Harbor Panel OKs Permit to Raze Old Wilmington Cannery

The Los Angeles Harbor Commission on Wednesday approved a permit allowing demolition of the old Heinz pet food cannery in Wilmington amid complaints that the building’s most historically valued equipment was not passed on to the community as promised.

Three weeks ago, the Los Angeles City Council abandoned plans to designate the cannery, at 545 S. Fries Ave., a historical and cultural monument. Instead, at the urging of Councilwoman Joan Milke Flores, city lawmakers called for the port to provide Wilmington with a new waterfront museum or plaza.

But several Wilmington residents complained Wednesday that the cannery’s equipment, including a conveyor, was sold by Heinz to a salvage company before residents had an opportunity to tour the plant.

The residents blamed the loss on port officials who, they said, led them to believe that Heinz would donate to the community what residents wanted, not just what was left after the building was stripped.

“The bottom line is that the Harbor Department never saw the historical value of the cannery,” said Olivia Cueva-Fernandez, whose mother and grandmother worked at the cannery.

Port officials countered that they have set aside items from the cannery that were pointed out by several residents who toured it June 13. And regardless of what might have been there before the tour, port spokesman Chuck Ellis said, the Harbor Department has no authority to order a tenant to turn over property it owns.