Whether you live here or not, San Pedro has been on your mind and is certainly in your hearts.
Some of you are active in OUR community (all of you are part of OUR community in some form or another) while many of you have moved away but still feel strongly about San Pedro.
San Pedro is a state of mind and heart no matter where its borders are.
There have been more issues circulating around OUR community for years now than there ever have been before.
For those of you who don't live in the area and haven't heard much news, here are some recent events and issues. Some will shock you and some are just "Pedro" things.
Union War Surplus is in the final stages of closing its doors forever. Within OUR community, the shock has subsided somewhat, but it will still be a sorrowful day when the locks are locked for the last time.
Of course we must thank the Kaye and Robinson families and the other who kept that institution here for so long.
Yes, Ramona's Bakery closed down years ago. However, it appears that at least some members of the Amalfitano Family will be opening a Bakery on Western Avenue........in Rancho Palos Verdes.
Did you know that a new public High School campus is beginning to take form on the Upper Reservation of Fort MacArthur? The new site is slated to become an annex of San Pedro High School with two Magnet Programs, but we'll have to see if that happens along about 2013.
Our Waterfront Redevelopment Plan seems to be off again with the exception of a new marina currently being dug across a small channel from the main Cabrillo Marina. This is a big step forward as the plan inches its way along at far less than a slug's pace.
Have you ridden on the Red Cars? Yup, we've got two of them running on tracks at the Harbor and they may get their routes lengthened to get all the way from Wilmington to Cabrillo Beach!
Disney Cruises is going to have one of their smaller ships home ported in San Pedro hopefully beginning in 2011. It's going to be a trial porting and the ship will only be the 2,400-passenger Disney Wonder, I believe. It is smaller than the two 4,400-passenger ships Disney is currently having built.
Our downtown area is having a very rough time right now, but bright spots shine through the gloom and doom.
We have the Little Fish Theatre Company continuing to provide excellent entertainment including its association with the free Shakespeare By The Sea productions that are now hallmarks in live summer theatre.
Joining Little Fish is The Relevant Stage Theatre Company and everything associated with the Warner Grand Vision Foundation and the historic Warner Grand Theatre.
Boy do we have galleries in downtown. We also have plenty, repeat plenty of housing units that are brand new and waiting for occupants in the downtown area.
The sixteen-story Vue is by no means sold out yet and we have lofts for lease as well as regular condos/apartments that are impatiently waiting habitation.
Work is continuing at Cabrillo Beach with ramp improvements, beach improvements, and a greater appreciation of the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium.
Did you now that the former Nike missle site on Paseo Del Mar is not the White Point Nature Preserve? Its 102 acres are available to take in nature using trails, vistas, and an under construction interpretive center.
No, no ballfields or soccer fields are on the site, but it is one of the last open areas along the coast in the city of Los Angeles.
Nearby in Rancho Palos Verdes, there is Terranea. If you like a 6-ounce plastic cup of house wine as you stroll on the public paths at the very upscale hotel, golf course, and meeting facilities, just put your $13.00 on the bar and don't forget to leave a tip!
Of course the old Ocean Trails (Ocean Fails) golf course and clubhouse is now owned by "The Donald". The hole that fell into the Pacific Ocean has been repaired and now rich folks can play a round of golf.
Getting back to San Pedro, you can now enjoy a weekend tour of the Point Fermin Lighthouse.
The lighthouse, built in 1874 now is home to its original large glass lens. You can climb up to the cuppola where the lens once was and look at views we weren't allowed to access until just several years ago.
Bring a Kleenex or hanky as you tour Ports O' Call. Right now it is a shell of its former self, but there are a very few shops that you just might remember there. It is probably nothing like you remember, so think of it as a pilgrimage instead of a tourist stop.
Not surprising to just about anyone is that another individual 'fell' to his death at Point Fermin. What is less usual is that he did it on the west side of the park quite a long way from Sunken City.
There are now plenty of access routes into the fenced off Sunken City area, so it is easier for us oldsters to renew memories there.
I still don't know why the local newspaper continues to provide articles about folks who meet their end off the cliffs.
For those of you who haven't visited the Fort MacArthur Military Museum, it is open on weekends and you can roam by gun implacements and through tunnels and have fantastic views of the Pacific Ocean.
For locals who are still living in OUR community, we always need more volunteers to assist YOUR community in a great number of things. Don't be afraid to get involved.
Whether you call it "Pedro" "San Pedro" or make it sound like "Sahn Paydro" it is OUR community to cherish, remember, and help grow.
Always remember, OUR community is NOT "San Paydro"!
1 comment:
Actually there are 3 red cars- 2 reproductions and one restored 1907original. They only run 2 at a time.
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