Episode 4: Transcript

A Tale of Two Harbors, The Railroad, and what goes Boom must go Bust

Last time on The Story: Los Angeles

Racial tensions rise culminating in a massacre of 19 Chinese residents amid Tong violence.

Opening

The mid to end of the 1800s in Los Angeles saw explosive population growth, cycles of economic boom and bust, and numerous improvements across the region. The town was stumbling forward into the makings of a proper city.

Growth, intermingled with the introduction of the railroad, selection of a harbor, and boom and bust cycles of the gold rush, real estate, and citrus farm markets proved both promising and destabilizing for the young city. But visionaries persisted, forging a path forward - despite the ups and downs of the end of the century.

Today we're diving into the history of the Santa Monica and San Pedro harbors,  the turbulent era of boom and bust cycles in late 1800s Los Angeles, and the fight for railroad dominance in the southland.

This is The Story: Los Angeles.

Episode 4: A Tale of Two Harbors, The Railroad, and what goes Boom must go Bust.

Part 1: A Tale of Two Harbors

When Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo sailed along the California coast in 1542 he spotted what is now San Pedro Bay and christened it "Bahia de los Fumos," or the Bay of Smokes, witnessing huge plumes of smoke rising from Native American settlements.

Over two centuries later, Gaspar de Portolá led a land expedition from Spain to colonize what was Alta California, opening the door to establishing missions and pueblos along the Camino Real. Portolá's group briefly considered the future Santa Monica area for a harbor due its fertile land and reliable springs, but development never came to pass leaving Santa Monica untouched for decades.

It may be easy to take the massive size of the Port of Los Angeles for granted, but before 1900, its fate hung in the balance. These harbors gave rise to contrasting personalities that still form the soul of LA's coastline.

As California fell under American control Los Angeles, the City of Angels, was a glittering jewel on the Pacific Coast, a place of ambition and boundless promise. But there was one problem: no decent harbor. The city was growing rapidly and merchants relied on but lacked a proper harbor. San Pedro offered some shelter, but shallow waters in the marsh-like inner bay forced large ships to anchor offshore. Cargo had to be ferried in by smaller boats, a slow, risky, and cumbersome process. 

With boats docking directly in the Pacific Ocean, storms often wreaked havoc on the outer harbor docks. On multiple occasions, large Southeaster storms broke apart the piers and destroyed boats docked at the port. This led a property owner in San Pedro, Phineas Banning (known as the father of the Port of Los Angeles), to consider moving his docks  further inland which he did, and New San Pedro (now called Wilmington) was born. Not only was Wilmington more protected from the raging waters of the Pacific, it was also five miles closer to Los Angeles, shortening the time and lowering the cost to get imported or exported goods to and from the city.

During the civil war, Banning opened up the city of Wilmington to house troops. The military at the time built a hotel, a post office, and several other improvements. Their mere presence in Wilmington pushed additional shipping into and out of Banning’s Wilmington & San Pedro docks.

But transportation to and from the only decent port, San Pedro & Wilmington, was at the time under the iron grip of railroad tycoon Collis Huntington. This shrewd businessman had one goal: absolute control over trade in the growing city. In the 1870s, Senator John P. Jones, co-founder of Santa Monica, saw his own seaside town's potential. He envisioned a world-class port to rival that of San Francisco. Plans were drawn, construction began on the 'Long Wharf' of Santa Monica and investors appeared including Huntington, seeing an opportunity to monopolize the new wharf for his own profit.

But the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce had different ambitions. Frustrated with exorbitant prices charged by Huntington’s access to the port at San Pedro, the chamber of commerce fought to free San Pedro from capitalist greed and place it under control of the chamber: one representative was quoted as saying:  "Huntington's monopoly strangles our growth! A free harbor will unleash Los Angeles' potential!"

But what Huntington and Jones had in wealth in pushing for Santa Monica, the businessmen in the chamber had in fiery determination. As the battle lines were drawn, a powerful figure emerged - U.S. Senator Stephen White. This wasn’t a man interested in favors or backroom deals; Senator White was a fighter stating: "A railroad, my friends, should serve the people, not enslave them! I will not bend to this corporate greed!"

