Los Angeles herald., 1905-07-04
ATTRACTIONS AT
LIVELY SAN PEDRO
GREAT HARBOR CITY AND
GATEWAY TO ORIENT
BEACH LIFE AND SHIPPING
Government Money In Breakwster
mprovement--Inne Harbor Plans.
New Buildings and COM
merclaI Importance
BEACH LIFE AND SHIPPING


Of Southern California.
-Four big transportation companies
are working night and day, Sundays
included, to make as early O compile
tion as possible of the projects they
now have under way. The Southern
Pacific railway company is spending
$500,O00 on Improvements of wharves,
yards and tracks along the water
front.
The Pacific Electric company is do
ing the greatest work Of all. A great
power house now is being constructed
on the northern boundary of that city,
where power will be supplied to both
the Pacific Electric double-track line
from Los Angeles, by way of Whining
ton, and the inter-urban line, that was
the old Hook Traction line, and which
ie to be double-tracked Immediately
The 'wise" ones are saying that this
route is to be the freight carrying
route from San Pedro to Los Angeles,
as soon as the Pacific Electric COM
pany gets Its wharves and warehouses
on the outer harbor completed.
Across the bay, at Enst San Pedro,
the Salt Lake route, or as 1t is called
Ia Salt Lake, the San Pedro road, is
doing an immense amount of work
on wharves and yards, getting ready
for the big traffic that the completion
OF the line to Salt Lake must bring
this way.
Work has commenced on the extern
sion of the inter-urban line through
the residence portion of San Pedro,
along Pacific avenue, which will give
San Pedro its first local electric line.
All this work on the part of the big
companies has stimulate the growth
CT San Pedro wonderfully. Business
and residence buildings are going up
on every hand and many more are
being planned.
Government Breakwater
The great breakwater is nearing
completion. 1t now is completed for
it's entire length up to the high water
mark, and a portion of the super
structure, which will rise twenty feet
above high water, is finished. Less
: than two years more will see the work
all done
Two Immense 4 edgers.. one owned
by the government, and the other by
the Southern Pacific company are con-
stantly at work in the channel and the
inner harbor, dredging out along the
new wharves.
The business of the port is increasing
wonderfully. The official report FOR
May 1905, shows that month to be the
banner month and to be in excess of
the previous month nearly ten per cent,
while 1t exceeds the same month OF
last year nearly twenty-five per cent.
Gateway to the Orient
San Pedro is the gateway to the
orient through which passes most of
the commerce to and from the entire
southwestern part of the United States.
Fitted by nature for protection from
ocean gales, the government Of the
Urited States has selected it as the
most practicable point for the expendi-
ture of sufficient appropriation to
make 1t capable of handling the meal
cplable amount of traffic that seems
destined to be transported through Its
channels.
Situated upon the edge of the con-
tinent, the terminal point of three great
lines of transcontinental railways, the
port Of entry for Los Angeles, the
greatest and most progressive city of
the southwest, San Pedro already is
doing shipping business that places
the port third among the harbors of
the United States in point of lumber
receipts, and first, in this respect,
among all the ports of the Pacific coast.
San Francisco not excepted.
The growth of this seaport city, slow
and gradual at first, has been progress
ing at an almost incredible rate during
the last decade. Up to 1902 the popula-
tion never had exceeded 1000. 1t has
more than doubled in three years, the
residents now numbering 5000.
This sudden change from a plodding,
quiet seacoast town to a bustling, pro.
gressive port of recognized magnitude,
has not, been in business transacted
alone, but is seen in the construction
of modern streets and sidewalks, i'm
. proved lighting, expanding water sys-
,em, erection Of moGern business blocks
and tasteful residences.
Harbor Of National Value
This harbor's importance is some
thing more than local or state. it is of
vital interest to the nation. The United
States government engineers, in their
report on Locating a Harbor at San
Pedro" exploited this phase of the
matter as follows:
by far the most important aspect of
this subject is its relation to the prob
able future development Of the deer
sea commerce OF the country. Hereto
tofore the Asiatic trade has naturally
gone to San Francisco. Two through
II D. the Southern Pacific ana Santa
systems oss the continent from
Los Angelo much lower elevations
than the northern lines, and also con-
meet the Pacific with the Gulf Of Mex
leo, and their operation is never oh