Port Ballona is an archaic place name for an area near the center of

Santa Monica Bay Santa Monica Bay is a bight of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, United States. Its boundaries are slightly ambiguous, but it is generally considered to be the part of the Pacific within an imaginary line drawn between Point Dume, in ...

in coastal

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 2023. Its population is greater than that of 40 individua ...

, where Playa Del Rey and Del Rey Lagoon are located today. Port Ballona was a planned harbor and town site from circa 1859 to 1903. The name comes from the

Rancho La Ballona Rancho La Ballona was a Mexican land grant in the present-day Westside region of Los Angeles County, Southern California. The rancho was confirmed by Alta California Governor Juan Alvarado in 1839, to Ygnacio and Augustin Machado and Felip ...

Mexican land grant. Port Ballona consisted of the current Del Rey Lagoon Park but conceptually also included the current

Ballona Wetlands Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve (pronunciation: "Bah-yo-nuh" or "Buy-yo-nah" ) is a protected area that once served as the natural estuary for neighboring Ballona Creek. The site is located in Los Angeles County, California, just south o ...

State Ecological Reserve alongside the estuarine river

Ballona Creek Ballona Creek (pronunciation: "Bah-yo-nuh" or "Buy-yo-nah" ) is an channelized stream in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States, that was once a "year-round river lined with sycamores and willows". The urban watercourse be ...

, which flowed into and alongside the marsh within earthen levees built of soft-bottomed wetland soil. While these plans never came to fruition, and the area remains a primarily residential neighborhood, the wetlands immediately to the north were eventually developed into

Marina del Rey Marina del Rey ( Spanish for "Marina of the King") is an unincorporated seaside community in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The eponymous harbor is a major boating and water recreation destination of the Greater Los Angeles ar ...

, North America's largest man-made small-craft harbor.

History

In 1839, the Mexican government granted the Machados and Talamantes families title to

. In 1857, Benjamin D. Wilson, the

mayor of Los Angeles The mayor of Los Angeles is the head of the executive branch of the government of Los Angeles and the chief executive of Los Angeles. The office is officially Non-partisan democracy, nonpartisan, a change made in the 1909 charter; previously, ...

, through foreclosure received title to a quarter of Rancho La Ballona. Later, in 1859, Wilson, for $5000, sold of Rancho La Ballona to George A. Sanford and John D. Young. During the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, General George Wright ordered troops to secure Port Ballona against any Confederacy invasion; by 1862, a large force of 6,000 Union troops were at and near Port Ballona. The troop camp was called Camp Latham after

Milton Latham Milton Slocum Latham (May 23, 1827 – March 4, 1882) was an American politician, who served as the sixth governor of California and as a U.S. representative and U.S. senator. Latham holds the distinction of having the shortest governorship in C ...

. The

Great Flood of 1862 The Great Flood of 1862 was the largest flood in the recorded history of California, Oregon, and Nevada, inundating the western United States and portions of British Columbia and Mexico. It was preceded by weeks of continuous rains and snows tha ...

turned the Port and the land around it into a

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

for six months. In 1863, Louis Mesmer sold his Los Angeles bakery and purchased extensive land holdings from the Machados, including Port Ballona. In 1887, Louis Mesmer and made a small

harbor A harbor (American English), or harbour (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be moored. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is ...

at Port Ballona. Moye Wicks starts the Ballona Harbor and Improvement Company in 1887, with plans to make the port a major sea port. On August 21, 1887, the Town of Port Ballona was developed by Louis Mesmer and Moye Wicks. By 1889, Ballona Harbor and Improvement Company was out of funds to complete the maintain and expand the port, they could not keep the Port open. Louis Mesmer and Moye Wicks sold the port and land around the port to Moses Sherman. Sherman purchased of land around the Ballona lagoon and the Port Ballona in 1902 under the name, Beach Land Company. Port Ballona rail depot was built at the port and serviced by the

California Central Railway The California Central Railway was incorporated on April 23, 1887, with headquarters in San Bernardino, California. George O. Manchester was the President of the corporation. At its peak it operated of rail line with 14 steam locomotives, 14 ...

opening in September 1887; this line later became the

Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Railroad classes, Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996. The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight tra ...

, that later became the

Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996. The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight transport; at variou ...

. The rail line ran from the port to Redondo junction. Port Ballona advertisement 1887

Sherman and Clark renamed the port and land around the port to Del Rey in 1903. Port Ballona, in 1903, was renamed Playa Del Rey by Sherman and Clark. Port Ballona Street car depot, built by Sherman's Redondo and Hermosa Beach Railroad, was part of the

Los Angeles Pacific Railroad The Los Angeles Pacific Railroad (1896−1911) (LAP) was an electric public transit and freight railway system in Los Angeles County, California. At its peak it had of track extending from Downtown Los Angeles to the Westside, Santa Monica, a ...

. The Sherman's tram line opened in December 1902, it departed

Downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) is the central business district of the city of Los Angeles. It is part of the Central Los Angeles region and covers a area. As of 2020, it contains over 500,000 jobs and has a population of roughly 85,000 residents ...

at 4th & Broadway. In the 1880s and 1890s, parts of

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

, Playa Vista,

Culver City Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. It is mostly surrounded by Los Angeles, but also shares a border with the unincorporated area of Ladera Heights to the ea ...

, and

Mar Vista Mar Vista is a neighborhood on the Westside Los Angeles, Westside of Los Angeles, California. In 1927, Mar Vista became the 70th community to be annexed to Los Angeles. It was designated as an official city neighborhood in 2006. History Mar Vi ...

were also part of Port Ballona.Mar Vista Historical Society
/ref>

References

{{authority control Former settlements in Los Angeles County, California Marina del Rey, California Playa del Rey, Los Angeles Populated coastal places in California Populated places established in 1839 Populated places disestablished in 1903 1839 establishments in Alta California 1903 disestablishments in California 19th century in Los Angeles

History

See also

References