'SUNKEN CITY' RUBBLE AND RUINS ARE ALL THAT'S LEFT OF ONE L.A. NEIGHBORHOOD.

Byline: Josh Grossberg

Staff Writer

With ocean waves crashing on the rocks below and Santa Catalina Island hovering on the horizon across the spumy blue Pacific ocean, it boasts one of the most spectacular views that the Los Angeles coast is famous for.

But the property also features a less-savory aspect of life in Southern California: treacherous and unstable terrain.

Now ominously known as "Sunken City," the 6-acre parcel overlooking the cliffs at the southernmost tip of Los Angeles, in San Pedro, was once dotted with homes -- a community of bungalows owned by Harbor Area developer George Peck.

Now, misshapen slabs of concrete that once formed a straight sidewalk protrude from the rocky ground next to Point Fermin Park. And foundations of the long-lost homes sit exposed, covered with weeds and graffiti. It looks like something from an end-of-the-world science fiction movie.

"The manhole entrances were all brickwork," says John Nieto, education director for the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy.

"There's all this ancient 80-year-old stuff -- you can see the type of construction of the roads and the type of construction of the electric line. It's almost like an archaeology exhibit."

One day in 1929, a chunk of earth roughly 400 by 1,000 feet began sliding into the sea just south of Pacific Avenue and Shepard Street.

Experts estimated that the ground shifted nearly a foot a day.

Officials had time to move most of the houses, but two of the residences closest to the cliff had to be abandoned.

Then, in 1941, a water main break accelerated the landslide so severely that the city had to permanently fence off the area.

Two factors contributed to the crumbling landscape.

First, the constant crush of the waves below gradually weakened the bluff's stability. But perhaps more damaging was the presence of a clay called bentonite in the ground.

When the clay came into contact with water -- which could have occurred naturally or from residential irrigation -- the land became unstable, even slippery.

Developers have never ventured back to the location, but the location continues to change ever so slowly because of the shifting soil. New cracks and fissures appear with every heavy rain.

The area -- which is owned by the city Department of Recreation and Parks -- is currently off-limits, but can be viewed from the south end of Pacific Avenue or the east end of Point Fermin Park at Paseo del Mar and Gaffey Street.

Even so, despite the "No Trespassing" signs, the area draws countless hikers, adventurers and late-night partygoers, who often bring alcohol with them.

People venturing there do so at their peril -- several times a year, somebody gets too close to the edge and falls to their death below. The area also sees its share of suicides.

In 1987, Los Angeles officials agreed to spend $140,000 erecting a permanent wrought-iron fence around the area, but trespassers frequently find their way around the barrier.

The area may not always be closed off to the public. In recent years, the state Coastal Conservancy has been exploring ways to improve the Sunken City, including opening the site to the public and installing a trail.

Until that happens, the ruins stand as a reminder that nature can thwart even the best-laid plans of man.

josh.grossberg(at)dailybreeze.com

310-543-6638

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4 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 3 -- color) Rick Zambrano, top right, carries his daughter Makayla as he and Artie Miramontes enter Sunken City by going around the fence in Point Fermin Park. Remnants of the former San Pedro neighborhood, above left, still offer clues on what used to be at the fenced-off site where Pacific Avenue dead-ends. Above, Jessica Bagwell of Walnut takes photos. Although the area is off limits, hikers, partiers and the curious can often be found prowling the ruins.

(4) A man walks along broken sections of asphalt that used to connect to the foot of Pacific Avenue in San Pedro. Sections of the former road have split apart during landslides at the cliff near Point Fermin.

File Photos