Marineland of the Pacific. Palos Verdes, CA.
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Jan. 11th, 2006 | 09:14 pm
posted by:
lawr_rawr in
abandonedplaces
Marineland of the Pacific was an aquarium on the Palos Verdes peninsula (south of Los Angeles, north of Long Beach). At the time of its opening in 1954, it was the largest oceanarium in the world. The park closed in 1987.
The ruins of Marineland will soon be replaced by a "luxury resort." I visited this location a few times last summer, but as of September, construction crews surrounded the few remaining structures. I imagine most of this is gone by now...
The first structures visible from the parking lot are part of the Marineland Inn. This round building is the motel office.

Each of the 10 rooms faces the ocean.

The doors and windows have long been boarded up, but the view is still amazingly detailed.

Designed by William Pereira, the Marineland Restaurant and Porpoise Room (bar/lounge) consists of two connected circular buildings.




At the front of the park, this may've been where visitors queued to enter.


Continuing along the winding path...

An owl! (Not something I see very often in LA)

Across an empty field, a building containing machinery and sinks/troughs.

And an office with a stylish chair.

Random electrical equipment.

The most interesting part of the park was the imitation reef, where visitors could don flippers and swim with sea creatures, or simply observe them safely from behind glass or above the surface.






Steps to enter/exit the reef.

These were made of concrete and fiberglass.

In the changing-room near the reef.

Looking through the changing-room toward a booth containing a very large grill. (Marineland -- where you can watch the whales and eat them, too!)

The Cliffside Theater appeared to be newer than the rest of the buildings.




I'm not sure why this building's roof says "GOLF". It was surrounded by swarming bees, so I didn't get close enough to investigate further.


A view from the edge of the cliff.

Looking back toward the theater.

I loved the design of this water fountain, but didn't quite capture the shapes and angles in the photo.

And finally, the entrance to the parking lot.

