August 13, 2012

• PhotoPost: BB-61: The U.S.S. Iowa

  

  This weekend I planned to take a Photo Expedition. Gas prices are up again. It's possibly the hottest weekend of the year. I washed and waxed the car yesterday, and just tried to beat the heat otherwise. This morning, I headed south to San Pedro, with the purpose in mind of taking photos of Battleship BB-61, the U.S.S. Iowa, which is now docked permanently, and is in the process of becoming a floating museum. I didn't go on board ship. Only about 25% is open to the public, but I promise to return in a few months when more areas are open, and take you on a full blown tour, like I did last summer with the U.S.S. Midway, docked in San Diego.

   

  My day began at about 6:15am. As I turned right on Harbor Blvd. in San Pedro, the sun was still underneath the Vincent Thomas bridge. I hadn't checked the actual location of the ship online before leaving, cause there's only so many places you can park an 887 foot long, 45,000 ton battleship. I figured I'd easily see it. (Plus the city has a lot of signs pointing the way to it's newest attraction.)

  

  I parked my car in a residential neighborhood across from Harbor, and walked down to the ship. I'm trying to save money and didn't need any parking fees cluttering up my budget just now. Only a few joggers and walkers were out this early on a Sunday. Here I snap a photo of the Iowa through the chain link fence separating the Harbor parking lot from the pedestrian walkway. Built in 1940, the U.S.S. Iowa served for over 50 years. It has been designated the "World's Greatest Naval Ship" and the "Battleship of Presidents." 

  

  Still outside the fence, I shoot over it, attempting not to get too much glare from the sun, which is still pretty low on the horizon. The bridge can be seen on the left of the shot. Behind the ship is one of the many cranes used in the harbor to load and unload container vessels. During World War II, the Iowa carried President Franklin D. Roosevelt across the Atlantic to Casablanca en route to a crucial 1943 meeting in Tehran with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin.

  

  I walked the length of the parking lot, almost all the way to the cruise ship terminal under the Vincent Thomas bridge, and asked the parking attendant if it was okay for me to walk up to the ship to take pictures. Since there wasn't anyone around, the attendant offered to shepherd me down to the ship in her golf cart. She remarked at how the breeze felt nice on our faces. We're experiencing a summer heat wave, and even this close to the harbor, and this early in the a.m. the air was still and beginning to get stifling. I thanked her for her kindness, and shot a couple of photos alongside the ship. No way I was going to be this close and still get a complete shot of the whole battleship!

  

  The Iowa's nickname is "The Big Stick". It was the last lead ship of any class of US battleship.

  

  Iowa's main battery consisted of nine 16" (406.4mm)/50 caliber Mark 7 gun, which could fire 2,700 lb (1,200 kg) armor-piercing shells some 20 nmi (23 mi; 37 km). Her secondary battery consisted of 20 5 in (130 mm)/38 cal guns in twin turrets, which could fire at targets up to 12 nmi (14 mi; 22 km) away. With the advent of air power and the need to gain and maintain air superiority came a need to protect the growing fleet of Allied aircraft carriers; to this end, Iowa was fitted with an array of Oerlikon 20 mm and Bofors 40 mm anti-aircraft guns to defend Allied carriers from enemy airstrikes. (from Wikipedia, linked to at the end of this entry.)

  

  The sun peeks from behing the bow of the ship, now at permanent anchor in San Pedro.

  

  Here is another ship on display in the San Pedro harbor, a vintage fireboat.

  

  After shooting photos of the battleship, I drove down to the marina. Here I found a ship in a bottle. Not any bottle, but one that's nearly 7 foot long. Not any ship, either. It's a model of a container vessel, filled with hundreds of containers, and floating on a sea of blue glass fragments.

  

  In the distance, the merchant marine vessel, the Lane Victory, can almost be seen in the center of the photo. I'll be there in a few moments.

   

  In some marinas, I can walk down to the ships. Not in San Pedro. I really shouldn't have parked where I did, either, since I didn't have a permit. Here I shoot through.....

