San Pedro, California
Located at 638 South Beacon Street, in San Pedro, California, west of Los Angeles, next to the Port of Long Beach, exists the Old Beacon Street Fountain.
Since the early days of sailors hanging out in and around the ports of Long Beach and San Pedro, fresh water has always been hard to come by in public. There was always plenty of other drinks available to the sea-legged sailors, but paradoxically, these drinks tended to create an even greater thirst, which could only be sated by plain ol'water. Since saloons, bars, and like establishments at the time did not usually offer drinking water, various good minded citizens, hoping to promote temperance as a result, financed the creation of a system of public drinking fountains in popular locations. One of the most noticeable in early Downtown San Pedro was place on Beacon Street directly in front of the Bank of San Pedro. Made in the era when cast iron was a popular medium for art, in 1875, it served the public for approximately eighty years. When the Beacon Street redevelopment project began rehabilitating the area, this stout yet graceful water fountain was found tossed into the gutter near its original location. It was salvaged, and later donated for installation in the park where it still stands 1980. The location is a short walk from its original position, and very near the site of the Old Pepper Tree Saloon. The fountain still provides visitors with fresh, clean water.