Wilmington, Los Angeles, California

Wilmington, California is a neighborhood of Los Angeles, with industry as its primary economic activity. It lies adjacent to the Port of Los Angeles, San Pedro, and Harbor City. Wilmington is the site of Banning House and Drum Barracks, or Camp Drum, the only major American Civil War landmark in California. The ZIP Codes for Wilmington are 90744, and 90748 for P.O. boxes only.

History of Wilmington

The land was originally part of the 1784 Spanish land grant of Rancho San Pedro. It was known as New San Pedro when the town was founded in September 1858. It was located at the site of a wharf, known as Banning's Landing, built by Phineas Banning. The name was changed in 1863 in honor of Wilmington, Delaware, Banning's birthplace. The post office, which opened in 1864, was the second in Los Angeles County.

The Roman Catholic church of SS. Peter and Paul was founded in 1865 and is now the second oldest parish in the archdiocese of Los Angeles. During the year 2000 Jubilee, it was proclaimed as a Pilgrimage Church and now it is called the Historic Faith Center of the San Pedro Pastoral Region.

The first railroad in Southern California was built in 1869, and ran from Banning's Landing up to the city of Los Angeles. Following the choice of San Pedro as the official location for the Port of Los Angeles in the 1890s, the town continued to grow with increased federal spending in the area. The city was annexed by the city of Los Angeles in 1909.

Points of interest

*Drum Barracks Civil War Museum - U.S. Army headquarters for Southern California and the Arizona territory during the Civil War era, located at 1052 N Banning Blvd.
*Phineas Banning Residence Museum - the Greek Revivial home of Wilmington founder Phineas Banning completed in 1864, and the most famous structure in WilmingtonFact|date=September 2008, located at 401 E "M" St.
*The Don (formerly Don Hotel) - Located in the downtown Wilmington area. The building has been widely accepted as a historic Wilmington locale by the city's nativesFact|date=September 2008. The bright green "THE DON" neon sign atop the brick building once welcomed visitors entering the city. Supporters of urban renewal have proposed the site for condo development.
*Wienerschnitzel (located on Pacific Coast Highway, East of Figueroa St.) The first Der Wienerschnitzel hot dog restaurant opened in 1961 in Wilmington and is still open for business.
*The Palms on Avalon- A Los Angeles City Cultural Historic Landmark. From the Carson border to the Harbor along Avalon Blvd.
*Banning's Landing - One of a kind community center inspired by Wilmington's maritime traditions. The visually pleasing building was designed by renowned architect [http://www.ttta.com/ Ted Tokio Tanaka] . It is currently home to the City of Los Angeles [http://www.culturela.org/ Cultural Affairs Department] , located at 100 E Water St.
*Los Angeles Historic Preservation Overlay Zone: The Banning Park Neighborhood - The 1200 blocks of Lakme Ave, Cary Ave, and Banning Blvd (Between East "L" and "M" streets)in East Wilmington. This area features historic homes built in Spanish, Dutch, and American Colonial revival styles. Most of the homes were constructed during the 1930s and 1940s and developed by Sid Spearing. The site was originally purchased by William Wrigley Jr. in 1927.
*Dancing Sailor- on the corner of Avalon and PCH in the TacoBell drive thru. Can be seen every night "dancing til you drops". Wears his signature white outfit complete with a sailor hat and an orange life saver. Is known around Wilmington for his amazing dance moves and bringing cheer to anyone who sees him.weasel word

Education

Wilmington is zoned to schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

;Primary Schools (Grades 1-5)
* Banning New Elementary School #1 (final name pending)
* [http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/Broad_EL Broad Avenue Elementary School]
* [http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/Fries_EL/ Fries Avenue Elementary School]
* Gulf Avenue Elementary School
* [http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/Hawaiian_EL/ Hawaiian Avenue Elementary School]
* Wilmington Park Elementary School

