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Wilmington - Wilmington

Banning Residence Museum Museum National Register
L.A. Historic Cultural Monument 25
This 3 story, 23 room, Victorian Mansion was built in 1864 by Phineas Banning (1830-1885). Banning was the founder of Wilmington, California, the "father" and early developer of the Los Angeles Harbor, and early leader of transportation/shipping and communications in Southern California. The house originally had as many as 30 rooms and is one of the finest surviving examples of a Victorian construction in the Greek Revival style. The house is the centerpiece of a 20 acre city park. Three barns and beautiful gardens are also on the grounds. The home is a museum with guided tours offered to the public. Open on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 12:30, 1:30, and 2:30 pm. Tours on Saturday and Sunday 12:30, 1:30, 2:30 and 3:30 pm. John R. Kielbasa

401 East M Street, Wilmington, CA 90744 Map
310 548-7777

Calvary Presbyterian Church Est. 1870
L.A. Historic Cultural Monument 155
It was built in 1870 and is the oldest church in the Harbor Area. It was originally built at Fries Avenue and G Street, Wilmington and moved twice since then. It was moved to its present site in 1937. Today it is know as Memory Chapel. It still contains the original pews built in 1870. John R. Kielbasa

1160 N. Marine Street, Wilmington, CA 90744 Map

Drum Barracks Officers' Quarters Est. 1862 National Register
California State Historic Landmark 169
L.A. Historic Cultural Monument 21
It was built in 1862 and was used to house junior Union Army officers assigned to Camp Drum during the Civil War. The fort was established in 1861 and named after General Richard Coulter Drum, head of the US Army's Department of the West. It was the base for the California Volunteers or "California Column" and had as many as 7,000 troops stationed at the 30 acre military facility, of which the land was donated to the US government by Phineas Banning. Some of the notable officers that served here were General Philip Henry Sheridan, General Winfield Scott Hancock, General George Stoneman, General Phineas Banning, Colonel Cave J. Couts, and Colonel James Henry Carleton. The Army's famous US Camel Corps was based here and camels shuttled freight and supplies from Wilmington to Fort Tejon and other points in the Southwest. Camp Drum was disbanded in 1871. The two story, 16 room colonial style officers' quarters was one of the first prefabricated structures assembled on the West Coast. All the building materials were shipped around Cape Horn from the Portsmouth Naval Yard in New Hampshire. The officers' quarters was converted into a private residence. The structure was in danger of being torn down in 1965, but was saved by the Society for the Preservation of the Drum Barracks, who purchased the building. The building was made into a Civil War Musuem. John R. Kielbasa

1053 Cary Avenue, Wilmington, CA 90744 Map

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Drum Barracks Powder Magazine
It was part of the 30 acre Camp Drum, a Civil War era Union Army facility. The powder magazine housed weapons and gun powder for the soldiers. It was built in 1862 of 3 foot thick stone block walls. In the 1920s a wood frame house was built around the stone building and it was hidden for about 60 years. The wood framed structure was moved in the 1980s revealing this historic relic from the Civil War days. Today it sits on a fenced-in vacant lot. It is only a few blocks from the Drum Barracks Civil War Museum. John R. Kielbasa

1001 Eubank Ave, Wilmington, CA 90744 Map

St. John's Episcopal Church Est. 1883
Established in 1876, but the structure was built in 1883, originally at 422 N. Avalon Boulevard. In 1876, Mary Hollister Banning (Phineas Banning's second wife) began holding Episcopal services in the basement of the Banning Mansion. Mrs. Banning urged on the building of a stave-type church and construction began in 1882. The Banning family donated the bell and the altar to the church. The bell came from one of Phineas Banning's channel boats, the S.S. Amelia. In 1926, the church received the altar cross and altar rail as gifts from a US Navy chaplain. The cross and rail were made in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii from brass taken from a World War I German submarine. The church was moved to its present site in 1943. The church still hold Sunday services. John R. Kielbasa

1547 Neptune Avenue, Wilmington, CA 90744 Map

Wienerschnitzel Est. 1961

John Kielbasa In 1961, fast-food entrepreneur John Galardi was pondering how to stand out in the fast-food business, when a vision popped into his 23-year-old head. Hot dogs, lots and lots of hot dogs. Soon after, the first der Wienerschnitzel opened in Wilmington, California. In 1962, a second restaurant was built that featured der Wienerschnitzel's signature red A-frame roof. It was the beginning of a revolutionary design that pioneered the drive-thru concept in Southern California. The company has since changed its name to simply "Wienerschnitzel" and grown to over 300 stores in ten states and Guam. It is now The World's Largest Hot Dog Chain. Courtesy of John R. Kielbasa.
Adriene Biondo

900 W. Pacific Coast Hwy., Wilmington, CA 90744 Map
310 513-8744

Wilmington Cemetery
L.A. Historic Cultural Monument 414
Phineas Banning donated land for the site and constructed the cemetery in 1857 upon the death of his infant child. Banning's first wife, Rebbeca Sanford Banning, is also buried here. Other Banning family members are buried here. Phineas Banning was originally buried here, but he was later moved and reintered at Rosdale Cemetery in Los Angeles. Many Civil War veterans and Drum Barracks soldiers were buried here. The area may contain old Indian burial sites as well.

605 East "O" Street, Wilmington, CA 90744 Map

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