When the free Harbor Fight reached the United States Congress, Huntington unleashed his allies lobbying hard to shift federal dollars away from improving San Pedro to his and Jone’s competing port in Santa Monica, areas they conveniently owned.

Despite no clear determination, Huntington boldly began building the infamous 'Long Wharf' at Santa Monica anyway, staking his physical claim on the city's future. Tourists flocked to see this marvel of engineering stretching almost a mile into the bay. But would the presumptive construction sway the masses and congress in favor of Santa Monica?

"The Santa Monica wharf is a monument to arrogance! This isn't just about business, folks, it's about control, about choosing our own destiny!", said one Chamber of Commerce member.

The battle for Southern California's main port had become a clash of powerful interests – Senator Jones and Huntington in favor of Santa Monica vs. – the city backing the port of San Pedro. The debate got fierce and, at times, dirty. Each side had commissioned engineering studies, but suspiciously contradictory findings emerged. And so political machinations in Washington D.C. took center stage.

Similar to the necessity of William Ord’s survey mapping the city, a hydrographic or nautical map of the bay of San Pedro was necessary for captains to navigate the bay and for commerce to increase in the port. Trade in San Pedro at the time exceeded that of all other ports south of San Francisco combined. A reliable map and plan for development of the port was necessary for its continued economic dominance in southern california. City leaders hired Alexander Bache to map and plan a future city port.

When the 'Free Harbor Fight' reached Congress in the late 1890s newspapers were ablaze, - town halls overflowed with debate. Public sentiment rallied behind Senator White and the Chamber who made a strong case supported by the new map. Huntington had overplayed his hand. A crucial Senate vote approached in the US Congress. White delivered a rousing speech painting Huntington as a villain choking the lifeblood of Los Angeles and the US Senate was stunned. Finally, Senator White pulled off a brilliant last minute maneuver: a cunning amendment forcing Huntington to establish a fixed price to use the Santa Monica harbor. Huntington could no longer monopolize the port of Santa Monica anymore than San Pedro.

An independent panel of experts delivered the final blow, choosing San Pedro as the great Port of Los Angeles due to its naturally protected bay and work began dredging the mud flats and salt marshes to deepen the harbor channels.

For Santa Monica and Huntington, the loss of the harbor was a turning point. It could no longer be the mighty shipping hub Senator Jones originally envisioned, but, ironically, this allowed for its eventual emergence as a leisure, recreation, and tourist destination. The federal backing for San Pedro meant massive funding for dredging and creating the breakwater we know today.  San Pedro transformed into one of the busiest ports in the world, forming the core of what ultimately became the Port of Los Angeles.

Part 2: The Railroad

The year: 1869, Promontory Summit, Utah. It was here the final railroad spike connecting the eastern and western coasts was hammered into the first trans-continental locomotive tracks.

But Los Angeles's love affair with trains began two decades earlier, in a much less glamorous fashion than you might imagine. In 1850, the city was far from the metropolis we now know. With sparse population and cattle ranches dominating the landscape, railway development was slow.  The first short lines were built primarily for industrial purposes, transporting goods to and from the harbor at San Pedro and Wilmington, a mere 20 miles away. Yet, the seed had been planted – the ambition for a grander network connected to the rest of the country had taken root.

By the mid-1850s,  spurred by the discovery of gold and the new incorporation of California as the 31st state, the dream of a transcontinental railroad captured the nation's imagination. The Central Pacific Railroad, starting in Sacramento, and the Union Pacific Railroad, starting in Omaha, Nebraska, raced to meet in the middle and in 1869, their tracks met at Promontory Summit, Utah, creating the first continuous rail line from the Atlantic to the Pacific, terminating in San Francisco, 500 miles north of Los Angeles.

The United States Congress pushed developers to connect Los Angeles to San Francisco and the rest of the country, leading to the emergence of a true "Railroad Race". Rival companies fought to be the first to connect Los Angeles in the South to the transcontinental network in San Francisco.  One prominent player was the Southern Pacific Railroad, led by the "Big Four" titans of California industry: Stanford, Huntington, Crocker, and Hopkins. This powerful company was determined to link Los Angeles to the rest of the booming nation.

