7-9-04

Promenade Meeting Preview—
Open Space An Open Question
By Paul Rosenberg, Senior Editor

     A public—though not widely publicized—meeting on open space on June 16 heralded deep public concerns in advance of four public meetings scheduled for July, when alternatives for Phase II of the Waterfront Promenade project will be presented to the community for their feedback. In response to widely-voiced concerns, Chief Port Engineer Stacy Jones promised, after the meeting, that more green space will be in the plans unveiled at those meetings.
     Port staff and consultants from Ehrenkrantz Eckstut & Kuhn Architects and Gafcon Construction had agreed in advance of the June meeting that the alternatives presented would not include intensive commercial development, since that option was soundly opposed by the community, as well as being physically infeasible in terms of traffic-flow. Yet, the amount of space reserved for development remained roughly half of the project area, while the amount for new green open space was extremely limited.
     “All of the sudden the 400 acres is down to 22 acres we are fighting for,” noted June Smith, who chairs the Coordinated Plan Subcommittee of the Port Community Advisory Committee (P-CAC). Virtually of all those acres are in only one area, between Crescent Avenue and 22nd Street—a situation that has intensified clashes between those with different senses of the priorities and possibilities involved.
     “We’re fighting over scraps,” said P-CAC member Noel Park.
     In particular, the State Lands Commission (SLC) continues to reject dedicated sports facilities, such as soccer and baseball fields advocated by the San Pedro Youth Coalition (SPYC), as falling outside of the Tidelands Trust doctrine on two counts. They are primarily, if not exclusively, for local residents, and have no inherent connection to the water. This contrasts sharply on both counts with plans for wind sports on the Cabrillo Breakwater, which were discussed enthusiastically as part of the June 16 meeting. However, a private meeting with SLC staff and SPYC activists on June 18 generated progress in the direction of non-dedicated alternatives, according to Jones, who also attended the meeting.
     While the three different designs for the Crescent Avenue park all drew praise for various features, it grew increasingly clear as the June 16 meeting progressed that community members wanted more green space, as well as more waterfront access.
     The failure to make specific commitments now has many community members deeply concerned, but Jones repeated her commitment the next week. “The port is going to be exploring increasing open space. We’d like to be working with the Neighborhood Councils, the Youth Coalition and others,” she said.

Dozen Ideas for Waterfront Development
By James Preston Allen, Publisher and Paul Rosenberg, Senior Editor

     As the process of planning the waterfront promenade project goes public in a major way, a large part of it remains unknownÑwhat kinds of development there could be beyond the dedicated public space. There are recurrent fears that such development will destroy the character of San Pedro, and undermine the downtown business community. To stir creative thinking about alternatives with a broad public benefit, Random Lengths offers the following ideas for public consideration.
     Each is put forth in brief, as befits the spirit of suggestion in which they are offered. Some may strike a deep chord in the community, some may not, but the process of collective, community-wide imagining of the future is more important than any single idea. We have a rare opportunity to shape the future of our community for perhaps a century to come. Let us not limit ourselves to designing the framework, and hoping for the best about what will grow within that framework. Let us work together to do our best to ensure a future that continues the best of our past, while casting it in a new, more widely visible light.

1 Museum of Labor
     With its strong history of labor activism, San PedroÕs waterfront would be the ideal location for a labor history and culture museum, featuring, but not limited to, the history of waterfront labor unions in Los Angeles and elsewhere along the West Coast. As part of the waterfront, it would attract both union members and their families from near and far, and also act as a history center for scholars to educate the general public. The Harry Bridges Institute could be an integral catalyst in bringing together the necessary participants from all sectors of the labor movement, as well as labor scholars, curators and others. Many of the components for this museum already exist in the archives of local unions, or stored in a warehouse for POLA or are in the hands of private collectors.
     The once powerful industries of this port where thousands of workers once labored have quickly passed away within our lifetime and should be remembered in a way that honors the fishermen, the cannery workers, the ship builders along with the longshoremen, the pile-drivers and the iron workers, among others. This would greatly enhance and enrich San PedroÕs overall labor culture.

