While we’d been wandering Point Fermin Park and the Sunken City, it was hard not to look at the bluffs above. Fort McArthur was the post that guarded the approached to Los Angeles for over 80 years. In fact, the housing compound is still an active military enclave, part of Los Angeles AF Station. The upper reaches of the Fort hold remnants of the WW1 & 2 gun emplacements and munitions bunkers that defended San Pedro Bay. On this trip we didn’t get to the large (14”) gun emplacements further up the hill, but we did take photos of the former 6” gun positions and the Korean American Friendship Bell.
From the bell shrine, I managed to get one “good” photo of a former 6” gun emplacement.
Nearby several kids were flying these colorful kites in the sea breeze.
As we finished and the sun was rapidly setting, I found the spirit move me to get these photos.
As I watched the sun setting, I saw this rose crying out for attention and happily obliged.
Going…
Going…
Gone
I hope everyone has enjoyed our December visit to the area. Having my new friend (
tatyannamw) as a guide and companion made the trip very pleasant. It won’t be the last. I planned to actually have gone down there today, but a very sore ankle is limiting me a bit and I wanted to give it a day. To echo the words of another McArthur (the namesake of the park’s son, Douglas), I shall return (soon).There’s a wealth of info on Fort McArthur and the friendship bell on-line. Here are just a few sites:
http://www.sanpedrochamber.com/champint/ftmac.htm
http://www.ftmac.org/
This is a 360 degree panorama of the bell site.
http://virtualguidebooks.com/SouthCalif/LosAngeles/SanPedro/KoreanBellSanPedro_FS.html
http://www.laokay.com/MiscSanPedro.htm
