Marina del Rey

Posing here in 1962 is the staff of the Los Angeles County Department of Small Craft Harbors. They are, from left to right, (first row) Arthur Will, chief administrative officer; Victor Adorian, Marina del Rey director; and Jim Quinn, facilities planner; (second row) Capt. William Finnegan, Harbor Patrol; Leo Porter, harbormaster; Leo Bialis, harbor leases and finance; Richard Landon, public information officer; Merle Wilson, planner; Leonard Shortland, planner; and George Smith, county planning engineer. (Courtesy of LACDBH.)

The Recreation Gun Club deeded the land upon which the Administrative Building was to be built to Marina del Rey in a chain of title deed. The deed progressed historically from the king of Spain, to Mexico, then to the United States, then to Agustin Machado, et al., to Anderson Rose of the Recreation Gun Club, and finally to the Administrative Building at Marina del Rey. Shown here are, from left to right, Officer Peacock, US Army Corps of Engineers; unidentified; Supervisor Burton W. Chace; Congressman James Roosevelt; unidentified; and Aubrey Austin Jr., chairman, Small Craft Advisory Commission. On December 8, 1958, Deed No. 4594 from the Recreation Gun Club to the County of Los Angeles was recorded. (Courtesy of LACDBH.)

Charismatic Burton W. Chace was elected Fourth District supervisor of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in 1954. Chace presented the new concept of a public/private real estate development, in which the county would own the land and water, private developers would build out the land and then pay the county rent for the leasehold. Having been a businessman and mayor of Long Beach (1947–1953), Chace had experience with “having to face payroll in private business” and believed that private interests could operate the marina better than government and eliminate mosquito abatement costs. He drew powerful support from the other four supervisors. The vision of the marina took hold, and the fact that the US Army Corps of Engineers could create a permanent water infrastructure excited everyone’s interest and imagination. Burton Chace, seen here in 1954, became known as the “Father of the Marina.” Unfortunately, he was killed in a freeway accident in 1972. The tragedy led to the addition of median barriers on all Los Angeles freeways. (Courtesy of LACBS.)

Sidney Blinder, seen here in 1969, was the builder of the eight-foot sabot sailboat, which became the favorite for racers of all ages and abilities. Learning the rules of racing was primary, followed by fine-tuning the techniques of sailing. The Sidney Sabot had a centerboard, which allowed water to splash into the cockpit, hence it was not a dry boat. But it did perform. Winning sailors of later years were usually Sidney Sabot graduates. The annual 24-hour race brought out sailors of all ages in Basin G, between Windjammers’ and South Coast Corinthian Yacht Clubs, where competition was fierce and wet. (Courtesy of Greg Wenger Photography.)

In the photograph to the right, Frank Sinatra appears in the 1966 motion picture Assault on a Queen. Scenes of the movie were filmed in Marina del Rey’s main channel. The submarine on the water was real, but it was unlikely to submerge in only 20 feet of water. Fisherman’s Village had yet to be built, so the vacant lot was ideal for shooting films. Among several other productions filmed here was the television series The Flying Nun (below), which aired beginning in 1967. Sally Field portrays a member of a convent in Puerto Rico, where abundant breezes allow her to become airborne. (Both, courtesy of LACDBH.)

David Asper Johnson was founder, publisher, and editor of the Argonaut, the newspaper serving the marina beginning in November 1971. He wrote articles in high school, studied journalism at the University of Washington, and attended UCLA law school. Borrowing the image of The Helmsman statue for his masthead, $5,000 from his family, and the name Argonaut from a campus journal, Johnson chose Marina del Rey for his new publication. The paper grew from eight to sometimes eighty pages. By the 1980s, an advertiser testimonial exclaimed, “The Argonaut has made me rich, fat, and too proud to talk to my former friends.” Decidedly a non-boater, Johnson navigated between roles as columnist, community leader, employer, editor, publisher, and, most important, devoted journalist. While he tried to keep content local, objective, and adjective-free, Johnson the columnist could paint the town in wonderful, witty colors. Referring to himself at times as “the publisher” and at other times as just “Dave,” Johnson was a force to be reckoned with. (Courtesy of Greg Wenger Photography.)

