San Pedro Municipal Ferry Building is a former Los Angeles Harbor Department ferry terminal building located at Sixth Street at Harbor Boulevard in the community of San Pedro in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

.Big Orange Landmarks: San Pedro Municipal Ferry Building
/ref> The historic landmark building now houses the Los Angeles Maritime Museum.

History

The Municipal Ferry Building was built in 1941 as a Works Project Administration (WPA) project, built at Berth 84. It was designed in the

Streamline Moderne Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco architecture and design that emerged in the 1930s. Inspired by aerodynamic design, it emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements. In industrial design ...

style by architect Derwood Lydell Irvin of the Los Angeles Harbor Department. It has a five-story octagonal

clock tower Clock towers are a specific type of structure which house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another buildi ...

. Its "sister ferry terminal" was across the main channel at Berth 234, also Irvin designed in the Streamline Moderne and built by the WPA in 1941.Daily Breeze newspaper: Municipal Ferry Building , South Bay History
posted by Sam Gnerre on April 27, 2011; with vintage photos. It was a working ferry terminal from 1941 to 1963, for the ferry connecting San Pedro and

Terminal Island Terminal Island, historically known as Isla Raza de Buena Gente, is a largely artificial island located in Los Angeles County, California, between the neighborhoods of Wilmington and San Pedro in the city of Los Angeles, and the city of Long Be ...

in the Los Angeles Harbor. During those years, the double-decked ferries "Islander" and "Ace" transported thousands of passengers and automobiles to and from the tuna canneries, docks, shipyards, and military bases on Terminal Island. In 1963, the Vincent Thomas Bridge was completed, connecting mainland San Pedro to Terminal Island, and the ferry service became obsolete. The ferry service was terminated on 14 November, and the bridge opened on 15 November. The San Pedro terminal building was used for many years as an office building by the Los Angeles Harbor Department. The ferry terminal building on the Terminal Island side was demolished in 1972 to expand cargo operations.

Museum

As the ferry building began to deteriorate, citizens of San Pedro sought to have it restored. They succeeded in having the building designated as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument (no. 146) in 1975. Beginning in 1976 the building was restored (exterior) and remodeled (interior) into the Los Angeles Maritime Museum, which opened in 1979. It is the largest maritime museum on the

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

.McKowen, Ken and Dahlynn Best of California's Missions, Mansions, and Museums Wilderness Press 2006 Berkeley, CA The building was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1996. ;Media Both the exterior and interior of the Municipal Ferry Building were featured in the 1947 film '' The Street With No Name''. Los Angeles Maritime Museum

References

External links

Big Orange Landmarks Blog: Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 146 — Municipal Ferry Building
— ''with images''.
Official Los Angeles Maritime Museum website

LAPL.org: "History of the Los Angeles Maritime Museum"
{{authority control Ferry terminals in California San Pedro, Los Angeles Government buildings in Los Angeles Los Angeles Harbor Region Terminal Island Maritime history of California Government buildings completed in 1941 Transport infrastructure completed in 1941 Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments Ferry terminals on the National Register of Historic Places Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Los Angeles Transportation buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in California 1941 establishments in California 1963 disestablishments in California Maritime museums in California Museums in Los Angeles 1940s architecture in the United States Works Progress Administration in California PWA Moderne architecture in California Streamline Moderne architecture in California Transportation buildings and structures in Los Angeles County, California

History

Museum

See also

References

External links