Incorporated in 1897, Long Beach lies in Southern California, in the southern part of Los Angeles County.[12] Long Beach is approximately 20 miles (32 km) south of downtown Los Angeles, and is part of the Gateway Cities region. The Port of Long Beach is the second busiest container port in the United States and is among the world's largest shipping ports.[13] The city is over an oilfield with minor wells both directly beneath the city as well as offshore.
Indigenous people have lived in coastal Southern California for over 10,000 years, and several successive cultures have inhabited the present-day area of Long Beach. By the 16th-century arrival of Spanish explorers, the dominant group was the Tongva, who had established at least three major settlements within the present-day city. Tevaaxa'anga was an inland settlement near the Los Angeles River, while Ahwaanga and Povuu'nga were coastal villages.[14] Povuu'nga was particularly important to the Tongva, not only as a regional trading center and hub for fishermen,[15] but for its deep ceremonial significance, being understood as their place of emergence as a people from which their lives began.[16]
In 1784, the Spanish Empire's King Carlos III granted Rancho Los Nietos to Spanish soldier Manuel Nieto. The Rancho Los Cerritos and Rancho Los Alamitos were divided from this territory. The boundary between the two ranchos ran through the center of Signal Hill on a southwest to northeast diagonal. A portion of western Long Beach was originally part of the Rancho San Pedro. Its boundaries were in dispute for years, due to flooding changing the Los Angeles River boundary between Rancho San Pedro and Rancho Los Nietos.
By 1805, what had been the major Tongva village of Puvunga was thoroughly depleted of villagers, most of whom were brought to Mission San Gabriel for conversion and as a labor force.[15][17] Many villagers died at the mission, which had a high rate of death, particularly among children,[18] attributed to many factors like diseases that spread quickly in the close quarters of the mission's walls, as well as torture, malnourishment, and overworking.[19]
In 1843, Juan Temple bought Rancho Los Cerritos, having arrived in California in 1827 from New England. He built what is now known as the "Los Cerritos Ranch House", a still-standing adobe which is a National Historic Landmark. Temple created a thriving cattle ranch and prospered, becoming the wealthiest man in Los Angeles County. Both Temple and his ranch house played important local roles in the Mexican–American War. On an island in the San Pedro Bay, Mormon pioneers made an abortive attempt to establish a colony (as part of Brigham Young's plan to establish a continuous chain of settlements from the Pacific to Salt Lake).
Following the U.S. Conquest of California, Temple had his Rancho Los Cerritos deeded to him by the Public Land Commission. In 1866, Temple sold Rancho Los Cerritos for $20,000 to the Northern California sheep-raising firm of Flint, Bixby & Company, which consisted of brothers Thomas and Benjamin Flint and their cousin Llewellyn Bixby. Two years previous Flint, Bixby & Co had also purchased along with Northern California associate James Irvine, three ranchos which would later become the city that bears Irvine's name. To manage Rancho Los Cerritos, the company selected Llewellyn's brother Jotham Bixby, the "Father of Long Beach". Three years later, Bixby bought into the property and would later form the Bixby Land Company. In the 1870s, as many as 30,000 sheep were kept at the ranch and sheared twice yearly to provide wool for trade. In 1880, Bixby sold 4,000 acres (16 km2) of the Rancho Los Cerritos to William E. Willmore, who subdivided it in hopes of creating a farm community, Willmore City. He failed and was bought out by a Los Angeles syndicate that called itself the "Long Beach Land and Water Company". They changed the name of the community to Long Beach at that time.
Incorporation
Long Beach pier, 1905Long Beach pier, 1925
The City of Long Beach was officially incorporated in 1897. The town grew as a seaside resort with light agricultural uses.[20]The Pike was the most famous beachside amusement zone on the West Coast from 1902 until 1969; it offered bathers food, games and rides, such at the Sky Wheel dual Ferris wheel and Cyclone Racerroller coaster. Gradually the oil industry, Navy shipyard and facilities and port became the mainstays of the city. In the 1950s it was referred to as "Iowa by the sea", due to a large influx of people from that and other Midwestern states. Huge picnics for migrants from each state were a popular annual event in Long Beach until the 1960s.
