1890

1897

After a political battle that lasted several years, the federal government selects San Pedro Bay over Santa Monica Bay for harbor development, paving the way for the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles.

1899

Construction of the San Pedro Bay breakwater begins.

1910

1910

December 3 - The 256-foot lumber vessel General Hubbard, the first steel full-size ship built in Southern California, is launched at Craig Shipbuilding. Many civic luminaries turn out for the event.

1911

The State of California grants the tidelands areas to the City of Long Beach for port operations. Tidelands are defined as those lands and water areas along the coast of the Pacific Ocean within the city limits.

The tidelands are granted to the City of Long Beach in trust for the people of the State. The Tidelands Trust not only restricts the use of the tidelands, but also the use of income and revenue generated from businesses and activities conducted on the tidelands. The tidelands and tidelands revenues must be used for purposes related to harbor commerce, navigation, marine recreation and fisheries.

June 2 - The S.S. Iaqua offloads 280,000 feet of redwood lumber at the harbor's Municipal Pier, and the Port of Long Beach is officially in business.

June 24 - The Port of Long Beach is officially dedicated when Mayor Charles Windham and the Municipal Band lead a parade from Pine Avenue and Ocean to Pier 1 on Channel 3 in the inner harbor.

1912

The first passenger service from the Port of Long Beach is launched, a short-lived route between Long Beach and San Francisco, via Santa Barbara, aboard the SS Santa Clara.

1916

The Los Angeles Dock and Terminal Co. declares bankruptcy and turns over the harbor's dredging projects to the City of Long Beach. The city completes the dredging of channels and a turning basin.

1917

The first Board of Harbor Commissioners is formed to oversee harbor operations, with members W.T. Lisenby, mayor and commissioner of public property; James R. Williams, commissioner of public safety; and C.J. Hargis, commissioner of public works.

1919

Although there is as yet no official homeport designation, the Navy begins using the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles as a center of operations for the Pacific Fleet.

1930

1930

The Federal River and Harbor Act authorizes construction of a 3.5-mile extension to the San Pedro Bay breakwater.

April 21 - The Ford Motor Company opens a plant at the western end of the Port that soon employs 2,000 people. Ford turned out cars until the late ’50s, when flooding and other problems caused by subsidence forced the company to relocate. The plant stood empty until 1990, when it was torn down.

June - Procter & Gamble breaks ground on a factory on what is now Pier C that will stay open until 1988.

1931

The Long Beach City Charter is amended to create a Harbor District, an independent and more powerful Board of Harbor Commissioners, and a Harbor Department to control and manage the Port. Soon after, the Port moves into its first separate administration building, at 130 S. Pico Ave., a site now occupied by the 710 Freeway.

1932

Construction begins on the middle section of the San Pedro Bay breakwater.

1933

March 10 - A 6.4-magnitude earthquake strikes Long Beach and the surrounding area, killing more than 100 people and damaging buildings and infrastructure throughout the city. Damage at the Port, however, is minimal. The historic frigate USS Constitution, better known as “Old Ironsides,” was visiting Long Beach at the time.

1934

Several months of violent labor struggles along the West Coast (including Long Beach and San Pedro) culminate July 5 in “Bloody Thursday” in San Francisco. The aftermath led to improvements in conditions and pay for longshore workers and, in 1937, to the formation of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, which still represents most dockworkers today.

1936

Oil is discovered in the harbor.

1938

The first oil well is brought in to the Harbor District, providing oil revenues to the City and Port of Long Beach but triggering decades of legal squabbles over who controlled the revenue.The first transit shed on Pier A in the outer harbor is completed.

1939

A hydraulic dredging project begins in the inner harbor, creating a land mass equal to nine city blocks, south of Seaside Boulevard.

1950

1951

An amendment to the 1911 Tidelands Grant is passed, authorizing use of half the tidelands oil revenues on non-harbor projects.

1953

A long-simmering dispute over who owned the tidelands and its oil revenues – the federal government or the state and local authorities – is settled with the passage of a bill restoring control of undersea lands to coastal states. For his role in passing the bill and supporting state ownership, President Dwight Eisenhower is honored with the Port’s inaugural Honorary Port Pilot Award.

1955

The U.S. Supreme Court determines that half the oil and all gas revenues freed from the terms of the 1911 state grant should go to the State of California and not to Long Beach.

1956

State and City officials reach agreement over the tidelands revenues. Long Beach turns over $120 million to the state and promises to pay all gas revenues and 50% of all future tidelands oil revenues to California.

