rea like San Pedro and Wilmington would have ceased to exist. Next, came the automobile. This idea of autonomous mobility came at the perfect time during the growth of Los Angeles. As automobiles began to be mass produced and available to the majority of the public, Los Angeles was also gaining its shape. The automobile industry promoted migration and a decentralization of the region. It also inspired people like A.W. Ross and the creation of the Bullocks Wilshire building, which catered to the commuter. It made the average person more independent and as Reyner Banham said, “if you don’t drive in Los Angeles, you are restricted to a very small part of it.” (Banham, pg 217)The Free Harbor Fight gave rise to yet another free enterprise. The city of Los Angeles was in need of deep waters to build a harbor. The capitalist elite alone could not subsidize this project, and therefore federal support played a major role in its development. There were two factions that lobbied for the harbor, one being Santa Monica and the other San Pedro. Samuel Hunington, owner of the Southern Pacific and prominent L.A. figure, led the faction in Santa Monica. His political pay-offs and connections paid off early in the race for the harbor. Hunington knew that a harbor in Santa Monica would raise property value, where he already had established a monopoly. Harrison Gray Otis of the Los Angeles Times led the San Pedro faction. Otis fought for a “free harbor for free people.” Finally on March 1st, 1894, after ten long years of struggle, San Pedro won the bid for the Los Angeles harbor. This proved to be major a victory of the public over private enterprises. It also symbolized an end to political corruption by the capitalist elite and a shift from the Hunington monopoly to the L.A. business community. Los Angeles became a breeding ground for popular new industries because of its unique Southern California location,...
