Los Angeles herald., 1910-06-16
CITY OFFICIALS INSPECT HARBOR;
GAIN IDEA OF MUNICIPAL PROJECT
Mayor and Concmen Taken to Municipal Dock and Are Brought
Back Flat CaUgent Niece ssy for Establishing OF Street
Grades in Wilmington Pointed Out by Enthusiastic Residents

through this strip before the slip can
be dredged. g.,
Mayor Alexander explained that If
the city owns this frontage the NUM-
cipality ought to get something In re-
turn for the privilege Of cutting the
slip, and Mr.. Fleming suggested that
perhaps the city might get some 'front.'
age on the slip in exchange for the
frontage it is proposed to cut through.
Automobiles were again taken to the
outer harbor, where the Huntington
mole and Miner concession was in
spected No work has been done on
the Huntington plat since the South
ern Pacific slip was dredged and the
material used to reclaim the sub
merged land on the mole. The fran
chise will expire in August and may
revert to the city, as there is no in
dication that 1t will be completed
within the required time.
The first real activities in harboT
construction were found on the Miner
fill, where the Outer Harbor and Dock
company, controlling interest in
which is owned by the Union Oil COM
pany, is reclaiming 179 acres of sub
merged land. The visitors marveled at
the extent of the work and fingered
long to watch the work of casting and
lowering into the water the great con-
crete piles for the wharf.
The entire party walked out over the
trestIe nearly a mile, where the Work
is steadily being pushed to the end OF
the concession farther out where the
city has 1000 feet along the bulkhead
line and room enough between this and
the pierhead line to dredge two slips.
The bulkhead is now nearly COM
pleted along the east channel and the
big dredger Pacific is fast eating Its
way out to the thirty-five-foot contour.
1t is expected that early in the fall
the channel will be completed and that
the first deep water vessels will be
docking at the WharVes.
Much interest was shown in the re-
inforced concrete piles. These are
forty-seven feet long and taper from
twenty inches in diameter at the bot
tom to fourteen inches at the top.
They are reinforced with en-eighths
inch rods and cast upright. After
being seasoned they are driven by
means of hydraulic jet and light tap
ping with a pile-driver. Three rows
of concrete piles are being driven for
the wharves and outside of these will
be a row of wooden fender piles to
protect the wharves from the chaf1ng
of vessels. About 100 men are en-
ployed on the wharves and dredging
and the concession is a hive Of activity.
Gervaise Purcell, the engineer in
charge Of the work, provided a special
train to return the party to the cleo
trio line. 1t was not a Pullman train,
but the mayor and councilmen seemed
to appreciate the accommodation of a
fiat car hitched to the engine of work
train as much as If It were.
Before return to the city on the cleo
trio line the mayor and several men,
bers of the council took a look into
the needs of street improvements in
San Pedro. In addition to the mayor
and all members Of the council ex-
cepting Councilman Washburn, the
party included Emmett Wilson Of the
city attorneys office; J. ]. Backus,
building inspector; William Humph-
reys of the board of public works;
Dave Carroll, minute clerk of the
council.