Marina del Rey Small Craft Harbor grew from the Spanish land grant Rancho La Ballona and emerged through decades of research, planning, and development that began in 1887, when the area was first envisioned as a major commercial harbor. In 1937 the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors ordered a study of the financial feasibility and desirability of creating a recreational harbor there, and although the report was favorable, national attention shifted to World War II. In 1954 President Eisenhower signed Public Law 780 authorizing the harbor as a federal project after favorable projections, completed master plans for shoreline development, and sponsorship by the board. In 1956 the county electorate approved $13 million in revenue bonds, which, together with federal and other county funds, provided the financial base for construction of what became the largest man-made recreational port and home to some 6000 small craft. By 1962 the harbor was operational through a partnership of free enterprise, public-spirited citizens, and county, state, and federal governments, fulfilling a dream that had spanned 75 years. Burton W. Chace, called the Father of the Marina, was credited with helping transform former mosquito-infested mud flats into the world-renowned harbor through his vision, faith in the future, and counsel. His public career began in Long Beach in 1933, and he served on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors from 1953 to 1972, a period of major county growth. Elected to five consecutive terms and unopposed three times, he regarded the Marina del Rey Harbor complex as his greatest achievement for the public good.
