The Prince O Whales, the oldest sports bar in Los Angeles was built in the late 50’s. It was formerly the “Bowsprit” named after the one that still hangs over the bar to this day. In keeping with the nautical theme and being located only three short blocks from the Pacific Ocean the current establishment was and is still called “The Prince O Whales”. Steve Mayer, the owner purchased the bar in the summer of 1972 after being thrown out of every other place in Playa Del Rey for having too much fun.  

  Prince O Whales is still is a quaint local beach spot serving good food and ice cold  drinks. It is affectionately referred as “P. O. W.” 

 Prince O Whales began its sports legacy, in the 70’s, when the owner had a 20-foot tower put on the roof, to get the Lakers signal from Santa Barbara. When it came to football and baseball, P.O.W. has always been able to get the local signals. 

 The Ballona wetlands are located directly behind the spot. Aircraft pioneer, Howard Hughes, originally owned the wetlands. It was a runway for test planes.  Hughes also had a stable directly behind the P.O.W. to house his polo ponies. In later years, it was also the last stop for broken down racehorses. 

  Hollywood’s elite would often be seen in equestrian activities, including Elizabeth Taylor who trained for the film “National Velvet”, in the paddock behind, which can still be seen today. The stables were bought privately and were known as “Playa Del Rey Stables”.    On special occasions the owner often would ride a pony through the P.O.W. 

  In the 80’s, and early 90’s, P.O.W. was a hot spot for airline employee’s including Hughes Aircraft, T.R.W. and Flying Tiger to name a few because the bar opened at 6am and closed at 2am and you could always get a burger and a cold beer.  

  It would be difficult to talk about the history of P.O.W. without mentioning baseball maven Mike Moore.  He has worked at P.O.W. for over three decades. Most of the employees have been there over 1 decade including all the kitchen staff. We pride ourselves on our down home neighborhood non-Hollywood atmosphere. 

 We promise if you visit you will be our new regular. We know everyone’s name and we love to introduce our customers to each other. We guarantee great company and our locals have so much colorful history.