Sunken City

Ku‘uipo found Sunken City through AllTrails.com.  Loving the artistic side of graffiti, Ku‘uipo decided Mike and she would head to San Pedro to find the hidden gem known as "Sunken City."

No Trespassing sign, apparently not many people heed to.

Upon arrival, there was a cafe to the left of the road called Walker's Cafe.  To the right of the road was .  It over overlooks the ocean below.  Mike and Ku‘uipo had no idea where they were going.  There was a sign that mentioned No Trespassing, but they saw people on the other side of the sign walking to the park side.  When the couple came close enough, Ku‘uipo asked them, "How'd you get over there?"  Once they got to the wall, they hopped over, and the man said, "Go over this wall, and hold on to the fencing.  There's a hole under it, and you have to go under it and then you'll be on the other side."
Point Firmin Park

Mike and Ku‘uipo climbed the wall and went under the fence.  The other side was extremely colorful and in various places on top of the cliff were ruins of what appeared to be a residential area; foundations of buildings, a manhole on the edge of a cliff, a broken street pole.

Walking around the edge of the cliff is very dangerous.  There's a former street that dead-ends at the end of the cliff, where it fell off, and the remains of street shards and sidewalk squares lie at the foot of the cliff.  Almost every piece of cement and asphalt was painted over with graffiti.

Graffiti art on broken street.

Many young people were there smoking blunts and drinking beer and liquor.  Others were there to take pictures of graffiti and to explore the unknown.  Squirrels would pop their heads out and then hide again.  It wasn't much of a hike as it was a walk down a hill and hopping from broken street to other parts of broken street.

When they got bored, they headed back up the cliff from well-traversed paths, and went back to the park.  Mike had to use the men's room and found a restroom behind "Shakespeare in the Park" a small stage where concerts in the park are performed.  As Ku‘uipo waited, she walked over to the Victorian house at the edge of the park and realized it was a historical landmark, a lighthouse that was built in the 1874 and still in operation;  Point Fermin Lighthouse.  The docents of the lighthouse could not guide a tour for another half hour, and Ku‘uipo was hungry and thirsty.

Walker's Cafe

When they got to Walker's Cafe, the waitress invited them in, and mentioned the menu up on the wall was not the current menu, but a novelty they have had since the cafe opened up in the 1940s. She proceeded to give them a history lesson regarding "the sunken city" as having never "sunk" from a sinkhole or a landslide, but a break from the Long Beach earthquake in 1933.

As they drank their beers, ate freshly peeled and cut fries (they have a potato cutting press from 1940s where their peeler, Ernie, smiles as he peels and presses), and Mike had his $1 pickled hardboiled egg, they learned a little bit about the cafe and its beginning.

Mike getting ready to throw back a cold one.

The waitress said it was never a "biker bar" but a cafe that catered to the soldiers during WWII, and a trolly used to pull up and take the drunken sailors to their barracks. She pointed to a photo on the wall where a train track was seen in front of the cafe, but looking outside from the front door, it was not visible as the street was paved with asphalt and the tracks were gone.

She said, at some point, bikers came to the cafe to mingle and eat, and one should not feel intimidated coming to this family restaurant. The interior is old, menu classic American (burgers, chili, hotcakes and eggs, hot dogs, etc), and many original pieces in their kitchen, including the old refrigerator and potato cutting press. But, that is what gives charm to this hidden gem.

Ku‘uipo homemade fries and beer (before her serving of root beer)

 Unfortunately, being vegan, there was not much for Ku‘uipo to eat, however, they have begun to offer turkey burgers as they transition their menu to the healthier-eating customers. All-in-all, Mike and Ku‘uipo had a pleasant experience and may come
back if they are in San Pedro, again. How wonderful to experience so much history all around, from the light house, the architecture, the Korean Friendship Bell and the gun mounts, to Walkers Cafe.