River’s End Park, at 1st Street and Ocean Blvd., was home to the Seal Beach Steam Plant, commissioned by the Los Angeles Gas & Electric Company in 1925 at a cost of $5 million. Acquired by the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power in 1937, the plant remained in operation until 1951. Its original 385-foot smokestack served as a vital maritime landmark, visible more than 20 miles out to sea. Following the 1933 earthquake, the stack was reduced to 285 feet for safety. Today, remnants of red brick scattered throughout the park stand as a silent tribute to the park’s industrial legacy.
The Seal Beach Steam Plant is visible (top right), looking south from Naples and Alamitos Bay (early 1930’s).
The photo above was taken inside the Seal Beach Steam Plant. For more information on steam plant operations, see the diagram below.
The photo below shows the Seal Beach Steam Plant after the 1933 earthquake when the smoke stack was reduced from 385 feet to 285 feet.
The historic Ocean Avenue wooden trestle bridge (pictured below) that connected the Long Beach Peninsula to Seal Beach via the Pacific Electric Railway and early roadways, was approved for removal in 1954. It was officially torn down in 1955 to accommodate the dredging of Alamitos Bay and the development of the modern marina.
The Seal Beach Steam Plant was decommissioned in 1951 and finally demolished in 1967. See a video of the demolition here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgTCG_Saa4o&t=49s