The Argonaut newspaper’s first issue, November 25, 1971, had four advertisers and eight pages. With no office, the newspaper had a low overhead. Callers requesting to drop off a press release found publisher David Asper Johnson insisting on personally picking up their item instead. Plans to row slip-to-slip, tossing papers into the cockpits of every boat, were quickly tossed overboard by the harbormaster. Instead, the Argonaut’s first issues began to emerge from the trunk of a Karmann Ghia sports car, with residential distribution delegated to the US Postal Service. Delivery operations were again brought in-house when a New Year’s Eve options story reached mailboxes a day after the ball dropped. Moving into its first office on Washington Street, between the canal and Baja Cantina, the newspaper soon relocated to the scenic seventh floor of the Washington Square Office Tower (330 Washington Street). Success, staff, and delivery vehicles grew. “We’ve now expanded to a fleet of 25 Karmann Ghias,” new hires were told on their first day of work in the late 1990s. (Courtesy of the Argonaut, Inc.)

Soon after the Argonaut was founded in November 1971, Darien G. Murray (pictured) approached publisher David Asper Johnson to suggest the newspaper include boating news, and she immediately became the boating columnist. A year later, when Ed and Betty Borgeson, publishers of the Marina’s first journal, Del Rey Dinghy, retired, Dinghy magazine was acquired by Johnson, with an arrangement to share ownership with photographer Greg Wenger and Murray. Murray soon became editor and publisher of the Dinghy, which served the local boating community for many decades with detailed prose. When Murray passed away on October 2, 2002, the Association of Santa Monica Bay Yacht Clubs (ASMBYC) held a standing-room-only memorial at the Burton Chace Park Community Building. Among the memorable eulogies was an opening line from a man who had flown from Australia to attend: “I’m Darien’s son—but I’ll try to be brief.” (Courtesy of Greg Wenger Photography.)

Jacques-Yves Cousteau explored Earth and its water system. From 1943, when he and Emile Gagnan developed the first regulated compressed-air-breathing device for deep-sea diving, Captain Cousteau was a leading spokesman for the protection of the underwater world and the global environment. He visited Marina del Rey in the 1980s to see the marina and to promote water environmental protection. (Courtesy of Greg Wenger Photography.)

Lloyd Taber, original leaseholder of Parcels 38 and 39, had visions of two high-rise hotels, called the Commodore Club. In the final development decision, two restaurants emerged, along with the Civic National Bank office building on Admiralty Way. The Lloyd Taber Marina del Rey Library was named in his honor for his contribution to the library’s nautical wing expansion in the 1990s, headed by the Marina Foundation. (Courtesy of Greg Wenger Photography.)

Howard R. Hughes Jr., test pilot, aerospace manufacturer, inventor, filmmaker, and real estate magnate, is shown in 1934 with his “Winged Bullet” propeller-driven aircraft in 1934. Hughes Airfield was on the site of Hughes Aircraft Company in Culver City. The site is present-day Playa Vista, a planned community. The old airplane hangars have been converted to sound stages and high-tech corridors. Land swaps, complex acquisitions, and mergers allowed Hughes to maintain a profile in Marina del Rey. The Marina City Club’s west tower, the first of three towers constructed, is shown below in 1978 in dramatic nighttime reflection on the waters of Marina del Rey harbor. (Left, courtesy of Summa Corporation/MDRHS; below, courtesy of Greg Wenger Photography.)

The Hercules Flying Boat, known as the “Spruce Goose,” is pictured above as it emerges from the Hughes Aircraft hangar to begin its trip by land to Long Beach, where it is to take its test flight. Originally, shipbuilder Henry Kaiser teamed with Howard Hughes to build the prototype, the largest aircraft ever built at that time—218 feet long and 79 feet high. As of 2014, the Spruce Goose still has the largest wingspan of any airplane ever constructed. Pictured below in transit on Jefferson Boulevard is the fuselage section. The Goose’s first test flight was successful, but the program was canceled. After its only flight, the one and only prototype was retired. It is now a tourist attraction in Oregon. (Both, courtesy of Summa Corporation/MDRHS.)

