The San Pedro Bay Historical Society was offering a member only tour of Fort MacArthur Museum. Billed as rain or shine, it was a wet, muddy day.
Since it open in 1985, I have taken a tour 2 or 3 times. The museum is always changing and evolving.
Anti-Aircraft Battery Commander's Telescope M-1
They are currently trying to restore several rooms and make it a living history structure.
Once a year they bring out the sirens and flood lights, when they reenact "The Great Los Angeles Air Raid of 1942."
2023 Update: This years Air Raid was cancelled as a Great Horned Owl's nest was discovered on the museum grounds. This will affect any future events involving loud noise and bright lights.
They also have a pet cemetery on the grounds.
This tour was special as we got to see a few rooms that are not included on regular tours.
Below is a machine used for Morse code training. The paper tape emits dashes and dots sounds.
At the start of World War II, the Army made plans for the construction of fifty intermediate range 6-inch coastal defense batteries (100 guns).
Three were built locally. Battery 240 (above Point Vicente in Polos Verdes), Battery 241 (below the Korean Friendship Bell) and Battery 242 at Bolsa Chica, which is now covered up.
Of special interest to me was getting to see Battery 241, which has always been closed to the public. It is located under the Korean Bell of Friendship.
I last set foot inside this battery in 1976, before the doors were permanently closed to keep out hooligans. (The B&W images were scan from negatives I took in 1976.)
Battery 241 is still closed to the public, but is in the process of being restored.
Plotting Room
Plotting Room Ceiling Tile with Communications Box
We were told the ceiling tiles were made from dried seaweed.
Same view in 1976 (taken from half way down the hall just in front of search light):
In 1976, I took a couple of friends with me, to play with taking timed exposures. In total darkness, I put the camera on a tripod, open the lens and walked down the hall setting off flashes to create ghost-like images:
Located at Angel’s Gate Park, 3601 South Gaffey Street in San
Pedro, California, it was a bi-centennial gift from the Republic of Korea and was first dedicated on October 3, 1976.
Today was the Re-Dedication and Bell Ringing Ceremony, celebrating the restoration of the Korean Bell of Friendship.
Due to weather, age and neglect, the bell has not been rung for several years.
The $365,000 restoration took over two years to complete.
Los Angeles Mayor, Eric Garcetti, was present for the ceremony where several certificates, bell models and kudos were exchanged.
This was my first time to hear it ring.
You can hear the bell and the drummers:
It will ring five times a year: Korean Liberation Day, US Constitution Day, Korean-American Day, Fourth of July and New Year's Eve.
It is struck 14 times, once for each of the 13 colonies plus once for good luck.
The bell weighs over 17 tons, is made of copper and tin with gold, nickel, lead and phosphorus; it was modeled after the bell cast for the Bongdeok Temple in 771 AD. These two bells are considered the largest in the world.
7½
feet diameter, 8 inches thick, 12 feet high, the bell has four images of the Goddess of Liberty: The Statue of Liberty and Seonyeo holding hands.
In each panel, the Korean spirit figure holds a different item: a dove, a branch of Rose of Sharon, a branch of laurel and the Taegeuk.
In 1978, the bell and its' structure became Los Angeles Historical-Cultural Monument #187.
Located on the former Upper Reservation of Fort Mac Arthur, you can still see the old access to the underground tunnels.
West End
East End
Below are two images I took in the late 70's inside the underground tunnel. It was pitch dark and I was creating ghost images using a tripod, flashlight and timed exposures:
70'S Interior East Tunnel
Update: I was watching an episode of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. that aired on 03/04/2014 and noticed the lab hidden in an old World War Two underground bunker looked familiar:
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. S1E14
They were using this same entrance (West End). The interiors where shot elsewhere and they graphically changed the background, adding a mountain, but this is the same door.
They also have a pet cemetery on the grounds.
This tour was special as we got to see a few rooms that are not included on regular tours.
Below is a machine used for Morse code training. The paper tape emits dashes and dots sounds.
At the start of World War II, the Army made plans for the construction of fifty intermediate range 6-inch coastal defense batteries (100 guns).
Three were built locally. Battery 240 (above Point Vicente in Polos Verdes), Battery 241 (below the Korean Friendship Bell) and Battery 242 at Bolsa Chica, which is now covered up.
Of special interest to me was getting to see Battery 241, which has always been closed to the public. It is located under the Korean Bell of Friendship.
I last set foot inside this battery in 1976, before the doors were permanently closed to keep out hooligans. (The B&W images were scan from negatives I took in 1976.)
Battery 241 is still closed to the public, but is in the process of being restored.
Same view in 1976 (taken from half way down the hall just in front of search light):
In 1976, I took a couple of friends with me, to play with taking timed exposures. In total darkness, I put the camera on a tripod, open the lens and walked down the hall setting off flashes to create ghost-like images:
