Municipal Warehouse No. 1 - Construction and Early Years

Construction and Early Years

The development of the Panama Canal led Los Angeles business leaders to believe that, if modern port facilities could be built, the world's commercial fleet would descend on Los Angeles. When the canal opened in August 1914, World War I had postponed the city's plans. However, the city's Municipal Wharf No. 1 was nearly complete in 1914, and harbor officials next turned their attention the construction of a large bonded warehouse to handle the "sea caravans" that were expected to crowd the harbor at the end of the war.

By late 1914, foundation tests and paving activities were underway for a six-story warehouse to be built on Municipal Dock No. 1. And in December 1914, the Harbor Commission unveiled the structural plans (pictured to the left) prepared by Chief Harbor Engineer S.A. Jubb for the "mammoth new warehouse." The Los Angeles Times reported at the time on the proposed design as follows:

"The massiveness and character of the structure, of course, preclude the idea of architectural beauty and make any considerable degree of ornamentation undesirable. Both commissions, however, are desirous that the warehouse shall be more than merely a gigantic fireproof box with four walls, a roof and various openings. Considerable study, therefore, has been given to the treatment of cornice and wall panels, to the end that as pleasing and symmetrical an effect may be obtained as is consistent with the purposes and proportions of the building.
The warehouse will be of reinforced concrete construction and six stories in height. It will be 480 feet (150 m) in length and 150 feet (46 m) wide, being the largest structure of its kind ever erected west of Chicago. ... The warehouse is to stand at the seaward end of the city's present great outer harbor dock ..."

The original projected cost of the structure was $200,000 for the structural work and another $50,000 for equipment, though the final cost was nearly double -- $475,792.53. When plans were finalized in 1915, the Times reported that the enormous warehouse would require more than 27,000 cubic yards of cement and 1,200 tons of reinforcing steel and would be "by far the largest structure of its kind on the Pacific Coast." The contract for the huge public works project was awarded to the Merchants' Realty and Investment Company of Los Angeles, and "unionites" immediately began making threats to "make trouble for the contractor as soon as work is started on the warehouse." The first foundation piles were driven into the Huntington Fill in August 1915, and by the end of November, more than 3,000 piles had been sunk. The first concrete was poured in January 1916, and the basement and first floor were completed by early April 1916. However, construction was slowed by wartime shortages, and the Times reported in late April that the contractor was considering suspending operations altogether and laying off the 150 men working on the project, due to continuing problems with shortages of lumber, rock and gravel.

When Municipal Warehouse No. 1 opened in April 1917, nearly 100 members of the city's Merchants' and Manufacturers' Association toured the warehouse and were told of its potential to assist them in their business. The Times described the operations at the warehouse as follows:

"Freight received by steamers will be sorted in the transit freight shed and taken into the warehouse on electric trucks. Sixteen electric hoists have been provided to convey the freight to the various lofts in the warehouse. There are nearly twelve acres of floor space in the warehouse, which will be leased by the city merchants and manufacturers. Here goods may be readied for shipment and send direct from the warehouse by rail. Tracks run into the warehouse and elevators are provided to take the goods from the lofts to the loading platforms in the basement."

The warehouse was the Port's only bonded warehouse for many years and played a significant role in the establishment of the Port of Los Angeles as an international trade hub. The 475,000-square-foot (44,100 m2) structure was built with an interior arcade with room for 24 freight cars.