Cabrillo Marina/Lower Fort MacArthur (Los Angeles, California)

 water, marina

224 Whalers Walk
San Pedro, CA 90731
(310) 732-2252

The Cabrillo Marina is part of the West Channel of the San Pedro Waterfront. It is the largest marina in San Pedro.

Former site of Fort MacArthur's Lower Reservation, which was dredged in the '70s to form the marina. The small reservation was located adjacent to the northern end of the Ft. MacArthur's Middle Reservation, now known as Los Angeles Air Force Base, Fort MacArthur Annex. It was the site of Battery Erwin, armed with two 14-inch railway guns. Prior to the removal of the Lower Reservation, it was still possible to see Battery Erwin's ring mounts submerged in asphalt. The ring mounts can be seen in the pictures of the guns above.

The guns were capable of firing a 1,450-pound shell up to 27 miles away. When placed on a specially prepared gun mount sans their wheels, the guns were capable of turning 360° and firing in any direction. Due to the noise and destructive concussive force of test fires, the two guns were moved in 1937 to a specially constructed railway siding on what is now Camp Pendleton. This allowed artillery soldiers to train on the big guns without disturbing residents or destroying their property. In 1938, the guns were again moved for training purposes, this time to Goleta.

The guns, once the longest ranging artillery pieces assigned to Fort MacArthur prior to WWII, were declared surplus and scrapped in 1946.

CA-LAN-1129H was the basal remains of a dump, railroad fill and bulkheads, and railroad trestle built and/or used by the U.S. Army between 1918 and 1938. According to the site record, the site appeared to be all that remained of Lower Fort MacArthur, built on a fill area at the foot of 22nd Street along the shoreline of San Pedro, in several major episodes between 1918 and 1938.

Multiple features were exposed, including a railroad bed made of sand and marine dredging, a retaining wall, dike trestle remains, and portions of footings for a 1920s pier. Artifacts uncovered included bricks, military china, bottles, and water heaters all dating from the 1920s and 1930s. The testing program indicated that none of the archaeological resources appeared to be eligible for listing on the NRHP due to lack of data potential and lack of integrity. CA-LAN-1129H was subsequently destroyed during construction of the West Channel Cabrillo Beach Recreational Complex.

www.cymcabrillo.com/
www.militarymuseum.org/HDLA.html
www.ftmac.org/BatteryErwin.htm
www.portoflosangeles.org/EIR/SPWaterfront/DEIR/AppxF-2_...