1957

Subsidence worsens as a 16-square-mile area in the north harbor sinks between 2 and 24 feet. Millions of dollars are spent on dikes and pumps to protect Port operations. Due to subsidence issues that eventually caused a major fire, Ford announces that it is closing its Long Beach plant. The Navy also warns Long Beach that subsidence is threatening its continued presence in the city.

1970

1971

The port completes a $7.6 million expansion on Pier J and develops a 55-acre combination container and automobile terminal. The facility processes Toyota's distribution throughout Southern California and the Western U.S.

1972

International Transportation Service, Inc. opens a $10 million, 52-acre container terminal on Pier J. The new terminal features a 1,200-foot wharf, 42-foot water depth and two high-speed Paceco gantry cranes. ITS customers include "K" Line and Zim Container Service.

1973

The Port of Long Beach wins the American Association of Port Authorities Environmental "E" Award for improvement and protection of the environment. Long Beach wins the honor for its comprehensive program and broad scope of achievement in environmental matters including oil spill prevention and control, debris removal, harbor sewerage system, port beautification, vessel traffic control and water sampling program. Long Beach is the first harbor in the Western Hemisphere to be accorded this honor.

Sea-Land Service moves into an 80-acre container terminal and a 15-acre rail and truck facility on Pier G.

1974

The Port of Long Beach becomes the first major Pacific Coast seaport to earn the "E-Star" Award from the U.S. Department of Commerce for export service. The port is cited for its continued and expanded efforts in facilitating and encouraging exports.

Pacific Container Terminal opens a 34.5-acre facility on Pier J.

1975

The $50 million container complex expansion of Pier J's southeast basin is completed, with ten berths and 12 gantry cranes.

The port joins Standard Oil of Ohio (SOHIO) in an environmental impact report of SOHIO's proposed tanker terminal south of Pier J; the project was never built.

The arrival of the T.S. Adrian Maersk marks the inauguration of the Danish-flagged carrier's express container service between the U.S. and Asia.

1978

Maersk Line Pacific, Ltd. opens a 29-acre container terminal on Pier G.

1979

Long Beach acquires 140 acres for new inner harbor auto terminals for Toyota and Pasha Industries.

The port completes a $20 million conversion of Pier E from outmoded breakbulk terminals to an ultra-modern multipurpose cargo facility operated by California United Terminals. The omni-terminal handles containers, roll on/roll off and breakbulk commodities.

Hanjin Container Lines initiates service between Long Beach and Asia.

Long Beach port officials visit the People's Republic of China for the first time following normalization of the United States' relations with China.

1990

1990

Toyota nearly doubles its acreage to 144 acres in the north harbor.

1991

Hanjin Shipping Co. of South Korea opens a 57-acre container terminal on the site of the former Procter & Gamble plant on Pier C.

1992

Hanjin introduces post-Panamax vessels into its trans-Pacific fleet – the first vessels too large for the Panama Canal to call Long Beach. The vessels carry 4,000 TEUs (twenty-foot cargo container equivalent units).

Hyundai of South Korea introduces 4,400-TEU vessels into its Pacific Southwest Service between Asia and Long Beach, thereby expanding the worldwide post-Panamax fleet.

1993

Maersk Line opens a 107-acre container terminal on the 147-acre Pier J expansion. The new terminal features a wharf with a flexible, multiple-direction piling concept that disperses stress and reduces damage in the event of an earthquake.

The remaining 40 acres of the 147-acre Pier J expansion are incorporated into Pacific Container Terminal.

Many of the Port’s piers are renamed, with Pier A becoming Pier F and Piers B, C and D becoming Piers D and E.

1994

Metropolitan Stevedore Co. opens a $20 million, 175,000-ton coal storage shed to permit ships to be filled entirely from dockside storage.

The operating agreement for the Alameda Corridor, a 20-mile train and truck expressway from the ports to the transcontinental railyards in Los Angeles, is signed by the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles and the Santa Fe, Southern Pacific and Union Pacific railroads.

Long Beach finalizes the purchase in the North Harbor of 725 acres of land and water area from the Union Pacific Resources Co.

1995

Long Beach becomes the No. 1 container port in the United States after moving the equivalent of 2.6 million TEUs.

The port breaks ground on a new container terminal for Hanjin.

Sea-Land launches the first of its post-Panamax vessels that carry 4,000 containers per voyage. Former first lady Barbara Bush visits the port and christens the Orient Overseas Container Lines' America. The Hong Kong line's megaships carry 4,960 TEUs.

