At the Sign of the Three-Eyed Fish

There was, reportedly, an episode of “The Simpsons” in which one of the characters either catches or buys a three-eyed fish and Mrs. Simpson serves it for dinner.

This post is not about that.

This is about a bit of — literally — local color in San Pedro, California.

To see this curiosity, drive west on Gaffey Street, one of the principal streets of the Los Angeles-area city. You’ll crest a hill as you’re approaching Point Fermin park at the end of Gaffey.

There are a lot of distractions. Straight ahead of you is the park and its Victorian era lighthouse, with the Pacific Ocean and Catalina Island on the horizon. To your right is the Korean Friendship Bell.

Partway down the hill, you reach a stop sign where 38th Street enters from the left.

Stop and look to your right.

As promised: three-eyed fish. Kinda cute, in its way, don’t you think?

Graffiti? Street art? Arcane emblem of some secretive maritime organization? Rumors abound. The three-eyed fish has taken on something of a life of its own. One occasionally spots bumper stickers and window decals imitating the image on local vehicles.

The story is brief, but interesting. A local artist, Dave Butkus, painted the piscine mutant on that concrete drainage abutment in 1991 or 1992 as a protest against the dumping of toxic substances into San Pedro Harbor and the Port of Los Angeles.

Local lore has it that as Mr. Butkus’ work weathers or gets tagged with graffiti, someone restores it, but not he. If you search online for images of the fish, you’ll see variations evident as successive touchups occurred, and little or none of the underlying original may persist. But it’s as much theme or concept as execution, and the idea is what matters.

Fish Finding

The three eyed fish is located on Gaffey St. at the intersection with 38th, marked “FISH” in red, below.

Unless you’re a hard-core street protest art aficionado, the fish may not be enough to lure you to the far reaches of Los Angeles. There are a number of scenic and historic sites within a mile. I’ve written about several, underscored in the following map.

The following links connect to blog posts about the Korean Friendship Bell, Point Fermin Lighthouse, Stephen M. White statue/Port of Los Angeles breakwater, Juan Cabrillo statue/Cabrillo Aquarium/Cabrillo Beach Bath House.

© Brad Nixon 2018. The three-eyed fish is an original artwork by Dave Butkus.