American Merchant Marine Veterans Memorial
Angel's Gate
Recreation Center
Assistance League
of San Pedro
Post Office
Drum Barracks
Civil War Museum
Fort MacArthur Military Museum
Old St. Peter's Episcopal Church
Point Vicente Interpretive Center
U.S.S. Los Angeles Naval Memorial
| Harbor View House (formerly the ARMY and NAVY Y.M.C.A.) |  |
In 1919, when the San Pedro Y.M.C.A. was founded, its mission was to provide athletic and social activities for the Army personnel at Fort MacArthur. By 1926, with the construction of an additional breakwater allowing more Navy ships to anchor in San Pedro bay, the small frame building on North Harbor Boulevard was no longer adequate. The new facility, a five-story Spanish Colonial Revival style structure on the bluff overlooking the harbor's main channel, was known as the Army and Navy Y.M.C.A. With 300 dormitory rooms, a gymnasium, running track, banquet room, patio, pool, boxing and wrestling rooms and a coffee shop, the Y.M.C.A. was a hub of activity. During World War II, it provided recreation and temporary quarters for over four million men. Celebrities such as Bob Hope and Lucille Ball stopped to entertain on their way overseas. In 1947, the Y.M.C.A. changed to a "civilian" organization, and dormitory rooms began to be booked by young travelers and senior citizens. In 1958, the Y.M.C.A. moved to its present facility. The Beacon Street building was purchased in 1967 for use as temporary housing for the homeless mentally ill, and is now known as Harbor View House.
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Text courtesy of the San Pedro Peninsula Chamber of Commerce
Photo courtesy of Lily Ann Designs
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