WORKING IN LONG BEACH
The Port of Long Beach
Wikipedia tells us that, “the Port of Long Beach, also known as Long Beach’s Harbor Department, is the second-busiest container port in the United States, after the Port of Los Angeles, which it adjoins. Acting as a major gateway for US–Asian trade, the port occupies 3,200 acres of land with 25 miles of waterfront in the city of Long Beach, California. The Port of Long Beach is located less than two miles southwest of downtown Long Beach. The seaport generates approximately US$100 billion in trade and provides more than 316,000 jobs in Southern California.”
If your ancestor worked at the Port of Long Beach, you might find him mentioned or pictured in the following online resources:
A decade-by-decade overview of the Port’s history is at http://www.polb.com/about/history/.
The Long Beach Harbor Commission’s history and a list of Port Commissioners with short biographies and pictures is available at http://www.polb.com/commission/commissionhistory.asp.
A history of the Port with maps showing its development from 1909 to 2002, construction records showing its growth, and a pier-by-pier assessment is available in pdf format at
Whether developer or laborer, your ancestor may be mentioned in this book: Port Town: How the People of Long Beach Built, Defended, and Profited From Their Harbor, by George and Carmela Cunningham. Order a copy at http://www.amazon.com/Port-Town-People-Defended-Profited/dp/069246848X.
RESEARCH TIP: On August 7, 2015, the Historical Society of Long Beach will open a new exhibit of historical photographs featuring the Port of Long Beach. Visit the installation, examine the photos, and see how many people you can identify in the pictures.
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