Between the turn of the 20th century and WWII, the White Point area of San Pedro was home to a thriving Japanese community of abalone fisherman and farmers. In 1899, 12 Japanese fisherman leased beach front property at White Point from Ramon Sepulveda, a descendant ofJose Dolores Sepulveda, the original Spanish land grant owner of San Pedro, with the intention of establishing an abalone and lobster fishery at that location. By 1903, they had earned enough money to construct a cannery at the fishery. This profitable industry ended in 1908 when it was alleged that these settlers were using fishing as a front for spying on coastline activities. Laws restricting how much shellfish could be taken were also enacted when the lobster and abalone population was quickly depleted.
After the fishery closed, the area became a Japanese farming community and a resort locale. In 1915, Tojuro and Tamiji Tagami, with the help of Sepúlveda, developed the area as the White Point Health Resort, a sea side resort centered around a sulfur spring at the base of the cliffs. Tamiji suffered severely from arthritis but after several weeks of immersion in the hot water from the ocean, he recovered and was again able to work. So they built a bathhouse and then constructed the balance of the resort which consisted of a two story50 room hotel and restaurant with a dance floor, three salt water plunges, an enclosed boating area, a bathhouse, and a pier which ferried tourists to a nearby fishing barge . Local children often bathed in the sulfur water on their way home from school. Doctor would send patients to the resort for the therapeutic powers of the hot springs, and tourists would stay there for the beauty of the weather and location.
Diver at White Point Resort
Various disasters in 1928 and the late '30s, led to the decline and eventual closure of the property when storms damaged the pools and some of the buildings. In 1933, an earthquake sealed off the sulfur springs.Although the Tagamis continued to operate the hotel, they never actually owned the land. Ramon Sepulveda could not legally sell the land to Asian immigrants under a California law which prohibited ownership of land by those not eligible to become citizens. Although the hotel continued to operate despite these set-backs, the final blow came in the late 1930’s with the rise of anti-Japanese prejudice and depressed economic conditions forced the closure of the resort.
After the start of World War II, The federal government took over the area, becoming part of the nearby Fort MacArthur military complex. The resort's buildings were demolished, and fortifications were added to the shoreline and nearby hillside.
The state of California bought the beach area in 1960, and it became Royal Palms State Beach. In 1995, the land was acquired by the county of Los Angeles and became Royal Palms County Beach.
White Point Health Resort - Circa 1920's