Another Bixby cousin, John W. Bixby, was influential in the city. After first working for his cousins at Los Cerritos, J.W. Bixby leased land at Rancho Los Alamitos. He put together a group: banker I.W. Hellman, Llewellyn and Jotham Bixby, and him, to purchase the rancho. In addition to bringing innovative farming methods to the Alamitos (which under Abel Stearns in the late 1850s and early 1860s was once the largest cattle ranch in the US), J.W. Bixby began the development of the oceanfront property near the city's picturesque bluffs. Under the name Alamitos Land Company, J.W. Bixby named the streets and laid out the parks of his new city. This area would include Belmont Heights, Belmont Shore and Naples; it soon became a thriving community of its own. J.W. Bixby died in 1888 of apparent appendicitis. The Rancho Los Alamitos property was split up, with Hellman getting the southern third, Jotham and Llewellyn, the northern third, and J.W. Bixby's widow and heirs keeping the central third. The Alamitos townsite was kept as a separate entity, but at first, it was primarily run by Llewellyn and Jotham Bixby, although I.W, Hellman (who had the largest single share) had a significant veto power, an influence made even stronger as the J.W. Bixby heirs began to side with Hellman more and more.
Oil was discovered in 1921 on Signal Hill, which split off as a separately incorporated city shortly afterward. The discovery of the Long Beach Oil Field, brought in by the gusher at the Alamitos oil well #1, made Long Beach a major oil producer; in the 1920s the field was the most productive in the world.[24] In 1932, the even larger Wilmington Oil Field, fourth-largest in the United States, and which is mostly in Long Beach, was developed, contributing to the city's fame in the 1930s as an oil town.[25][26]
The Ford Motor Company built a factory called Long Beach Assembly at the then address in 1929 as "700 Henry Ford Avenue, Long Beach" where the factory began building the Ford Model A. Production of Ford vehicles continued after the war until 1960, when the plant was closed due to a fire,[29] and January 1991 when the factory was demolished partially due to air quality remediation efforts. Ford had earlier opened a factory in Los Angeles at 12th Street and Olive, with a later factory built at East Seventh Street and Santa Fe Avenue after 1914.[30]
Come 1938, the creation of Housing Authorities for both the City and County of Los Angeles were complete — and North Long Beach was to be home to the County Authority's first order of business: the Carmelitos Housing Project, Southern California's first affordable housing complex.[26]
World War II and contemporary history
Long Beach, as a port city, had a relationship with the U.S. Navy even before the war.[31] The city was part of the Battle of Los Angeles during World War II when observers for the United States Army Air Forces reported shells being fired from the sea. Anti-aircraft batteries fired into the night sky, although no planes were ever sighted.
Long Beach's population grew substantially during and after the war, with workers being needed for wartime manufacturing and G.I. bill recipients seeking out homes in California.[31] Suburbs were built by the Bixby land companies and others.[31]
Long Beach also saw an instance of the Chicano(a) movement in 1968.[34]
Geography
Long Beach is about 21 miles (34 km) south of downtown Los Angeles. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 80.35 square miles (208.1 km2), of which 50.70 square miles (131.3 km2) is land and 29.64 square miles (76.8 km2) (36.8%) is water. Long Beach completely surrounds the city of Signal Hill.
