Municipal Warehouse No. 1: Port of LA’s Welcome Building

SAN PEDRO—A six-story warehouse dominates the skyline at the southwestern corner of L.A. Harbor’s main channel. All boaters and cargo ship pilots who pass Angels Gate Lighthouse and into the Los Angeles Outer Harbor are immediately greeted by port district’s Municipal Warehouse No. 1.

The six-story, 475,000-square-foot building opened for business in 1917 and, for a while, served as the only bonded warehouse at the Port of Los Angeles. The city spent almost $500,000 (1917 dollars) to build Municipal Warehouse No. 1 – that’s close to $10 million today. A water tower was built on the roof of Municipal Warehouse No. 1, to help prevent fires.

The warehouse apparently doubled as a supply depot during World War II, when the U.S. Navy assumed control of the building. It continued to be used as a bonded warehouse in more recent times, as containers became the norm at the port district.

There’s actually quite a bit of filming at Municipal Warehouse No. 1, in recent years. “Teen Wolf” – the television show, not the movie – was filmed at the warehouse, according to The Daily Breeze.

A ballot initiative was introduced in 2017 to determine whether the warehouse should be converted into a waterfront hotel.

The Port of Los Angeles just issued a prospectus, announcing it would accept Requests for Proposals to redevelop Municipal Warehouse No. 1 as a commercial or visitor-serving use (see Blips on the Radar).

Municipal Warehouse No. 1 was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in April 2000, according to news reports.