2 Ghirardelli Square (Helen Grace Chocolate Corp office) of San Pedro
     Over a century ago, Ghirardelli Square, near FishermanÕs Wharf in San Francisco, was home to the Ghirardelli FamilyÕs chocolate, cocoa, mustard and box factory. Today, itÕs home to an upscale mall, that almost overwhelms the remaining Ghirardelli presence. San Pedro could do it better by creating the Helen Grace Square (San PedroÕs native chocolate maker), combining corporate offices, onsite chocolate production (with public tours) and sales in one location.
     While many people will naturally want to draw in Òbig boxÓ chains to the waterfront development, common sense and the Urban Land Institute (ULI) report tell us that finding businesses that integrate with the existing culture or that have historical ties to this community will add significance beyond their size and gross revenue to the success of the promenade. There are many historically- connected or locally-based businesses that should be offered opportunities to expand in the development areas along the promenade; these should be given priority over the ÒBig BoxÓ choices.

3 Charles Bukowski Museum
     One of the few things that San Pedro is known for internationally is that it was Charles Bukowski's home before his death in 1994. Unbeknownst to many, Bukowski is one of the world's most-read poets with much of his work translated into multiple languages. The archival material for a first-rate museum dedicated to his work has already been assembled by his widow, Linda, here in San Pedro, where he lived his last years.
     Since his poetry reflects a working-class perspective that is not foreign to the waterfront that San Pedro historically always has been, a Bukowski museum would fit perfectly into the community's desire for authentic development, while drawing tourists from around the world. A special place in or around the downtown linkage to the promenade needs to be found for Buk's place, which of course would have to include a bar.

4 LA Harbor Art Museum
     The current generation of creative artists in the LA harbor area hardly realizes that there were generations of artists here before them, and that this current revolution of the art wheel has been spun this way before. The past 30 years has seen a tremendous development of leading art museums in Los Angeles, most notably the County Museum (LACMA), the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), and the Getty.
     All of these museums have collections that are rarely shown to the public and all are somewhat distant from the Harbor Area. These museums would benefit tremendously from a satellite museumÑideally, a collaboration between these three leading art institutions, and perhaps others, such as the Norton Simon. It would serve a large population south of the 405, as well as visiting tourists, while stimulating interest that would build support for the parent institutions. It would also add a synergy to the other arts organizations and initiatives, planned or already underway in the Harbor Area.

5 Art District Annex near Warehouse #1
     Art districts are always in danger of being destroyed by the very revitalization they help to spur. As soon as the ground breaking takes place for the Bank Lofts and the CRA H-2 site on Seventh Street we will be in danger of jeopardizing some of the very creativity and vitality that is special to our oldtown district. While some San Pedro artists now own their own buildings, many are renters and will inevitably be squeezed out by rising rents with future development. A dedicated arts district near Warehouse #1, using some of the existing and unused warehouse space, would ensure the continuity and continued growth of San Pedro's art community. In conjunction with the LA Harbor Art Museum mentioned above, this would automatically add vitality to this portion of the development area.

6 LA Maritime/Marine Science College
     Beyond current plans for Maritime Charter High School, San Pedro would be an ideal location for a maritime and marine science college. While it is not a popular topic of discussion, it is widely understood that, at some point in the future, the Department of Defense will close down all or significant portions of the El Segundo Air Force Base Space Division and move it somewhere else where housing isnÕt so expensive. The impact on San Pedro could be devastating.
     The Fort MacArthur campus, which houses the Air Force personnel, is perfectly suited for a college of maritime and marine sciences, with ample housing. This would preserve this historic site and give added public access to an area long restricted. Such a college would support the ongoing prime economy of this area by training students in future technologies. Students from the local high schools, and those learning from Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, in connection with the Marine Mammal Care and International Bird Rescue Research Center, would form a natural core of hometown students and scientific expertise, which would be complemented by an influx of students from throughout the state, the nation and the world.
     The foundations of this college need to be started on or near the promenade development sites as a way of initiating the process of acquiring a state college or university when the time comes to replace the Air Force.

