South Bay : City Plans Overhaul of Historic Bathhouse

The historic Cabrillo Beach Bathhouse has been saved and the Polar Bears couldn’t be happier.

The Los Angeles Harbor Department announced last week that it will spend $2.2 million to repair the dilapidated San Pedro facility, which was built in 1932 and was once a thriving meeting place.

Since it was closed more than a decade ago, the only people who use the bathhouse grounds regularly are the Polar Bears, an organization whose members swim in the ocean every day regardless of the weather.

“The bathhouse is a place where people from all over Southern California can come, enjoy the ocean, then go back to where they’re from,” said Polar Bear Ray Falk, 72. “By fixing the place up, we’ll be able to have some pride in our beach area again.”

The bathhouse, located near the terminus of the old Red Car rail system, once had changing rooms and a sundry shop where beach-goers could rent swimming suits.

The renovation is part of a $12-million Cabrillo Marina Phase II project, which will replace docks in the San Pedro Watchorn Basin area with 760 new boat slips. Construction on the bathhouse is scheduled to begin in fall, 1996, and should be completed by early 1998.