Site information:

Portuguese Bend Club, Palos Verdes Dr and Maritime Rd, Rancho Palos Verdes

Nothing remains of this site, as far as I know.

33.734837,-118.354483

Plaque information:

Private plaque

Plaque text:

Portuguese Bend Whaling Station

On the slopes below and west of this plaque stood the quarters of Portuguese whalemen who put out through the surf in boats under oars and sail to harpoon passing gray whales to be towed ashore where the blubber was stripped and "tried out" in large black iron try-pots to produce valuable whale oil for lamps and lubricants. Active from 1860 to 1885, this station began its decline with the advent of fossil oil; however, three of the original structures, the try-pots and crumbling furnaces remained until about 1928.

Dedicated as an historical site on January 15, 1983

OHP description:

The whaling industry is said to have been started by Captain Clark in 1864. Captain Frank Anderson, a Portuguese, tried 2,166 barrels of whale oil at this station from 1874 to 1877. The station was abandoned because of a lack of fuel rather than vessels.

Registered 1/3/1944