Daily Los Angeles herald., 1884-06-19
A Friendly Recognition,

1t is pleasant to meet candid COM
mercial journal that is willing TO give n
fair statement concerning the grent i'm
portonce of our harbor of San Pedro,
which the HERALD has always main
tanned should be improved in most
complete and thorough manner The
its last issue, has this most appropriate
statement concerning San Pedro and
Wilmington;
One OF the most important works ever
done by the Government on this coast
was the Improvement OF Wilmington
harbor, near Point San Pedro. This was
one OF the first shipping points ever utl-
lied on this coast, and many will re-
member the description by Dana in his
famous "rwo Years Before the Mast,
where he tells how they loaded hides in
the old brig near Deadmans Island. In
those days when southeasters came the
vessels had to try and ride them out, or
else stand off to sea, Now, however,
the Government has formed safe and
capacious harbor, which is the shipping
port OF Los Angeles, the chief city OF
Southern California, which is situated
twenty .one miles inland.
The harbor was formerly called San
Pedro bay. Before the L. $. engineers
took hold of the harbor the bar was
very small and even the small steamer
crrying passengers from the ocean
steamers at the moorings in the road.
stead up to Wilmington could not cross
it at less than half tide. The entire
business of the place was done by light.
ering; coastiug vessels and steamers can
now enter the haibor The lumber
vessels and other freighters 60 inside the
walls up to the wharves, where ship aud
car come together. The harbor has
total wharf frontage of four miles, one
mile OF which is completely occupied by
the demands of its large and rapidly
increasing business. The average depth
of water along these wharves is is feet
at mean low tide. The rise of the tide is
7 feet and , inches, thus giving depth
of over % feet at high water, and with
the additional improvements projected
| by the Government, a channel will be
secured at the entrance of the harbor of
from 300 to 400 feet wide, with depth
of 10 feet at mean high water, and 23
feet nj high tides, whereby vessels Of
the largest tonnage eau rcach the
wharves.
The government engineers constructed
breakwater 600 feet long, part wood
and part stone, from Ratllesnake Island
to Deadman's Island, On the inner side
and running nearly parallel with the
large breakwater is smaller one, intend
cd TO direct the current.
The distance between San Pedro aud
Wilmington three miles-has been
piled in durable fashion by the Southern
Pacific Railroad Company. The railroad
company's wharf is 3000ieet long. Gen
eral Banning's ballast wharf is 300 feet
long. The Pacific Coast Steamship Com.
pauy has a 200.foot wharf. The Los
Angeles and Humboldt Lumber Compa-
ny have 800 feet of wharf also. The
dredging operations have resulted in
deepening the channel so steamers can
land. The town OF San Pedro is n grow.
ing one. Wilmington is small town at
the head OF navigation. General Phin-
eas Banning, who has made his home
there for many years, is well known by
visitors to Southern California He has
built and run steamboats,, had tugs and
! lighters, built wharves and warehouses,
dug wells, and been, in fact, the presid.
ing genius OF the place. He has been
for very many years in the freighting
and transportation business at San Pc.
| dro.
Wilmington harbor was made a port
OF entry in June, lSS2 1t has steadily
increased in importance as Il shipping
point since the government began i'm
proving it, Between $500 900 and
100000 have been appropriated by
Congress for the work, but it has proved
II fortunate thing. The city OF Los An.
geles is the metropolis and railroad cen
ter OF Southern California, is 800 miles
distant from San Francisco, and is the
largest city south OF that point. Its un.
rivaled resources, the unlimited market
for its diversified products, and su perb
facilities by rail and sea for the trans.
pcrtatlon thereof, attest to its superior
advantages for becoming great com
mercial and maritime metropolis. The
increasing competition for the trade of
the southwest, caused by new lines of
railroads, aroused the Southern Pacific
managers to the necessity of establish
ing iirs:-class harbor in Southern Cali.
fornia for the transaction of their bust.
ness, and, after a thorough examination,
Wilmington was selected for that pur-
pose. The railroad has been extended
from thence to deep water, distance
OF three miles, and immense wharves
have been constructed, as already