Downtown San Pedro - 7th Street Village
by Cara Bertoia
A few weeks ago my husband and I were visiting downtown San Pedro, which has a really neat collection of shops, antique stores and local restaurants. We made our trip on a Friday morning when there was a Farmer’s Market on Sixth Street selling fresh produce. We strolled past Williams’ Bookstore a family owned independent that that has survived 100 years in San Pedro. The future looked bleak when the mega bookstores located nearby, but they hung in there and now their future looks brighter since Borders will no longer be with us.
We were famished after our drive and we wanted the perfect lunch spot. We spotted ‘Porky’s’ a small local place and we crossed our fingers. It was perfect; we had some great fried chicken and catfish, which is really hard to find in the West. As a Southerner I know homemade, it has to be crunchy and moist.
We were on our way to the Whale and Ale Pub, a favorite of ours, from our cruise ship days. It is a gathering place for Brits abroad, so if you fancy a game of darts or a pint of cider, you will find it there. San Pedro was the port where our ship docked, whenever it stopped in Los Angeles and Long Beach is just a few miles down the road. We also bought a t-shirt at the International and Longshoremen’s Union store, I really like to support unions.
Well the Pub is only a block from Sixth Street, and on the way we passed a store with the sign ‘Maritime Research Center’. Well since we both love to sail we decided to check it out. Well imagine our surprise when we found a store filled with cruise ship memorabilia. It truly is like walking in a cruise ship museum. I know all Cruise Line Fans would love this shop. There is a menu from the Queen Mary on the night Prince Charles wed Diana Spencer and a newspaper from the day the Lusitania sank. They have over a 1,000 pieces on display including art and ship models.
They also have nautical books, Scott F. Gray the owner has written books on the Queen Mary and the QEII. (And since it was such a good fit they are now selling copies of my novel Cruise Quarters – A Novel About Casinos And Cruise Ships. What better place to sell a novel about working on cruise ships?) The owners Katherine and Scott are also very friendly and love to chat with their customers. The address of the shop is: 301 West Seventh Street and the phone number is: 310-521-0175.
By the end of the day Downtown San Pedro reminded us of a time when every main street was a little like this one. But you can take a trip there and decide for yourself. San Pedro is about an hours drive south from Los Angeles.
Their facebook page is:
Evaluation: Extraordinarily sincere!
Note from Searching for Sincerity creator Georgina: Please take a look at Cara's wonderful book, Cruise Quarters, a Novel about Cruise Ships and Casinos. It's a lot of fun!:
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