The Threat
Background on the Issue
History of the Shipyard
Shipyard in the News

The Threat

Courtesy Los Angeles Harbor Department

On February 1, 2011, the Los Angeles City Council ended a two-year effort to realize a plan by Gambol Industries to reopen the 1917 Southwest Marine Shipyard site at Terminal Island as a shipbuilding and repair facility.

For four years, the Conservancy has worked to save the historic shipyard as the last vestige of San Pedro’s once mighty World War II shipbuilding industry. We initially became involved when the Port of Los Angeles proposed to demolish the entire site in 2006.

In response to a motion resulting from a January 27 hearing by the City Council’s Trade, Commerce, and Tourism Committee, members of the City Council voted to allow a decision by the Board of Harbor Commissioners to stand. This ended exclusive negotiations with Gambol Industries and no longer designates the site for use in shipbuilding.

This decision also includes a highly controversial plan to move forward, allowing two slips at the site to be filled and capped with 160,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil. Port staff has argued, and the Army Corps of Engineers concurs, that Gambol’s plan would delay and interfere with the Port’s main channel deepening project.

The Conservancy supported Gambol Industries in their efforts to revitalize this rare collection of historic structures. We strongly believe there were viable approaches for addressing the storage of the contaminated soil while also allowing Gambol’s shipyard to move forward.

Courtesy Los Angeles Harbor Department

Without the slips, the future use of the site as a shipyard is now in serious question.

It is highly unlikely that the Port would allow a shipyard to keep ships in the main channel while undergoing repair.

The current plan also leaves the thirteen historic buildings on the site more vulnerable than ever, sitting idle without a future use.

We applaud Councilmember Hahn’s leadership on this issue and her pursuit of a win-win solution providing jobs and preservation. In response to concerns by the Conservancy and others, the City Council has directed the Port to report back to the Trade, Commerce, and Tourism Committee in March to address the preservation and reuse of the historic buildings.

Many thanks to everyone who have written letters in support of the reuse plan, recognizing that it's vitally important to preserve important links to all aspects of our history.

Background on the Issue

The Conservancy has worked for four years to prevent the demolition of the Southwest Marine Shipyard historic district, the last vestige of San Pedro’s once mighty but little-known World War II shipbuilding industry. The original shipyard is remarkably intact today, with thirteen of sixteen buildings deemed eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.

Proposed for demolition in 2006, the World War II-era shipyard has more recently been threatened with having its slips filled in with contaminated dredge spoils as part of a Port project to deepen the main channel.

The shipyard's recent tenant, Gambol Industries, wants to reuse the shipyard for its original purpose, including preserving historic buildings on the site.

LAC staff (2006)

This site has languished for years, and now we have a proposal from the private sector that would save historic buildings and create hundreds of new jobs. This is a terrific opportunity that has been jeopardized by the Port's lack of leadership.

From the outset, the Conservancy has believed -- and we still believe -- that there are opportunities for a "win-win" solution that will enable the Port to meet its own planning goals while providing a long-term use for the shipyard that will secure its future.

In June 2009, the Conservancy and Gambol Industries entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Port of Los Angeles to drop their appeals of the environmental impact report (EIR) for the Port’s channel deepening project.

Although the slips have been altered over time, the Conservancy was concerned that filling them in would nullify the shipyard’s historic function and limit opportunities for reusing the adjacent buildings by reducing access to the site.

LAC staff (2006)

Under the MOU , the Port agreed to a one-year exclusive negotiating period to allow Gambol to work with the Port on a detailed business plan to return the historic shipyard to its historic use as a shipbuilding and repair facility.

Significantly, the Port agreed to permanently shelve the 2006 EIR for the proposed demolition of the Southwest Marine Buildings, and require a new EIR for any future proposal to raze structures in the National Register-eligible historic district.

On December 16, 2010, the Board of Harbor Commissioners decided to end exclusive negotiations with Gambol, as well as to not designate the site for use as a shipyard.

History of the Shipyard

Shipyard in 1957; Courtesy Los Angeles Harbor Department

The Southwest Marine Shipyard is the last vestige of San Pedro's once mighty but little-known World War II shipbuilding industry. Between 1941 and 1945, ship and aircraft production facilities at Los Angeles Harbor worked around the clock to produce more than fifteen million tons of war equipment, with nearly 90,000 workers employed at four different shipyards.

The Bethlehem Shipyard at Berth 240 was one of only fifteen yards nationwide that built destroyers during the war.

Twenty-six destroyers were constructed and launched from this site. The site is remarkably intact, with thirteen of the sixteen remaining structures deemed eligible for listing as a National Register historic district.

After Bethlehem Steel vacated the site in the early 1980s, Southwest Marine operated it as a repair facility until 2004. Its vast industrial buildings have served as a backdrop for hundreds of television and movie productions over the years.

The Port of Los Angeles has a great summary of the Port's history on their website.

Shipyard in the News

Port of L.A. set to quash Gambol plan, Long Beach Press-Telegram, December 12, 2010

Why shipyard is good news for San Pedro, Daily Breeze, July 27 , 2010