San Pedro, CA

San Pedro is one of the few great affordable Ocean View properties in the Los Angeles Area. SOuth SHores boasts of spectacular ocean, catalina Island and Harbor Views abound in Vista del Oro, Point Fermin, Cabrillo to name a few. The Portofino Inn is a don't miss tourist attaraction where you can also board the Catalina Express and get to Catalina Island in 45 minutes. Home prices range from the $500,000 up to $2 Million.
Here is some interesting racts from Wikipedia, Enjoy.. San Pedro is a …

San Pedro is one of the few great affordable Ocean View properties in the Los Angeles Area. SOuth SHores boasts of spectacular ocean, catalina Island and Harbor Views abound in Vista del Oro, Point Fermin, Cabrillo to name a few. The Portofino Inn is a don't miss tourist attaraction where you can also board the Catalina Express and get to Catalina Island in 45 minutes. Home prices range from the $500,000 up to $2 Million.
Here is some interesting racts from Wikipedia, Enjoy.. San Pedro is a beach community within Los Angeles, California, USA. It was annexed in 1909 and is a major seaport of the area. The town has grown from being dominated by the fishing industry to become primarily a working class town within the City of Los Angeles. The name of the town is pronounced /sænˈpiːdroʊ/ by its residents, even its Hispanic residents, rather than by its Spanish pronunciation IPA: [samˈpeðɾo].
Climate
The city is situated in a Mediterranean climate zone (Köppen climate classification), experiencing mild, wet winters and warm to hot summers. Breezes from the Pacific Ocean tend to keep the beach community cooler in summer and warmer in winter than those in further inland Los Angeles; summer temperatures can sometimes be as much as 18 °F (10 °C) warmer in the inland communities compared to that of San Pedro and other Los Angeles coastal communities. The area also sees a phenomenon known as the "marine layer," a dense cloud cover caused by the proximity of the ocean that helps keep the temperatures cooler throughout the year. When the marine layer becomes more common and pervades farther inland during the months of May and June, it is called June Gloom.
History
San Pedro in an 1850 daguerreotype, Deadman's Island is at the top
San Pedro in an 1893 lithographThe site, at the southern end of the Palos Verdes Peninsula, on the west side of San Pedro Bay, was used by Spanish ships starting in the 1540s.

[edit] Origin of name
San Pedro was named after St. Peter of Alexandria, a 4th century bishop in Alexandria, Egypt. His feast day is November 24 on the local ecclesiastical calendar of Spain, the day on which Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo discovered the bay in 1542 which would become "San Pedro." Santa Catalina Island, named after St. Katherine of Alexandria, was also claimed for the Spanish Empire the next day, on her feast day, November 25th. In 1602-1603, Sebastián Vizcaíno (1548–1624) officially surveyed and mapped the California coastline, including San Pedro Bay, for New Spain.

Settlement
Regular settlement began in 1769 as part of the effort to populate California, although trade restrictions encouraged more smuggling than regular business. The Rancho San Pedro is the site of the first Spanish land grant in Alta California, New Spain. The land was granted in 1784 by King Carlos III to Juan Jose Dominguez, a retired Spanish soldier who came to California with the Gaspar de Portolà expedition.

When New Spain won its independence from the Spanish Empire and Alta California became part of Mexico, the trade restrictions were lifted, and the town flourished. Under United States control after 1848, when the United States defeated Mexico in the Mexican-American war, the harbor was greatly improved and expanded under the guidance of Phineas Banning. San Pedro became a major port of the West Coast and is now the busiest port in the country.

In 1888, the War Department took control of a tract of land next to the bay and added to it in 1897 and 1910. This became Fort MacArthur in 1914 and was a coastal defense site for many years. Many other facilities were established in the San Pedro area, and it was a popular port of call for U.S. Navy ships, especially during World War II. The town became a well known watering hole for sailors and Marines during leave and established a reputation as a rough-and-tumble town.

Los Angeles Annexation
In 1906, the City of Los Angeles annexed a long narrow strip of land connecting the city to the coast, and in 1909, the city annexed San Pedro and the adjacent town of Wilmington. The odd shape is still seen in the map of the city.
Vincent Thomas Bridge
The Angel's Gate Lighthouse has stood at the entrance to the port since 1913.
Satellite Image- San Pedro.Main article: Port of Los Angeles
San Pedro, Wilmington, and Terminal Island are the locations of the Port of Los Angeles.

[edit] Locations of interest
One San Pedro landmark is the Vincent Thomas Bridge, a 1,500-foot- long suspension bridge linking San Pedro with Terminal Island and named after California Assemblyman Vincent Thomas. It is the third longest suspension bridge in California. Nearby is the Los Angeles Maritime Museum, the largest maritime museum in California, as is the museum ship SS Lane Victory, a fully operational victory ship of World War II and National Historic Landmark.

The Frank Gehry-designed Cabrillo Marine Aquarium is also in San Pedro. The Point Fermin Lighthouse, a Victorian-era structure built in the late 19th century, still exists as a museum and park on a bluff overlooking the ocean. The Korean Bell of Friendship is a massive bronze memorial bell donated by South Korea in 1976 to the people of Los Angeles.

The Korean Bell of Friendship.The church of Mary Star of the Sea is a prominent landmark with a steeple-top statue overlooking the harbour.

In 2003, the San Pedro Waterfront Red Car Line was opened, along the waterfront between downtown San Pedro and the Cruise Ship Terminal. This line includes two newly constructed trolleys built to resemble the wood-bodied 500 class cars introduced in 1905 for the Pacific Electric Railway, which once operated more than 1,000 miles of track running streetcars and interurbans in Southern California. The 1.5-mile line operates along former Pacific Electric right-of-way. The line, rebuilt and maintained by the Port of Los Angeles, also has one original restored Pacific Electric interurban, which is used only for special charter excursions and special events. The original car is in fact Pacific Electric 963 (former Los Angeles Pacific 713 as built in 1907) rebuilt by Richard Fellows and renumbered 1058. Discussions have been held to extend the line to the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium. Port of LA Waterfront Red Car Line

Twenty-Eighth Street in San Pedro, between Gaffey Street and Peck Avenue, is the steepest section of public roadway in Los Angeles. For about 50 feet, the street climbs at a 33.3% angle, although the rest of the street is less steep.