Thousands greet Great White Fleet

April 18, 1908: Fifty-thousand people, cheering and waving flags, lined the shore in Long Beach to welcome the Great White Fleet, 16 battleships under the command of Rear Adm. Robley “Fighting Bob” Evans that had recently returned from circumnavigating the globe. The ships’ world tour had been the idea of President Theodore Roosevelt who wanted to demonstrate America’s naval prowess. Los Angeles residents came out in droves to see the ships, The Times reported: “The first cars on the Pacific Electric at 5:30 o’clock this morning came in with passengers hanging on as by an eyelash, and succeeding cars were equally jammed .... From Orange and Riverside counties came buggies, and farm wagons loaded with families. In addition hundreds of autos from all directions poured into the city, and the road from Los Angeles to the beach is lined with chug wagons which didn’t get here.”