Port Ballona, California
19th century planned harbor of Santa Monica Bay
About
Port Ballona is an archaic place name for an area near the center of Santa Monica Bay in coastal Los Angeles County, where Playa Del Rey and Del Rey Lagoon are located today. Port Ballona was a planned harbor and town site from circa 1859 to 1903. The name comes from the Rancho La Ballona Mexican land grant.
Port Ballona consisted of the current Del Rey Lagoon Park but conceptually also included the current Ballona Wetlands State Ecological Reserve alongside the estuarine river Ballona Creek, which flowed into and alongside the marsh within earthen levees built of soft-bottomed wetland soil. While these plans never came to fruition, and the area remains a primarily residential neighborhood, the wetlands immediately to the north were eventually developed into Marina del Rey, North America's largest man-made small-craft harbor.
Nearby
More to see within walking distance
Ballona Creek
Urbanized river in Los Angeles, California, United States
1.4 mi away
USC Information Sciences Institute
Research institute of the University of Southern California
0.7 mi away
Los Angeles Motordrome
Racetrack and airfield (1910-1913)
1.1 mi away
Venice Canal Historic District
Historic district in California, United States
0.7 mi away
Oxford Basin
Body of water in California, US
0.4 mi away
Ballona Lagoon
Tidal wetland in Southern California, US
0.6 mi awayPlaces to eat nearby
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