Adopted: August 18, 20 I 0 Presented Janice Hahn ADOPTED Councilwoman, I 5Th District AUG 18 2010
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
RESOLUTION General Phineas Banning "The Father of the Port of Los Angeles" WHEREAS, the City of Los Angeles will be celebrating General Phineas Banning's 180'h Birthday on August 19, 2010; and WHEREAS, in 1843 at the age of 13, Phineas Banning, considered to be the "Father of the Port of Los Angeles," left his parents' home in Wilmington, Delaware, with 50 cents in his pocket. He walked 30 miles to begin work in an older brother's Philadelphia law office; and WHEREAS, at age 21, Banning, bitten by the "Go West" bug, sailed to Panama, crossed the Isthmus jungles by mule and dugout canoe, and sailed 3,000 miles north to the small Sepulveda landing at shallow San Pedro Bay. Soon after his arrival in Los Angeles, Banning entered the rough world of staging and freighting, driving six-horse stages pell-mell the 20+ miles from port to city and beyond. Banning's staging routes made him his first fortune; and WHEREAS, Phineas Banning was a visionary with tremendous energy and love for the multi-ethnic Southern California area. He played a pivotal role in the development of this great city. He was instrumental in building the Port of Los Angeles, constructing the first breakwater and dredging the harbor. He ran an extensive network of stage and freight routes that connected the still developing port east to San Bernardino and south to Fort Yuma; and WHEREAS, Banning formed a partnership with West Prussian immigrant Harris Newmark, initiating a thriving trade between Los Angeles and the Mormon outpost at Salt Lake. Pulled by one hundred fifty mules, 15 wagons carried thirty tons of cargo. It was a four-month round-trip journey via Santa Fe. He purchased 640 acres of mud flats near San Pedro, and set about to establish a new town. He named it Wilmington after his home city. In 1859, the first ocean-going vessel anchored in his new harbor. After that, with pride mixed with humor, Banning enjoyed being called "Port Admiral." An ardent Unionist and abolitionist, Banning was commissioned a General in the California militia during the Civil War, and donated land for a federal fort in Wilmington. Later, in 1868, he built the first railroad between the harbor and downtown Los Angeles. His Los Angeles and San Pedro Railway was later confiscated by the city under heavy pressure from the Southern Pacific Railway, which wanted to take it over; and WHEREAS, General Banning was a pioneer in communications as well. In I 860, telegraph lines were slowly making their way toward Los Angeles from San Francisco. When progress lagged, the "Port Admiral" ordered wire and began building from his end. Starting in Wilmington, of course, the link was completed on October 8, 1860, and Los Angeles was no longer an isolated outpost; and WHEREAS, General Banning's wharf and warehouse were destroyed in a major storm, leading to the founding and development of New San Pedro. For awhile the port surpassed that of San Pedro. During the Civil War troops were stationed at the Drum Barracks. San Pedro's port gained in domination over that of New San Pedro, partly due to the construction of the Southern Pacific railroad to San Pedro. In 1865, the state legislature renamed New San Pedro for Banning's hometown, Wilmington. Then in 1909, both San Pedro and Wilmington were annexed by Los Angeles, giving the City its first direct access to the ocean; and WHEREAS, the Banning mansion in Wilmington is now a museum. General Banning died in San Francisco on March 8, 1885 at the age of 54 and is buried in the Rosedale Cemetery, where he has an impressive monument: NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that by adoption of this resolution the Mayor along with the Los Angeles City Council do hereby commemorate GENERAL PHINEAS BANNING's !80th Birthday on August 19, 2010 and join with the Friends of Banning Museum in honoring his life's achievements and his legacy. Adopted: August 18, 20 I 0 Presented Janice Hahn ADOPTED Councilwoman, I 5th District AUG 18 2010 lOS ANGELES CITY COUNCIL Seconded by: -----:-:-:-:-::-:---::---;- Mayor, and All Councilmembers .