7 Fish Hatchery Near the Fishing Boats
     The fishing industry has been one of the life-bloods of San Pedro for well over a century. It still seems amazing how quickly it has declined. Because of the historical connection to fishing here, it seems both natural and obligatory that any new development of the waterfront include fishing-related ideasÑhatcheries, canning/smoking and aquaculture.
     Natural fish nurseries have been severely depleted by the growth of the ports over the last 100 years in the local waters. Now, as over-all water quality has improved, the introduction of a hatchery could help bolster the revival of local marine resources and would help in the replacement of certain over fished speciesÑthis would also serve as an interesting tourist and education attraction as well. This hatchery could also be included in the marine science component of the college listed above.

8 Boutique Fish Canning/Smoking
     The free enterprise element of the waterfront needs to be considered with some care as business leases need to be given to those that have a natural need for or logical connection to a waterfront, or near-waterfront location. One idea we came across recently is for a small-scale facility for canning and smoking fish. Canning and smoking on less-than-an-industrial scale could significantly enhance the attractiveness of San Pedro for sports-fishing, would become a tourist destination and would work well located near the existing fish market.

9 Commercial Aquaculture
     A facility for commercial aquaculture, raising fish for sale, would help enhance the offerings of restaurants throughout the harbor and the Los Angeles region. San Pedro has a history of abalone farming and as this mollusk is now fetching extremely high market prices when available, it would seem natural for this and some other high-priced seafood to be commercially raised as part of the economic development of the harbor.

10 Museum of Maritime Cultures
     Although widely diverse, maritime cultures around the world share many things in common, shaped by common challenges and experiences, as well as millennia of exchange. From the most utilitarian to the highest of arts, there is something distinctive each maritime culture has, which nonetheless resonates with many others. Building on San Pedro's traditional cultures, expanding to include the Pacific Rim and beyond, such a museum could become a destination for tourists worldwide, as well as drawing together local residents from the scores of ethnic maritime cultures represented in Southern California.
     This museum could be combined with the Harbor Art Museum (idea #4), yielding the LA Harbor Museum of Art and Maritime Culture or with the existing Maritime Museum.

11 Red Car Expansion
     The communities of Wilmington and San Pedro have been needlessly divided against each other for too long. Reconnecting the Red Car from Cabrillo Beach to Banning's Landing is one way to physically connect them, and share the benefits of San Pedro's waterfront development. While this may be difficult because of the expanding use of this line for rail-container traffic, there are probably solutions by exploring the historic routes once used, or by incorporating the Red Car route along the Wilmington greenbelt north of the Harry Bridges Boulevard realignment.
     As the City of Los Angeles wrangles with the multi-billion dollar expansion of LAX, extending the Red Car Line along the right-of-way that goes from just south of Sepulveda Boulevard, heading west then north to LAX would position the City to develop a major mass-transit link from its airport to its cruise center. This would cut millions of car trips per year, decrease pollution, and reinvigorate the economy all along its route for decades to come.

12 Remember to Link the Town to the Water
     Another very important part of the development plan is to remember why we started down this path in the first placeÑto reconnect San Pedro to the roots of its birthÉthe waterfront. It has been said many times over the past few years that many of the current solutions will be found in the historical solutions this city's forefathers created for many of the same reasons in the past. This means we need to be very thoughtful and historically reflective in recreating the essential linkages to the port.
     For instance, at the intersection of Harbor Boulevard and Gulch Road, right next to Block Field, there was a viaduct connecting the fishing boat slips and fish market to the fishermen's residential neighborhoods. It was torn down several years ago, due in part to structural age. But it fulfilled an important function that is lacking today. By tearing down the old viaduct it created an impediment for the community to access the waterfront from Sixth all the way to 22nd Street.
     Right in the middle, at the foot of 13th Street, is the unused right-of-way that the city could use to build an overpass across Harbor Boulevard, across the railroad tracks and down to Ports O' Call. This should be for both auto and pedestrian uses to once again link the old neighborhoods to the promenade, the water and to future jobs.