As railroads came to completion, connections to the broader markets in the country fueled profound changes to Southern California. The competition led to fierce railroad battles for dominance, offering competing fares to entice passengers and businesses. At one point, the price of a ticket to Los Angeles plummeted from a steep $125 at the time to just $15 opening up the cities economy to a broader and more diverse population of settlers.

As Los Angeles transformed from a sleepy outpost to a thriving city, the railway network acted as a lifeblood, driving massive change:

• The Population Boomed: Easy and affordable travel meant a vast influx of settlers and potential workers, attracted by the promise of land and opportunity in the growing West. Los Angeles experienced explosive growth, morphing from a dusty pueblo to a burgeoning metropolis.

• The Economy Shifted: Industries flourished. Agriculture moved beyond mere sustenance, as fruits and vegetables could now be swiftly shipped to far-off markets. The harbor grew larger, welcoming not just goods, but new cultures and diversity.

• The Landscape Transformed: The iron rails forced city planners to grapple with its evolving footprint. Streets were paved, public transportation emerged to connect various neighborhoods with the main rails, and new suburban housing developed, creating the sprawl that Los Angeles is now known for.

As the 1800s came to a close, the initial frenzy of railway development stabilized. Yet, the lasting impact was indelible. By 1900, Los Angeles's rail network facilitated massive changes in every aspect of its existence. This seemingly simple network built of iron and wooden ties forever transformed Los Angeles' destiny.

Part 3: What Goes Boom Must Go Bust

It's the early 1850s.  Los Angeles was a sleepy California pueblo, a dusty outpost under Mexican rule. Sprawling ranchos, carved from vast Spanish land grants, dominated the landscape. The primary economic driver? Cattle. Hides and tallow from these herds were gold for the rancheros fueling trading networks that spanned the continent all the way to New England.

But this seemingly tranquil era held the seeds of change. The 1848 discovery of gold in Northern California unleashed a tide of fortune seekers, transforming California and setting the stage for Los Angeles' first significant boom.

As prospectors flooded California, the demand for beef rocketed. Suddenly, rancheros were sitting on an economic goldmine with cattle prices soaring from $2 a head to $70 in one year. Los Angeles found itself at the heart of a lucrative and frenzied period of economic and industrial growth.

Yet, even during this prosperity, a lurking bust waited in the wings. The Gold Rush was not everlasting.  And, ominously, a devastating drought settled over Southern California in the 1860s. Cattle died in the thousands, fortunes evaporated, and a stark economic decline hung over the city.

Los Angeles, however, proved resilient. And from the ashes of the cattle bust rose a new era - the citrus boom. Visionary farmers who understood the region's climate turned oranges into golden-state opportunities. Large-scale irrigation projects transformed the desert into flourishing orchards.

And as the railroads reached Los Angeles in the 1870s, those citrus fruits filled boxcars, connecting the once isolated city to markets across the entire nation. This agricultural explosion created immense wealth fueling rapid growth and a more prosperous and cosmopolitan future.

Alongside the orange riches, a darker side of booms emerged: unrestrained land speculation. Real estate fever ignited Los Angeles. Prices escalated dramatically, fuelled by visions of future profits and endless expansion. Yet this feverish speculation wasn't built on sustainable foundations. Many newcomers were lured by the promise of vast amounts of land either to find the properties purchased were inaccessible due to mountains and limited infrastructure or that the property was entirely non-existent, created by fraudsters to make a quick buck at the expense of fortune seekers.

Finally, in the late 1880s, the Real Estate bubble burst. Land prices collapsed, banks failed, and Los Angeles fell into a sharp recession. Many who'd arrived seeking paradise lost everything. This boom-and-bust pattern set a precedent that would echo across LA's history.

In 19th-century Los Angeles, boom and bust danced a relentless waltz. Yet out of those ashes, LA grew, innovated, and found new paths to prosperity. The introduction of the railroad, selection of San Pedro as the city's primary harbor, and transformation into a citrus exporter all fueled the growth of Los Angeles as it turned the century into the 1900s.