San Pedro Is Right to Send Its Idle Red Cars to Museums

San Pedro’s three Red Cars are stored near the 22nd Street parking lot, where expansion work is planned. They have been out of service since 2015. Keeping them on the waterfront has preserved their local address, but it has not produced a workable public display.

That makes the Los Angeles harbor commission’s decision on Thursday, Oct. 8, a sensible one. Commissioners approved 20-year museum loans for all three vehicles after efforts to find new uses or display sites along the waterfront failed. I’d take a museum committed to caring for these cars over another indefinite wait for a San Pedro solution.

The restored No. 1058 will go to the Southern California Railway Museum in Perris. The two replica cars will be loaned separately to the Travel Town Museum in Griffith Park, operated by the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks, and the Lomita Railroad Museum in Lomita.

Mike Galvin, the Port of Los Angeles’ director of waterfront and commercial real estate, said the cars would be “spread throughout the region so people and the public can see them, which is much better than the present situation.” That is a modest promise, but a useful one.

The case for keeping them in San Pedro

Commissioner Lee Williams cast the only vote against the loans. In a written statement, he argued that the Red Cars belonged alongside San Pedro’s other historic attractions, including the Battleship Iowa, Lane Victory and Ralph J. Scott Fire Boat.

“It may never be in service again, but I like the idea of finding a space for it to remain and be accessible here in Pedro,” Williams said.

That is the strongest argument against the move. A Red Car displayed in San Pedro would retain a connection to the waterfront service it once provided. But the important word in Williams’ argument is “accessible.” A suitable local site has proved difficult to find.

Both West Harbor and Crafted at the Port of Los Angeles had been approached about potential locations. Display options at West Harbor and elsewhere along the Main Channel proved unworkable.

Turning the vehicles into stationary coffee or food outlets was no easy answer, either. Augie Bezmalinovich, the port’s San Pedro community affairs advocate, said their narrow interiors and height above ground created practical access problems. Modifying the interiors would damage the cars.

I don’t see much merit in preserving a historic vehicle by damaging its interior to make it useful for something else. The receiving museums, Bezmalinovich said, can accommodate the large cars and have committed to caring for them.

A railway that could not sustain its waterfront role

The 1.7-mile Waterfront Red Car line opened in 2003 along Harbor Boulevard, recreating a small part of the electric railway network that served Los Angeles from 1901 to 1961. Maintenance costs were high, and cruise-passenger usage fell short of expectations.

The service closed following planning for waterfront redevelopment and a realignment of Harbor Boulevard. Galvin cited operating costs and the need to accommodate projects including West Harbor.

Extending the railway into historic downtown San Pedro was also impractical. Streets were too narrow, the cars needed elevated boarding structures, and there were regulatory and safety challenges. Rubber-tired, trolley-style vehicles now serve the downtown and waterfront areas.

No. 1058 has a history worth preserving, although its number does not tell the whole story. Its surviving body began as Pacific Electric No. 963, built by the St. Louis Car Company around 1907. Between 1960 and 1963, enthusiast Richard J. Fellows reconstructed and lengthened it to resemble a larger Pacific Electric “Ten” car, then renumbered it. After acquiring and restoring the vehicle, the port used it mainly for charters and special events because of its size.

Cruise terminal plans move into negotiations

At the same meeting, commissioners authorized exclusive negotiations with Pacific Cruise Terminals, LLC, for a long-term lease covering development and operation of the existing inner-harbor cruise terminal at Berths 90–92 and 93, along with a new outer-harbor terminal at Berths 45–47 and 49–51.

The negotiating period may last up to two years. The proposed outer-harbor project would cover 200 acres in deep water south of Pier 400, with two new berths and approximately 3,000 linear feet of wharf to accommodate larger cruise ships. Completion could take about 10 years once the necessary environmental approvals are secured. This is permission to negotiate, not an approved terminal ready to break ground.

The Red Cars have a more immediate path forward. Keeping them in San Pedro would be preferable if there were a suitable, accessible home. After unsuccessful attempts to find one, local attachment is no longer a good enough reason to leave them stored. These vehicles deserve visitors, not another round of searching for somewhere to put them.