Korean Friendship Bell, San Pedro, CA (other)

Name:Korean Friendship Bell, San Pedro CA
Type:other
Street:Corner of 38th and Gaffey
City:San Pedro
State:CA
Zip:90731
country:USA
Phone:
Status:operational

Description:
The Korean Friendship Bell is not tiki, however, there are two friendly tikis that meet you on your walk out to the bell:

There is no information about the carver, and the style is rather interesting (with the added on ears and cool hat!) I also do not know what is written in Korean (can anyone translate this?)
The San Pedro Chamber of commerce has this to say about the bell:
"This massive and intricately-decorated bell and pavilion was donated in 1976 to the people of Los Angeles by the people of the Republic of Korea to celebrate the bicentennial of the U.S. independence, honor veterans of the Korean War, and to consolidate traditional friendship between the two countries. The bell is patterned after the Bronze Bell of King Songdok, which was cast in 771 A.D. and is still on view in South Korea today."
The bell sits on a plot of land that is adjacent to the historic Fort McArthur and commands a spectacular view of Catalina, LA Harbor and the marine terraces along the coast. This is a great spot for a picnic, to fly kites, or just relax on a sunny day.
How to get there:
Take the 110 South until it ends at Gaffey st. Head South on Gaffey (left at the end of the freeway) and follow it all the way until you see the ocean. The bell will be on your right at about 38th st.
It's open from sunrise to sunset and it's free (even parking).

[ Edited by: Polynesiac on 2004-02-27 14:26 ]

I've seen those poles up by the Friendship Bell myself. They are called "Changseung" and are actually Korean guardian totems or mileposts. Here's a website that gives some more info.
http://www.lifeinkorea.com/culture/changseung/Changseung.cfm?xURL=meaning

Some of the Changseung displayed on this site are virtually indistinguishable from Polynesian Tikis.

Sabu