was undergoing a renovation, set to become a food hall with revitalized shops and restaurants...
Since it was still pretty early, nothing was really open yet. The huge parking lot was still empty but also kind of dirty. Ports O'Call is like San Pedro's version of Seaport Village. It has probably seen better days. There are rows of restaurants like the San Pedro Fish Market. We strolled through hoping to find a penny machine for TC (she still collects those); crappily the lone machine they had was out of order.
The fish market was pretty huge inside with a long counter offering fresh caught seafood. There is a spacious covered seating area outside with a view of the LA Harbor.
We didn't stay too long here since nothing was really open. This candy shop next to the fish market had a cool paintjob (it reminded me of the Donny & Marie dolls from the 70's, which featured those very same colors)
This candy shop next to the fish market had a cool paint job. It reminded me of the Donny and Marie dolls from the 70's, which featured those very same colors in their groovy threads, ha ha. My best friend N had the Marie doll and I remember we got bored and ended up giving her a mohawk.
I wonder if this place will survive the renovation?
According to one of Bert's co-workers who is from San Pedro, this area is popular and happening place during the summer and at night time.
Also part of the LA Waterfront was the USS Iowa, a retired WWII battleship which opened as a museum here in 2012. We didn't realize that you could NOT park for free and take a few pix of the ship and then leave. We had to settle for going in, circling the lot and doing some drive by snapshots for the massive ship.
It would have been cool to get a closer shot but no, we didn't want to pay for parking; plus a tour of the ship was $19.95 a person! Wut dude!
So, we left...
and crossed that green bridge, the Vincent Thomas...
passing by shipping containers galore (which we would see repurposed later on in Long Beach as a hipster food court)...
It was quite interesting viewing the construction along the Seaside Freeway. A new freeway is being built alongside the current one.
Heading east to Long Beach...
Here are some videos. This one is dated from last year and focuses on the future development of Ports O'Call:
and this is a link to another video which shows what it will look like once complete. At the time of our visit, it definitely was NOT complete. The area still looked kind of old, run down and dirty.
For the USS Iowa, you can turn down the music if you are so inclined; this video is pretty cool, giving you a "Free" tour of the battleship museum.
Articles:
"Port o'Call will be torn down this fall, paving the way for big makeover" LA Curbed, August 19, 2016
This happened recently:
"San Pedro Ports o'Call shop owners protest eviction" LA Business ournal, Sept 19, 2017
Port o' Call Village (currently being renovated)
LA Waterfront
Port of Los Angeles
"Ports o'Call Village" San Pedro visi site
USS Iowa Museum
250 S. Harbor Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90731
(877) 446-9261
www.pacificbattleship.com
Long Beach was our next stop before making the drive back down to San Diego...
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