of the work being done at that point. Naturally it was objected that they could not be expected to give an impartial judgment. Novem- ber 8th, 1890 these gentlemen visited Santa Monica and were driven about the town and taken out to the canyon to inspect the supply of stone in Cold Water canyon. They spent two days in this vicinity, made an examinationn of Ballona, Redondo and of other points and then went to San Francisco. December 19th, 1891 the report of this committee was submitted to Congress. Its conclusions were: " In view of the fact that San Pedro Bay in its natural condition affords better protection both from prevailing winds and from dangerous storms than Santa Monica Bay ;
"That protection can be secured at a less cost for equal development of breakwater at the former than at the latter ;
"That a larger area of protected anchorage from the prevailing westerly swells can be secured, the severe storms from the southwest being infrequent ;
"And that there is already an interior harbor that will be a valuable addition to the outer harbor ;
"The Board considers San Pedro Bay as the better location for the deep- water harbor provided for by the act."
Of course, the advocates of Santa Monica questioned whether any one of these conclusions was borne out by an unbiased examination into the facts.
The Chamber of Commerce of Los Angeles had already taken a prominent part in urging the necessity of a deep-water harbor in the vicinity of Los Angeles. It now took decided action to secure an appropriation for San Pedro. A com- mittee consisting of H. Z. Osborne, Collector of Port; Henry T. Hazard, W. H. Workman, Hervey Lindley and James Cuzner, drew up a memorial to Congress and Gen. Lionel A. Sheldon was sent to Washington as the representa- tive of the Chamber of Commerce, to assist Mr. Bowers, then representing this district.
It was by this time generally known that the Southern Pacific had decided to abandon its wharf, upon which it had already expended a very large sum, at San Pedro and build the wharf at Port Los Angeles. This put a new face upon the situation. When it was known that one of the longest and most substantial wharves in the world was to be put in at this point, it was felt that a new and powerful argument had been added to those already presented in favor of Santa Monica. And when it became evident that Collis P. Huntington had decided that Santa Monica was the place for a deep-water harbor it was felt that victory was almost certain. And yet. the very fact of Mr. Huntington's advocacy and
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influence, was probably the fatal cause of San Pedro's final selection as the point for the harbor. Another new factor in the situation was the Terminal railway which, in 1891, built from Los Angeles to San Pedro and secured large holdings at San Pedro in anticipation of harbor facilities.
When the matter of an appropriation for San Pedro was brought up in Congress the item was thrown out and a clause was inserted authorizing a board of five engineers, officers of the United States Army, to make a careful and critical examination for a proposed deep-water harbor at San Pedro or Santa Monica Bays and to report " which is a more eligible location for such a harbor in depth, width and capacity to accommodate the largest ocean-going vessels, and the commercial and naval necessities of the country, together with an esti- mate for the cost of the same."
In the summer of 1892, this new board, consisting of Colonel Wm. P. Craighill, Lieut .- Col. Henry MI. Robert, Lieut .- Col. Peter C. Hains, Major C. W. Raymond and Major Thomas H. Handbury, all of the United States corps of engineers was appointed and in September they arrived on the coast and announced a public meeting at the rooms of the Chamber of Commerce, Los Angeles. The Santa Monica side of the case was presented by Judge Carpenter, the San Pedro case was handled by J. de Barth Shorb, with Mr. Hood of the S. P. and Mr. Gibbon of the Terminal, as their respective assistants. This board submitted an elaborate and technical report which the editor of the Outlook reviews in a thorough manner. He says: "The engineers of this board appear to be handicapped also by circumstances. They were appointed by the Secre- tary of War, who is a large stockholder in a railroad terminating at San Pedro.
Then again, the preceding corps of engineers are government officers and it is difficult to get these army people to decide one against another, except there be some very glaring necessity for it. That Board should never have consisted wholly of army engineers, however well they may have been selected. No such body of men is capable of giving the best decision. Two of the men should have been competent engineers, one a citizen and the other a government engineer ; another should have been a broad-guage commercial man, another a reputable navigator and another a well-known and capable railroad man. Such a com- mittee would have represented every phase of the question in the most competent manner.
We have before us a copy of the report of the Board which contains 120 pages, 26 of which constitute the report proper. A large share of the volume is irrelevant matter. One of the appendices consists of 18 pages of shipping statistics of Redondo. Turning to the report proper, there is a great deal of rubbish to be cleared away in order to get at the real, competing facts. When we come to the claims of San Pedro and Santa Monica as Harbor sites, which is the real question, it will be observed that these engineers draw largely on the report of their predecessors, whose work they were sent out here to revise and
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supplement. Another fact that crops out throughout the report, is the effort made to lessen the objections to San Pedro and exaggerate those of Santa Monica. Nor are the comparisons at all times fair. The important features of the discussion are literally buried under a mountain of verbosity and considera- tion of irrelevant topics which makes the report exceedingly confusing to the general reader.
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