   

  One of these massive doors guarding the docks. Ship and boat owners have carded access through heavy doors to get to their vessels.

  

  This is the Lane Victory, which used to be "parked" farther up the harbor, nearer to where the Iowa is now. It has been moved almost to the end of the harbor area.

  

  My car parked in front of the U.S.S. Lane Victory, which is also a floating museum ship.

  

  Yours truly. standing in front of the ship.

  

  Two statues, representing merchant mariners and fishermen who contributed to the early growth of the San Pedro harbor, flank the entrance to the Ports o' Call shopping and restaurant complex, originally built in 1961. The area fell on hard times, and is in the midst of an economic renewal now that the harbor is being renovated as a more "touristy" destination. I first visited the Ports o' Call village in the late 70s, and have spent a lot of time wandering around the area.

  

  The architecture is in the design of east coast whaling villages. We're at the far end of Whaler's Wharf, looking up toward the bridge, blue in color, which can be seen in the center of the photo. The Los Angeles harbor (officially Worldport, or Port of Los Angeles.) is the busiest port in the United States, and when combined with nearby Long Beach, (across the bridge past Terminal Island) is the sixth largest port in the world! (China, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, and Thailand are the top five.)

  

  In the distance you can see the Iowa and the Vincent Thomas bridge. I'm standing in the seating area of one of the bar/restaurants at seaside.

  

  The streets and walkways were for the most part empty of tourists and visitors, making the architecture stand out. Only fish market employees and mariners could be found down here this early. I exchanged greetings with everyone I met.

  

  We're across a pretty big ocean, but Los Angeles is part of the pacific rim, and there is a big Asian influence here. Talk about fresh fish. Right from the ocean to your sushi bar! I'm on a diet, and had to get away from all the fresh fish pretty quickly, cause I was so hungry!

  

  In the evenings, there is a definite party vibe in this area. Here a golf cart is adorned with beer bottles. Perhaps it ferries drunks back to the parking lot on Saturday nights.

  

  Classic schooners and sailboats can be rented for harbor tours. Small parklike picnic grounds dot the area between restaurants and bars. I framed this sailboat with some foliage.

  

  Another atmospheric shot of some of the architecture on Whaler's Wharf in the Ports o' Call village.

  

  I took some photos of the window displays, since none of the shops were open yet.

  

  A crystal ball was positioned in front of the wizard in the above shot, and here he appears upside down in the crystal.

  

  Before turning around to get back home, I stopped at the Cabrillo Market area next to Cabrillo Beach. I think a wedding was being prepared at this facility, and I shot the Lane Victory 'through' an archway on the grounds.

  

  A container vessel being loaded. Two fisherman in rubber dinghys are near the wooden dock to the left. The round pinkish building is the Marina Museum, built in an art deco style.

  

  A T shirt featuring our newest tourist attraction in a gift shop window in Ports O' Call village.

  

  A painting of a sailor adorning a heart on the side of the U.S.S. Iowa in a gift shop window.

  

  Driving out of San Pedro on Central Avenue on my way to Gaffey St. I spied this 1959 Chevrolet Fleetside pickup in my favorite color scheme of turquoise and white. I'm planning on purchasing a Harley Heritage Softail motorcycle in this color scheme for my 60th birthday if everything works out okay.

  

  The owner of the truck, sitting on his porch, saw me taking the pictures. I had a nice conversation with him about the restoration, and we discussed our love of classic vehicles.

  

  He related that the white color should actually be more of an ivory color, and the restorer used paint which was actually used on a later year Chevy pickup. If he wouldn't have told me, I would have never known. This truck looks like it was driven off the showroom floor just yesterday.

  

  

  REQUIRED READING:
  U.S.S. Iowa Wikipedia article
  Pacific Battleship.com
  ABC.com video of Iowa coming into port
  U.S.S. Iowa Veterans Association

  PhotoPost:U.S.S. Midway aircraft carrier museum

  Posted: August 12, 2012 1:38 PM

  • 7:25 pm
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