The Los Angeles Maritime Museum is a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

maritime museum A maritime museum (sometimes nautical museum) is a museum specializing in the display of objects relating to ships and travel on large bodies of water. A subcategory of maritime museums are naval museums, which focus on navies and the milita ...

, 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 List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

.Los Angeles Maritime Museum
/ref>

The Museum

The Los Angeles Maritime Museum is housed in the former Municipal Ferry Terminal building, located on the main channel of the Los Angeles Harbor. 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 desig ...

style by architect Derwood Lydell Irvin of the Los Angeles Harbor Department. It was built in 1941 at Berth 84, by the Works Project Administration (WPA).Big Orange Landmarks: San Pedro Municipal Ferry Building
/ref>Daily Breeze newspaper: Municipal Ferry Building , South Bay History
posted by Sam Gnerre on April 27, 2011; with vintage photos. The ferry between 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 ...

ceased after the

Vincent Thomas Bridge The Vincent Thomas Bridge is a suspension bridge, crossing Los Angeles Harbor in Los Angeles, California, linking San Pedro with Terminal Island. It is the only suspension bridge in the Greater Los Angeles area. The bridge is part of State R ...

was opened to traffic in 1963. The building was then used for offices of the LA Harbor Department. The San Pedro Municipal Ferry Building is now a

Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments are sites which have been designated by the Los Angeles, California, Cultural Heritage Commission as worthy of preservation based on architectural, historic and cultural criteria. History The Historic-Cult ...

and 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 ...

. The Los Angeles Maritime Museum opened in 1979 as a result of widespread community efforts to save the historic building. It is the largest maritime museum on the West Coast.McKowen, Ken and Dahlynn Best of California's Missions, Mansions, and Museums Wilderness Press 2006 Berkeley, CA The museum's interior renovation was designed by

Modernist Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

architect James Pulliam. The museum is operated by the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks. The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday, from 10 AM to 5 PM.

Exhibits

Exhibits include a history of

commercial diving Commercial diving may be considered an application of professional diving where the diver engages in underwater work for industrial, construction, engineering, maintenance or other commercial purposes which are similar to work done out of the wate ...

in Los Angeles Harbor and a Navy Hall that features large ship models such as the U.S. Navy cruiser and the '' SS Poseidon'' model from the 1972 disaster film '' The Poseidon Adventure''. The museum also has an exhibit that chronicles the once thriving San Pedro

fishing industry The fishing industry includes any industry or activity concerned with taking, culturing, processing, preserving, storing, transporting, marketing or selling fish or fish products. It is defined by the Food and Agriculture Organization as including ...

. The commercial fishing exhibit focuses on the history of Los Angeles Harbor-based purse (net) seining, the San Pedro Fishermen's Fiesta, and the

tuna canneries. Upstairs are models of

merchant ships A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are ...

such as the Silverpalm,

square rig Square rig is a generic type of sail and rigging arrangement in which the primary driving sails are carried on horizontal spars which are perpendicular, or square, to the keel of the vessel and to the masts. These spars are called '' yards'' ...

gers, sail boats, and also a fully operational

ham radio Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is the use of the radio frequency spectrum for purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emergency communica ...

station. The museum operates the tugboat ''Angels Gate'', built in 1944 for the Army Transportation Service. ''Angels Gate'' was originally known as ''ST-695'', and was among the fleet of

tugboats A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...

designed for the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

European theater. The

fireboat A fireboat or fire-float is a specialized watercraft with pumps and nozzles designed for fighting shoreline and shipboard fires. The first fireboats, dating to the late 18th century, were tugboats, retrofitted with firefighting equipme ...

'' Ralph J. Scott'', a U.S.

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

, is docked nearby.

References

External links

Official Los Angeles Maritime Museum website

– ''with images''.
Virtualguidebooks.com: View of museum interior
{{authority control Water transportation buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places Maritime museums in California Museums in Los Angeles San Pedro, Los Angeles Los Angeles Harbor Region Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Los Angeles Government buildings completed in 1941 Maritime history of California Museums established in 1979 1979 establishments in California Works Progress Administration in California Streamline Moderne architecture in California

The Museum

Exhibits

See also

References

External links