- Immigration and Customs Enforcement prison (now closed): 2001 S. Seaside Ave., San Pedro 90731 (nearest cross street: Wharf St.)
- Terminal Island Federal Correction Institution: 1299 S. Seaside Ave., San Pedro 90731 (nearest cross street: Wharf St.)
- Former Japanese community: Tuna St. (between Terminal Way and Fish Harbor)
- Bethlehem Steel Shipyard: Berth 240, approximately 220 S. Seaside Ave. (just north of the federal prison, near Wharf St.)
Terminal Island is a largely human-made landmass and a central part of the harbor area’s geography, landscape, and history.
Known previously as Isla Raza Buena Gente, and then as Rattlesnake Island, it was renamed Terminal Island in 1891 because it was expected to become the terminus for a rail system linking the nation’s interior via the Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad (this plan fell through). Originally, this strip of sediment in the estuary of the Los Angeles River attracted many elites, who built homes on the island’s Brighton Beach. However, its resort character did not last, as city leaders realized the island’s potential for industrial and infrastructure development.
The cities of Long Beach, San Pedro, and Los Angeles fought for ownership of Terminal Island—all with grand visions of constructing a port there. Since the region lacked a natural deep harbor, the Santa Monica Bay was initially targeted for the creation of an artificial one. However, local entrepreneur Phineas Banning, who is often called the “Father of the Harbor,” successfully lobbied Congress for money to dredge the channel from the ocean to Wilmington, the town he had established, where he also owned a transport and shipping company that would profit directly from the dredging. The first dredging occurred in 1916 and allowed ships to dock along what is now the port’s main channel. The island continued to grow through dredging, and it changed from a resort to an industrial area, as fisheries, canneries and even a Ford auto plant sprouted next to shipping and transport businesses.
Needless to say, the elites abandoned their mansions and Terminal Island was quickly transformed into a multiethnic, working-class place. Most of the workers were Japanese, Filipino, and Mexican. During the Great Depression, they were joined by whites. The Japanese, in particular, established a toehold in the area’s fishing industry. In fact, before World War II, Terminal Island was home to one of the largest Japanese American settlements in Southern California. Japanese Americans called the community East San Pedro or “Fish Harbor.” As many as 3,000 people lived there and created an array of businesses and social institutions. Within just 48 hours of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, however, the Japanese community at Terminal Island was forcibly disbanded because of its proximity to the island’s vast concentration of national defense and economic activities. Most went to Little Tokyo and Boyle Heights, where they awaited permanent resettlement orders. The majority ultimately went to Manzanar Internment Camp in the Owens Valley, and none resettled on Terminal Island. However, in 1974, survivors and their children formed the Terminal Islanders Club, and in July 2002 a plaque was dedicated to commemorate the Japanese American community that had once lived there.
Evacuated of “enemy aliens,” Terminal Island became a hub of national defense activity during and after WWII. Japanese American homes were razed, and the settlement was converted into a naval training center called Roosevelt Base. The seaplane ramp at Reeves Field became the primary operating base for seaplanes assigned to the Pacific Fleet. Terminal Island was also the site of many other wartime activities, especially ship and airplane production. The military aircraft produced at nearby plants such as Lockheed, Douglas, and Vulty were shipped to Terminal Island, where they were equipped and flight tested. More than 90,000 workers were employed in the shipbuilding industry by such companies as Bethlehem Steel, which had a shipyard on the island.
Terminal Island is also part of the prison-industrial complex. Although the island is only 4.4 square miles, it houses two federal prisons: the Federal Correctional Institution–Terminal Island, which is a low-security prison for men; and an immigration detention center. In 1938, the San Pedro Processing Facility was established to process incoming immigrants. During the 1980s, in keeping with the larger trend of criminalization that began in that decade, it became an immigration detention center, where immigrants awaiting resolution of their cases were held. Horrific conditions and inmate neglect were frequently reported, and between 2004 and 2007 more than 70 people died while awaiting sentencing or deportation.
One of the most widely publicized cases was that of Victoria Arellano, an undocumented Mexican immigrant who was HIV-positive and transgendered. Arellano died in July 2007 because Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials refused to administer her HIV medications. In the face of such blatant disregard by the state, her fellow inmates cared for her and even went on strike to demand that she be taken to a hospital, but they were ignored until it was too late. After her death and associated media attention, ICE abruptly closed the prison and transferred 400 prisoners to Texas and other states, without even telling the attorneys of many of the prisoners. Although the facility lost its accreditation from the American Correctional Association in August 2007, officials said the closure was unrelated to Arellano’s death and the result only of “maintenance needs,” which would take approximately one month to complete. As of this writing, the facility has not reopened.
Images:
- White Star Tuna Cannery workers, Terminal Island, 1945. Photographer unknown. Courtesy of Los Angeles Public Library.
- Road sign on Terminal Island, 2009. Photo by Wendy Cheng.
- Cannery St. with cargo cranes in the background, 2009. Photo by Wendy Cheng.