John Cruger-Hansen (left) was dockmaster of Marina City Club and the 1986 chairman of the Pioneer Skippers Christmas Boat Parade. The decorated boats were led by grand marshal Ed McMahon and his wife, Victoria (shown here). At one time a resident of Marina del Rey, McMahon, the popular television announcer on Johnny Carson’s late-night show, was an all-time favorite of the parade participants. (Courtesy of Greg Wenger Photography.)

Mark Spitz, multiple gold-medal winner in Olympic swimming, was the 1984 grand marshal of the Pioneer Skippers Christmas Boat Parade. Spitz also sailed his own boat in regattas held in Marina del Rey. During the 1984 Olympics, Marina del Rey yacht clubs produced many of the triangular courses for the Olympic committee. (Courtesy of Greg Wenger Photography.)

Notable yachtswoman Peggy Slater owned a series of beautiful wooden boats, all named Valentine. All of the boats had a large red heart boldly applied to the foresail and a white spinnaker. An exemplary competitor, Slater, seen here in 1974, shared her innumerable talents with many women sailors in Marina del Rey, and she was a very successful yacht broker. (Courtesy of MDRHS.)

Sharon Sites Adams sailed her 25-foot Folkboat Sea Sharp solo from Marina del Rey to Hawaii on June 12, 1965. She is the first woman to sail alone across the Pacific Ocean, from Yokohoma, Japan, to San Diego, California, from May to July 1969. Adams, who has sailed around 71 South Pacific islands, shares her adventures with civic and children’s groups in Oregon. (Courtesy of Jason Hailey Photography.)

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, author, philanthropist, and the National Basketball Association’s all-time leading scorer, enjoys spending time in Marina del Rey. The former Lakers star is seen here riding a bicycle on the picturesque waterway alongside the docked boats in 1979. (Courtesy of Greg Wenger Photography.)

Known to early locals as “Gypsy John,” John “Jack” Edward Wright serenaded listeners at Mother’s Beach and yacht clubs with his melodious squeeze-box (accordion). Gypsy John, a mathematics teacher and US Marine Corps veteran of World War II in the Pacific theater, lived aboard and captained boats, including the famous Kettenburg 50 sailboat Rogue, which won a 1960s yacht race from Los Angeles Harbor to Tahiti in record time. Wright is seen here in 1976. (Courtesy of Greg Wenger Photography.)

The Marina del Rey Chamber of Commerce gave plaques to 1982 Citizen of the Year nominees for outstanding service to the Marina del Rey community. Shown here are, from left to right, Willie Hjorth, Uta Ferguson, Victor Adorian, Ralph Zimmerman, Jerry Epstein, chamber manager Gerri Kazmeier, and Aubrey Austin Jr., chairman, Small Craft Harbor Commission. (Courtesy of Greg Wenger Photography.)

The south end of the marina peninsula is seen in this 1972 aerial photograph. The townhouses and apartments of Mariners Village on Via Marina have been constructed. There are no boat slips in the main channel entrance area. The Pacific Ocean is seen in the background, with the faint line of the breakwater above the white beachfront at left. This residential area is now planned for redevelopment. (Courtesy of LACDBH.)

Happiness is “messing about in boats,” to take a phrase from Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows. Marina del Rey offers just that for any of Los Angeles’ residents who love the water. Boats, dinghies, paddleboards, sailboards, runabouts, kayaks, canoes, outriggers, and “dock sailing” are the options. The marina would not exist without the dedication of the visionaries and the early developers who believed enough in the dream to finance an unknown project and hope it would not fail. Among those who made it happen are David Tallichet, Stan Berman, Bryant Morris, Jerry Epstein, the Ring brothers, Stanley Black, Jona Goldrich, Sol Kest, George Ponty, Max Fenmore, David Jennings, Abe Lurie, and the yacht clubs, in addition to government agencies. As the man-made Marina del Rey Small Craft Harbor enters a new round of redevelopment, users will enjoy updated facilities in one of Southern California’s most beautiful resort-like communities. (Courtesy of Greg Wenger Photography.)