3601 South Gaffey
Street"
San Pedro
(310)548-7705
(during the weekend)
(310)548-2631 (during the week)
If you're ever in
the Harbor area of Los Angeles, take a quick trip to the Fort
MacArthur Museum in San Pedro, CA. Step back into W.W.II era
Southern California at Battery Osgood-Farley, where the Museum
is housed. Inside this concrete fortress you will get a taste of
what it was like to be guarding the California coast in the
1940s.
Built from
1916-1919, Battery Osgood-Farley lies on the upper reservation
of Fort MacArthur, and is now part of Angels Gate Park. The
Battery was in military service until 1975. It was then placed
on the Register of National Historic Places in 1976. The Fort
MacArthur Museum was founded nine years later, in 1985.
Still a work in
progress, Fort MacArthur Museum is committed to preserving and
collecting the relics that played an important role in Los
Angeles' historic Harbor Defenses. Battery Osgood-Farley itself
has not gone through much modification since it was built, and
could probably be the only type of gun battery of its kind left
in the continental United States.
Although Fort
MacArthur has taken part in several wars, from World War I to
the Cold War, the main focus of the Museum is World War II and
the technology available to the military at the time. According
to the director/ curator, Mr. Stephen Nelson, one of the most
significant exhibits in the Museum is the Eda Hall exhibit,
located in a room left of the Museum's main entrance, accessible
from outside. This exhibit displays footage taken from the
attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.
More exhibits
await you as you enter the Museum's main entrance and wander in
and out of its corridors: photos, relics, old newspaper articles
and dioramas show what life was like for both the military and
civilian in wartime Los Angeles.
Topside of the
Museum is the Battery Commander's Room, a small room overlooking
the Pacific Ocean that was used for observation and range
finding. On either side of the Museum are the loading platforms
and gun pits of Battery Osgood-Farley. Also outside you will
find examples of guns used during the military campaigns that
Fort MacArthur participated in.
Admission is
free, though a contribution is suggested to help preserve and
maintain Fort MacArthur's history, as well as to enable the
Museum to put together more exhibits. Don’t forget to stop at
the Museum shop for a self guided tour pamphlet; they go for
about 50 cents, and will definitely help explain the history of
many of the exhibits in and around the Museum. However, because
the Museum concentrates on exhibits specific to Los Angeles and
its history, the best way to experience the Museum would be to
book a tour with Mr. Nelson, or one of the Museum Volunteers.
Tours can be arranged by calling the Museum at (310)548-7705
during weekend afternoons, or the Park Office during the week
from 8am to 4pm at (310)548-2631.
The Museum
operates on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturday, Sundays and Holidays
from 12pm to 5pm. The Museum Shop is open Saturdays, Sundays and
Holidays from 12pm to 5pm. The Museum address is 3601 South
Gaffey Street, San Pedro 90731. To get to the Museum, take the
110 Freeway south and exit on Gaffey Street North. Make a left,
and continue on North Gaffey Street then turn right on
Leavenworth Drive. The Museum is located in Angels Gate Park.
Parking is available across the street from the entrance to the
Park.
Inside tip:
The
weekend following the Fourth of July is a big weekend for the
Museum as it presents Old Fort MacArthur Days, an annual
re-enactor and artillery show. Call the museum or park office
for information.