;Secondary Schools (Grades 6-12)
* [http://wilmingtonms.org/ Wilmington Middle School]
* Phineas Banning High School
* [http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/Harbor_Teacher_Prep_HS/index.html/ Harbor Teacher Preparation Academy]

;Private Schools
* Holy Family Parish School
* St. Peter & St. Paul
* Wilmington Christian School
* [http://www.pacificharborschool.org/ Pacific Harbor Christian School]
* First Baptist Christian School

;Continuation Schools
* Banning-Marine Ave Adult Center
* Harbor Occupational-Skill Center
* Avalon High School

;Colleges and Universities
* [http://www.lahc.edu/ Los Angeles Harbor College]
* [http://www.natpoly.edu/ National Polytechnic College of Engineering and Oceaneering]

Libraries

Los Angeles Public Library operates the Wilmington Branch.

Port of Los Angeles

San Pedro and Wilmington are the locations of the Port of Los Angeles.

Movies and TV shows filmed in Wilmington

* "A Man Apart"
* "Alien Nation"
* "Back to the Future Part II"
* "Captain America"
* "Crash"
* "The Fast and The Furious"
* "Fight Club"
* "Get Smart"
* "Gone in 60 Seconds"
* "Hancock"
* "Jackie Brown"
* "The Last Shot"
* "Primary Colors"
* "The Rose"
* "Slappy and the Stinkers"
* "Streets of Fire"
* ""
* "To Live and Die In L.A."
* "We Jam Econo" - concert footage
* "When Harry Met Sally..."

Notable residents

;Arts
* Thuy Trang, actress Fact|date=October 2008
* Knoc-Turn'al, hip-hop artist
* Apollonia, singer
* Saccharine Trust members, punk band
* Left Alone members, punk band
* Armistice members, punk band
* Abelardo de la Peña, author and longtime Mahar House director
* Synthetrix electronic music recording artist
* Steven Benavidez vocalistguitarist(Punk Band)weasel word;Politics
* Antonio "Tony" Inocentes, politician Otay Water District, Banning High School, political consultant ePolitical USA
* Claude "Bud" Lewis, politician, Mayor Carlsbad, CA Metropolitan Water District San Diego County Water Authority Banning High School alumni
* Larry Walton, Sr, politician Valley County Municipal Water District, Banning High School Alumni
* R Keith McDonald, Banning High School Alumni, politician West Basin Municipal Water District
* Carmen Morales-Board,RN, MSN, FNPC, California Board of Registered Nurses member

;Sports
* Arturo Torres, soccer player, Banning High School Alumni
* Fred Matua, football player, Banning High School alumni
* Freeman McNeil, football player, Banning High School alumni
* Bob Whitfield, football player
* Stanley Wilson Sr., football player, Banning High School alumni
* Stanley Wilson, football player
* Ron Settles, football player, Banning High School Alumni
* Clarence Reece, football player, Banning High School Alumni
* Vince Ferragamo, football player, Banning High School alumni
* Dan Guerrero, UCLA Athletic Director

;Media
*Marc Brown, ABC News anchor, Narbonne High School alumni

;Business
* George Delatorre, Businessman Chairman Juanita's Menudito, Banning High Alumni

ee also

* List of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments in the Harbor area

External links

* [http://www.lafn.org/community/whs/ Wilmington Historical Society]
* [http://www.wilmington-chamber.com/ Chamber of Commerce]
* [http://www.banningmuseum.org/ General Phineas Banning Residence Museum]
* [http://cityplanning.lacity.org/complan/HCM/dsp_hcm_result.cfm?community=Wilmington%20-%20Harbor%20City List of Historical cnd Cultural Monuments in Wilmington and Harbor City]
* [http://www.wilmingtonneighborhoodcouncil.com/ Wilmington Neighborhood Council]
* [http://www.banninghs.org/ Phineas Banning High School]
* [http://www.lahc.edu/ Los Angeles Harbor College]
* [http://www.portofla.org/community_waterfront.htm 2006 Waterfront Development Plan]