View larger images on my flickr set.
Marineland Links:
Marineland of the Pacific Historical Society
Article about Marineland's history
The ruins of Marineland will soon be replaced by a "luxury resort." I visited this location a few times last summer, but as of September, construction crews surrounded the few remaining structures. I imagine most of this is gone by now...
The first structures visible from the parking lot are part of the Marineland Inn. This round building is the motel office.
Each of the 10 rooms faces the ocean.
The doors and windows have long been boarded up, but the view is still amazingly detailed.
Designed by William Pereira, the Marineland Restaurant and Porpoise Room (bar/lounge) consists of two connected circular buildings.
At the front of the park, this may've been where visitors queued to enter.
Continuing along the winding path...
An owl! (Not something I see very often in LA)
Across an empty field, a building containing machinery and sinks/troughs.
And an office with a stylish chair.
Random electrical equipment.
The most interesting part of the park was the imitation reef, where visitors could don flippers and swim with sea creatures, or simply observe them safely from behind glass or above the surface.
Steps to enter/exit the reef.
These were made of concrete and fiberglass.
In the changing-room near the reef.
Looking through the changing-room toward a booth containing a very large grill. (Marineland -- where you can watch the whales and eat them, too!)
The Cliffside Theater appeared to be newer than the rest of the buildings.
I'm not sure why this building's roof says "GOLF". It was surrounded by swarming bees, so I didn't get close enough to investigate further.
A view from the edge of the cliff.
Looking back toward the theater.
I loved the design of this water fountain, but didn't quite capture the shapes and angles in the photo.
And finally, the entrance to the parking lot.
View larger images on my flickr set.
Marineland Links:
Marineland of the Pacific Historical Society
Article about Marineland's history
(no subject)
from:
nemesisn72
date: Jan. 12th, 2006 06:28 am (UTC)
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great pictures :)
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(no subject)
from:
iamkat
date: Jan. 12th, 2006 06:42 am (UTC)
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like... yeah. wow.
again, wish I could find cool stuff like this
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(no subject)
from:
bleach_blonde
date: Jan. 12th, 2006 06:43 am (UTC)
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from:
qlarue
date: Jan. 12th, 2006 06:57 am (UTC)
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from:
bleach_blonde
date: Jan. 12th, 2006 07:42 am (UTC)
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from:
jj_maccrimmon
date: Jan. 12th, 2006 02:55 pm (UTC)
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(no subject)
from:
lawr_rawr
date: Jan. 12th, 2006 06:39 pm (UTC)
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This site has a brochure from the '80s describing the attractions:
http://themepark.sitesbyrob.com/galleries/marine.htm
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(no subject)
from:
jj_maccrimmon
date: Jan. 13th, 2006 03:22 am (UTC)
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Humorously enough, I may also pay a visit to Palos Verdes city hall and the maintenance yard. The city hall site used to be the fire control and radar site for the NIKE missile battery there from the 60's. The MX yard, used to be the launch facilities.
Thank you for the info and the research and local information you've offered up. It's been hugely appreciated.
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(no subject)
from:
ophelia_85
date: Jan. 12th, 2006 06:48 am (UTC)
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from:
cosmiccircus
date: Jan. 12th, 2006 07:22 am (UTC)
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(no subject)
from:
lawr_rawr
date: Jan. 12th, 2006 06:36 pm (UTC)
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(no subject)
from:
qlarue
date: Jan. 12th, 2006 09:13 am (UTC)
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(no subject)
from:
lawr_rawr
date: Jan. 12th, 2006 05:58 pm (UTC)
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from:
drellakowalski
date: Jan. 12th, 2006 10:15 am (UTC)
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from:
maubast
date: Jan. 12th, 2006 11:32 am (UTC)
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from:
loli_cat
date: Jan. 12th, 2006 12:59 pm (UTC)
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(no subject)
from:
monsterbrain
date: Jan. 12th, 2006 01:29 pm (UTC)
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I'm not sure I understand what I'm looking at in the shot with the door and seaweed/fish. Is that painted on the glass of the door, or are we seeing something inside the building?
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(no subject)
from:
lawr_rawr
date: Jan. 12th, 2006 06:15 pm (UTC)
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There were a lot of murals at Marineland originally:
http://www.seekingcenter.com/humble/marineland/ofthepacific.html
Maybe they re-used wood from other parts of the park when they boarded up the motel? I'd love to know why...
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(no subject)
from:
monsterbrain
date: Jan. 13th, 2006 12:14 am (UTC)
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There's something very cool/creepy about looking through the darkness behind the glass to find colorful, happy images of animal life. Maybe something to do with the fish being behind glass, reminiscent of an aquarium... It's like the fish have been abandoned, and they've been waiting in the darkness for years for someone to enjoy looking at them again.
Thanks for posting these pics!
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(no subject)
from:
jj_maccrimmon
date: Jan. 12th, 2006 02:53 pm (UTC)
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The whole story behind the closing of this place is so sad and sucks so much. The company that bough and promptly closed them ruined more than a few really good parks around the country. Marineland was only one of them.
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(no subject)
from:
lawr_rawr
date: Jan. 12th, 2006 06:45 pm (UTC)
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(no subject)
from:
jj_maccrimmon
date: Jan. 13th, 2006 03:05 am (UTC)
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(no subject)
from:
lawr_rawr
date: Jan. 13th, 2006 04:31 am (UTC)
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http://www.hotel-online.com/News/2005_Nov_29/k.OCC.1133375547.html
Here's another advert for the development:
http://www.latimes.com/extras/newhomes/west/palosverde.html
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(no subject)
from:
sukieseven
date: Jan. 12th, 2006 04:39 pm (UTC)
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Marineland
from:
mmdenton
date: Oct. 14th, 2008 04:27 am (UTC)
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Seeing the pictures is so sad. It was a beautiful park and the best job a high school kid could ever have. When all the guests were gone and it was closed, the trainers would let the dolphins out for a fun swim in their big tank. We would throw soccer and volleyballs across the pool and they would bring them and throw them back to us. Dolphin fetch. One of a gazillion great memories..
It was called "Baja Reef" and yes, it rocked. They had little sharks in it you swam with, also.
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