1996

Hyundai plies the Pacific with vessels that carry 5,551 TEUs.

Hanjin deploys 5,000-TEU vessels into its Pacific Southwest Express fleet.

1997

COSCO joins other trans-Pacific carriers and launches vessels that carry 5,250 twenty-foot containers.

The port opens a 170-acre, $277 million container terminal for Hanjin. The terminal is Long Beach's largest, and it is the largest terminal operated anywhere in the world by Hanjin. The terminal features six gantry cranes, a 3,600-foot wharf, and the port's fifth dock-side rail facility.

Construction begins on the Alameda Corridor — a 20-mile rail expressway that will connect the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles with transcontinental rail yards near downtown Los Angeles.

Port officials join federal, state and local entities to restore the Bolsa Chica wetlands near Huntington Beach in exchange for further port development in San Pedro Bay. Long Beach's $39 million contribution to the project allows for at least 267 acres of future landfill at the port.

1998

With a total of 4,097,689 TEUs, Long Beach becomes the first North American seaport to handle the equivalent of 4 million 20-foot-long cargo containers in a single year.

The Navy agrees to transfer its 500-acre Terminal Island complex to the port for redevelopment. Congress ordered the complex closed as part of a series of base closures at the end of the Cold War. The land was formerly home to the Long Beach Naval Station and the Long Beach Naval Shipyard.

The port breaks ground for its first "mega-terminal," a 375-acre cargo facility at the former Naval complex on Terminal Island.

1999

The Hanjin Terminal becomes Long Beach's first container terminal to handle more than 1 million TEUs in a single year.

Sea Launch, an international consortium led by Boeing and based at the port, sails to the equator and rockets its first commercial satellite into orbit. The launch makes Long Beach the world's first seaport to export into outer space.

Carnival Cruises begins operations at the Port of Long Beach.

2010

2010

A project is launched to replace the aging Gerald Desmond Bridge, which handles 15 percent of U.S. cargo.

Virtually all older drayage trucks are banned from Port terminals under the Clean Trucks Program, which reaches its clean air goals two years ahead of schedule.

Containerized cargo at the port increases by 1.2 million units in 2010, the largest single increase of any seaport in the United States. The jump represents a nearly 25 percent gain over 2009, the largest one-year increase in Port history.

Thousands attend the Port of Long Beach's annual Green Port Fest in October, an opportunity for the public to learn more about the Port's operations and environmental programs in a fun, street festival setting. The 2010 event features Long Beach Arena muralist Wyland.

2011

The Port of Long Beach celebrates its Centennial, culminating in June with a huge birthday party held on Pier E (now part of Long Beach Container Terminal). Thousands of people attend the event, which features carnival rides, Port history exhibits and screenings of “Faces of the Port,” a documentary about the Port’s first century.

2012

The Port’s Clean Trucks Program reaches its final milestone on Jan. 1, with the last older container trucks banned from Port terminals, meaning all 11,000 drayage trucks servicing the Port are now 2007 or newer vehicles. Over five years, the program has cut truck-related air pollution by 90 percent.

In March, the Port welcomes the MSC Fabiola, a 1,200-foot-long, 12,500-TEU ship that at the time is the largest container vessel to call at a North American port. As more terminals at the Port become “Big Ship Ready,” even larger vessels will dock in Long Beach in the coming months.

The Port and Orient Overseas Container Line sign a historic $4.6 billion, 40-year lease for the new Middle Harbor container terminal in April. The mega-terminal, which will handle twice the cargo of previous terminals in the space, but with only half the pollution, is scheduled to become operational in stages, with full completion scheduled for 2019. A ceremony including the driving of a ceremonial “golden pile” is held in May to commemorate the signing.

The Board of Harbor Commissioners approves the design-build contract for the construction of the replacement for the Gerald Desmond Bridge. The contract is awarded to a joint venture team headed by Shimmick Construction Co. Inc., FCC Construction S.A. and Impregilo S.p.A.

In August, the Colorado Lagoon in Long Beach reopens after a major restoration project. The Port contributed $2 million to the project and saved the project another $2 million by accepting dredged contaminated sediments.

CMA CGM, the world’s third-largest container shipping line, purchases a stake in the lease and operations of the Port’s Pier J terminal, the company’s first investment on the West Coast. CMA CGM joins SSA Marine and COSCO in operating Pacific Container Terminal on Pier J.

