Soldiers, having traveled from all over the country to San Pedro's Angels Gate Park, were probably expecting something different. After all, this was California: land of movie stars, palm trees, and sun-splashed beaches. What they got was just another set of army barracks. The jury is out, however, on whether they would have been ready for the current incarnation: Since 1975, the buildings that housed soldiers from 1916 to 1974 have been the Angels Gate Cultural Center, an artists' enclave with two galleries and 50 studios.
Where soldiers once slept, painters, musicians, and ceramists now toil. In a former indoor pistol range, people of all ages practice ballet, jazz, and Spanish dancing. In another space, where troops were once informed of the invading Japanese Imperial Army, locals learn about yoga, acting, and drawing the human form.
This month the center hosts its Gathering of Angels. Current and former Angels Gate studio artists from around the country will congregate, filling the galleries with paintings, photographs, collages, and sculptures.
But visitors to the 110-acre park will see more than just art. Commanding its southernmost point is the 127-year-old Point Fermin Lighthouse. Though its interior is closed to the public, you can take advantage of the surrounding grassy picnic area, which adjoins a bluff overlooking tidepools. At the Fort MacArthur Museum, you can tour bunkers that once held 14-inch guns guarding Los Angeles Harbor during World War II. From the lawn that surrounds the 17-ton Korean Friendship Bell--a gift from the South Korean government in 1976--you can contemplate a fabulous view of the harbor and Santa Catalina. What's more, the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium is just five blocks away, on the west side of the harbor.
Tuesday evenings are a great time to visit the park. Starting at 6 p.m., the Belmont Shore Railroad Club shows the public what its model trains can do. Meanwhile, the center hosts Tuesday Shorts (held on the second Tuesday of every month), with professional actors sharing their renditions of contemporary short stories and poems. At one event, Helen Hunt gave a guest reading.
Imagine the weary captain, entering his quarters to find the place taken over by the likes of Miss Hunt.
Welcome to California, soldier.
WHERE: 3601 S. Gaffey St., San Pedro.
WHEN: Grounds; 6 a.m.– 10:30 p.m. Cultural center galleries; 11–4 Tue-Sun. Fort MacArthur Museum; 12–5 Sat-Sun. Korean Friendship Bell; 6–6 daily. Belmont Shore Railroad Club; 6–10 p.m. second and fourth Tue of every month, and weekdays by appointment ($3 suggested donation).
CONTACT: Park office; (310) 548-7705. Cultural center; 519-0936.
