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1923 Map of Wilmington

Name: 1923 Topographic Map of Wilmington
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1923
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1923

About this map

Industrial expansion and maritime infrastructure dominate this 1923 survey of the Los Angeles harbor district. The landscape is undergoing a massive transformation, visible in the complex network of artificial waterways like Cerritos Channel and the numbered basins surrounding Terminal Island. The Union Oil Co of California (Ref) reflects the era's booming petroleum industry, while the proximity of Fort Mc Arthur Upper Reservation and the lower reservation underscores the strategic military importance of the coastline.

Transportation networks converge here, with the Southern Pacific and Pacific Electric lines threading through Wilmington and down to the Turning Basin. To the east, the Los Angeles River meets a Diversion Channel near Los Cerritos, illustrating early 20th-century water management. From the Salt Ponds to the Lighthouse at Point Fermin, the map documents a working waterfront at the height of its development into a global shipping hub.