2013

Construction officially begins on the Gerald Desmond Bridge Replacement Project. Over the next few months, work on the project proceeds, including the demolition of the Pier T offramp from Ocean Boulevard. The project faces challenges, including the presence of dozens of active and abandoned oil wells beneath the project, some of which are hard to locate using plans or maps following decades of subsidence. Many of the wells, abandoned years ago, must be remediated using today’s environmental standards.

In a sign that the Port is recovering from the global recession, cargo volumes for 2013 rise 11.3 percent to 6,730,573 TEUs, the Port’s third-busiest year behind only 2006 and 2007.

2014

In February, most of the Harbor Department’s staff moves from the Administration Building at 925 Harbor Plaza to Interim Administrative Offices at 4801 Airport Plaza Drive, just south of the Long Beach Airport. The interim offices are the department’s fourth headquarters. The previous Administration Building, completed in 1960, was found to be seismically inadequate. The interim offices will be the Port’s headquarters for five years while a new Civic Center is constructed.

2015

Several months of congestion at the San Pedro Bay ports end with an agreement on a gray chassis pool, where truck chassis no longer have to be returned to the same facility they are picked up from, and a labor agreement between the Pacific Maritime Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.

The Green Port Gateway, a $93 million project to eliminate a rail bottleneck under Ocean Boulevard and lay 6 miles of new track, is completed.

"Port Town", an in-depth history of the Port commissioned by the Port and written by veteran maritime journalists George and Carmela Cunningham, is released. An exhibit at the Historical Society of Long Beach is held to mark the release of the book, which is still available in hardcover, print-on-demand and electronic editions.

2016

The Port begins sponsorship of the Academy of Global Logistics at Cabrillo High School, a four-year global trade and logistics pathway that will bring real-world experiences to the classroom. The small learning community was created in partnership with the Long Beach Unified School District.

Protector, a new state-of-the-art fireboat, goes into service at the Port in June. Protector is equipped with 10 water cannons capable of extinguishing fires in the harbor or on nearby land with more than 41,000 gallons per minute — four times the output of existing fireboats. Protector can shoot water the length of two football fields, and higher than a 20-story building. A second fireboat, the Vigilance, is delivered in 2017.

The Board of Harbor Commissioners creates the Community Grants Program, with funding for environmental projects aimed at reducing Port impacts on the community. With $46.4 million set aside for spending over 12 to 15 years, it is the largest voluntary program of its kind in the nation.

2017

The San Pedro Bay ports update the Clean Air Action Plan, established in 2006 and updated in 2010, with new pollution reduction strategies and an eventual goal of zero-emissions operations.

The Port celebrates a record cargo year, moving 7.54 million TEUs, an increase of more than 11 percent over 2016, despite a rapidly changing world of shipping alliances and the bankruptcy of a major tenant the previous year.

2018

The Board of Harbor Commissioners approves a plan for Toyota Logistics Services to redevelop its facility on Pier B and build a renewable energy fuel-cell power plant and hydrogen fueling station.

In a parallel to the Academy of Global Logistics at Cabrillo High School launched in 2016, the Port partners with Long Beach City College to create the Maritime Center of Excellence, which offers a variety of programs for occupations in the global logistics and supply chain industries that require more education than a high school diploma, but less than a four-year college degree.

An $870 million budget is approved to build the Pier B On-Dock Rail Support Facility in the Port’s Inner Harbor. Designed to shift more shipping containers from trucks to rail, the facility will result in a more efficient and sustainable transfer of cargo, helping the Port of Long Beach to stay competitive and meet environmental targets. The first arrival, departure and storage tracks are expected to be completed in 2024, with additional tracks coming online in 2030, followed by project completion in 2032.

The Port has another record year, passing the 8 million TEU mark for the first time. The total cargo volume is a 7.2 percent rise over 2017, also a record year.

2019

An economic impact study commissioned by the Port shows that trade through the Port of Long Beach supports 1 in 5 Long Beach jobs – about 51,000; 575,000 jobs in Southern California, 705,000 jobs statewide and 2.6 million jobs across the U.S. Port-related jobs across the city had increased by 70 percent since the previous economic impact study, completed in 2004, mainly due to increased cargo volume.

The Port agrees to fund a $26.3 million project to improve water and habitat quality at the Colorado Lagoon in exchange for environmental mitigation credits that would allow for future Port development. The Port had provided $2.3 million to fund an earlier phase of lagoon restoration.

The Port returns to the waterfront, moving in July into its new Administration Building at the new Long Beach Civic Center, adjacent to City Hall. The building, 415 W. Ocean Blvd., at the corner of Magnolia Avenue and Ocean Boulevard, is constructed to LEED Gold environmental standards.