Liberty Hill - San Pedro, CA
N 33° 44.441 W 118° 16.832
11S E 381383 N 3734141
Site of a 1923 strike rally protesting low wages, bad working conditions, and the imprisonment of union activists in Los Angeles Harbor; novelist Upton Sinclair spoke here and was arrested for doing so.
Waymark Code: WM76RW
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 09/10/2009
Views: 16
NO. 1021 LIBERTY HILL SITE - In 1923 the Marine Transport Workers Industrial Union 510, a branch of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), called a strike that immobilized 90 ships here in San Pedro. The union protested low wages, bad working conditions, and the imprisonment of union activists under California's Criminal Syndicalism Law. Denied access to public property, strikers and their supporters rallied here at this site they called "Liberty Hill." Writer Upton Sinclair was arrested for reading from the Bill of Rights to a large gathering. The strike failed but laid a foundation for success in the 1930s. The Syndicalism Law was ruled unconstitutional in 1968.
Location: Vicinity of 5th St. & Harbor Blvd., San Pedro, in front of the Harbor Day Care/Boys & Girls Club building.
The plaque is mounted on a column of sedimentary rock, which appears to contain small shell fossils. There is another plaque mounted on the side, showing the organizations which supported installing the historical landmark plaque.
Marker Number: 1,021.00
Marker Name: NO. 1021 LIBERTY HILL SITE
County: Los Angeles
Has Official CA Plaque: yes
Marker Dedication Date: 05/09/1998
Location:
Vicinity of 5th St. & Harbor Blvd., San Pedro
(Across the street from the Maritime Museum and John S. Gibson Park, which contains several maritime memorials.)
Website: [Web Link]
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Visit Instructions:
Feel free to post a picture of you at the landmark site, but a photo is not required to log a visit.