Ports O’ Call Village- Come and Gone By Geraldine Knatz PhD, Professor and Book Author
Ports O’ Call Village- Come and Gone
By Geraldine Knatz PhD, Professor and Book Author
For over 50 years, visitors have made their way to the Los Angeles waterfront at San Pedro to visit Ports O’ Call, a collection of shops and restaurants tucked along the edge of the San Pedro waterfront in Los Angeles Harbor. The idea of a district along the waterfront was championed by Harbor Commissioner Lloyd Menveg, a Wilmington resident (later a resident of Palos Verdes) whose family had come to the harbor area in the 1850s. Menveg was only 30 years old when he was appointed to the Los Angeles Harbor Commission in 1953. His personal vision was a district with small boats, sport fishing, a seafood center and restaurants. Menveg would serves as Harbor Commission President from June 1955 to June 1961, and must of taken great satisfaction in be the opening of the first piece of his vision, the Ports O’ Call Restaurant, while he was still on the board, in February, 1961. David Tallichet, President of Specialty Restaurants Corporation, developed Ports of Call with the help of designer Vernon Leckman. Most people remember the village as a replica of New England. But the first section that opened in July 1963 was themed “Old California” representing an early 19th century village with Monterey-style architecture. Other villages would follow such as the Mexican and Hong Kong villages. It was not until 1967 that the replica of New Bedford, Massachusetts, would open between Ports O’ Call Restaurant and the Yankee Whaler Inn. It was aptly named Whaler’s Wharf and included a replica of the memorial to the fisherman of Gloucester, MA, called the “Man at the Wheel.” Designer Vernon Leckman, noted “Nothing is being spared to recapture the authentic old world atmosphere”, he said of Whaler’s Wharf, when describing how the building would age to take on a weather-beaten look. “Even the nails are ungalvanized iron to encourage rusting.”
More than 2 million people a year visited the site. One could buy nearly everything in the 42 international gift shops, from Murata pearls and Chinese imports to elegant evening wear or mumus. You could get a caricature or portrait made while you waited or purchase fine art at the Parkhurst Gallery. Roving entertainers strolled through the cobblestone pathways. There were puppet shows and square dances. Two floating restaurants aboard paddle-wheel steamships promised great harbor views while dining. Or you could board a pirate ships to set sail for a harbor tour. An observation tower gave visitors a greater harbor view but the more adventurous could board a helicopter right in the village for a harbor tour. Not all visitors, particularly the alfresco diners, and local residents, welcomed the near continuous noise of the helicopter’s frequent taking off and landing, especially on the weekends. The helicopter tours were eventually discontinued.
Ports O Call was the place where local community members took their guests and visitors. My personal favorites were dinner at the Yankee Whaler Inn and shopping in the Kitchen shop….or the bakery…..or the ice cream store…..
The Village was a popular attraction well into the 1980s. But a greater number of opportunities for the Los Angeles-destined tourist would soon compete with the village. Shopping malls became a place to hang out, and even take visitors. Ports of Call began to lose its appeal. As the facilities became dated and worn, Specialty Restaurants made less investments which further exacerbated its decline. As stores closed, the site became less of a destination – no longer the place you would travel from afar to spend a day with your family. Although the demise of Ports O’ Call coincided with the massive growth at the harbor, the harbor itself became part of the attraction, giving Ports of Call visitors a ring-side seat to view the gargantuan ships that moved through the port’s main channel. These views were mostly accessible from inside the restaurants as the buildings hugging the edge of the waterfront hid the waterside views from strollers in the village.
But what about an African-American village? The International African-American Corporation of Commerce, Industry and Culture wrote the Board of Harbor Commissioners on July 24, 1968 asking to make a presentation before the Harbor Commission and the Ports of Call Association on the idea of creating a permanent exhibit featuring African and African-American culture. It was not the first time the organization and its leader Edward Stiger had approached the board. In fact, the Board of Harbor Commissioners had approved a resolution supporting the work of Stiger and his organization just a few months prior. To Stiger, having such an exhibit was “a vital and most necessary emotional communication between white and black citizens of the Southland.” However, a permanent exhibit did not come to pass. Instead, Stiger, working with the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, set up an exhibit in the Consolidated Marine Terminal (today the World Cruise Terminal) for several years during World Trade Week.
Despite the facilities being worn, certain establishments, most notable the San Pedro Fish Market continued to draw thousands of visitors on busy summer weekends. The Port of Los Angeles annual lobster festival fed enough people lobsters to make it into the Guinness Book of Records four times during its 18 year run at the village.
But a renaissance of the San Pedro waterfront district was needed. A new plan was approved by the Board of Harbor Commissioners in September 2009. New attractions, such as Crafted in the Port of Los Angeles, major public artwork, the U.S.S. Iowa, the downtown harbor and considerable public space and infrastructure enhancements were some of the initial improvements put in place. More are underway including a continuation of the public promenade and the development of a town square. A new destination district called “West Harbor” will include restaurant and shops. The West Harbor development corrects what had become one of the fundamental flaws of earlier design of Ports O’ Call. This time the waterfront edge is reserved for the people. This time the Port of Los Angeles will be the main attraction.
Geraldine Knatz
With years of research and more than 200 maps and images, Geraldine Knatz shapes an insightful story of the Port of Los Angeles, from its early entrepreneurs to the city’s business and political leadership, and the inevitable conflicts that arose between them. Knatz digs into the back stories of the key players in a hardcore, well-documented piece of storytelling at its best. Port of Los Angeles matches a topic—the history of Los Angeles Harbor—with someone of unquestionable authority to tackle the subject. Knatz worked nearly four decades at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, her last eight years as Executive Director at Los Angeles. In this remarkable book, her expertise shows. Port of Los Angeles reads like a script for another Chinatown, only this time it's about saltwater and controlling the waterfront, not drinking water and controlling the land. Knatz takes readers on a journey that will educate and inspire, and fills these pages with real-life intrigue, masterminds, and politics extraordinaire. Port of Los Angeles will leave the world's maritime aficionados spellbound and historians in awe. A must-read for anyone who treasures the history of Los Angeles. "The Port of Los Angeles made this city. This very well might be "The Study" of what made modern Los Angeles." —William Deverell, Director, Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West