Climate
Long Beach has a climate that can either be described as a hot semi-arid climate or a hot-summer Mediterranean climate. In general, the city features hot summers and mild to warm winters with occasional rainfall. Days in Long Beach are mostly sunny, as in Southern California in general. Temperatures recorded at the weather station at the Long Beach Airport, 4.0 miles (6.4 km) inland from the ocean, range more greatly than those along the immediate coast. During the summer months, low clouds and fog occur frequently, developing overnight and blanketing the area on many mornings. This fog usually clears by the afternoon, and a westerly sea breeze often develops, keeping temperatures mild. Heat and high humidity can sometimes coincide in summer, which may cause discomfort due to the heat index.[35]
According to data analysis provided by the NWS, The annual average temperature of Long Beach is 64.9 °F (18.3 °C), of which August is the hottest month with an average temperature of 74.3 °F (23.5 °C), while December is the coldest month with an average temperature of 56.7 °F (13.7 °C).[36] In terms of temperature, Long Beach and other California cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco have the hottest month of the year usually in August and the coolest month in December. Long Beach has 23 days of afternoon temperatures above 90 °F (32.2 °C) each year, and about two days a year are above 100 °F (37.8 °C).[37]
Climate chart for Long Beach
Long Beach's location directly east of the Palos Verdes Peninsula, paired with its south facing coastline, results in the city sometimes experiencing different weather patterns than the Los Angeles metropolitan area coastal communities to the northwest and southeast of Long Beach, which largely have west facing coastlines. The 1200 ft Palos Verdes hills block west to east airflow and a significant amount of the coastal moisture that marks other coastal cities, such as Manhattan Beach, Santa Monica, and Newport Beach.
As in most locations in Southern California, most rainfall in Long Beach occurs during the winter months. Storms can bring heavy rainfall.[38] The annual precipitation in Long Beach is 12.02 inches (305.3 mm), of which the precipitation from December to March of the following year accounts for 81% of the whole year.[36] June to September is usually rainless, especially August.[37]
Climate data for Long Beach, California (Long Beach Airport), 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1958–present
Long Beach is composed of many different neighborhoods. Some neighborhoods are named after thoroughfares, while others are named for nearby parks, schools, or city features.
Environment
Pollution
Oil field in Long Beach, 1920
Long Beach suffers from some of the worst air pollution in the entire United States.[40] Most of the city is in proximity to the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, and the prevailing westerly-to-west-south-westerly winds bring a large portion of the twin ports' air pollution directly into Long Beach before dispersing it northward then eastward.[41] Heavy pollution sources at the ports include the ships themselves, which burn high-sulfur, high-soot-producing bunker fuel to maintain internal electrical power while docked, as well as heavy diesel pollution from drayage trucks at the ports, and short-haul tractor-trailer trucks ferrying cargo from the ports to inland warehousing, rail yards, and shipping centers. Long-term average levels of toxic air pollutants (and the corresponding carcinogenic risk they create) can be two to three times higher in and around Long Beach, and in downwind areas to the east, than in other parts of the Los Angeles metropolitan area, such as the Westside, San Fernando Valley, or San Gabriel Valley.[42] While overall regional pollution in the Los Angeles metropolitan area has declined in the last decade, pollution levels remain dangerously high in much of Long Beach due to the port pollution, with diesel exhaust from ships, trains, and trucks as the largest sources.[43]
Panoramic view of Long Beach
Additionally, Long Beach is directly downwind of several of the South Bayoil refineries. Any refinery process or chemical upset that results in the atmospheric release of refinery by-products (commonly sulfur dioxide)[44][45] will usually impact air quality in Long Beach due to the west-south-westerly prevailing wind.[41]
Similarly, the water quality in the Long Beach portion of San Pedro Bay, which is enclosed by the Federal Breakwater, commonly ranks among the poorest on the entire West Coast during rainy periods. Long Beach beaches average a D or F grade on beach water quality during rainy periods in the Beach Report Card published by Heal the Bay.[46] However, during dry periods the water may have an A or B rating in the same reports. The Los Angeles River discharges directly into the Long Beach side of San Pedro Bay, meaning a large portion of all the urban runoff from the entire Los Angeles metropolitan area pours directly into the harbor water. This runoff contains most of the debris, garbage, chemical pollutants, and biological pathogens washed into storm drains in every upstream city each time it rains. Because the breakwater prevents tidal flushing and wave action, these pollutants build up in the harbor. The water enclosed by the breakwater, along most of the city's beaches, can be subject to red tides due to this stagnation as well. Because of these factors, the water in Long Beach is sometimes unsafe for swimming, up to weeks each year.[46]
Ecology
View from Signal Hill to Villa Riviera and port cranes (c. 2009)
The area has historically included several ecological communities, with coastal scrub dominating.[47]
As of the 2022[update]American Community Survey estimates, there were 451,319 people and 170,965 households.[58][59] The population density was 8,906.7 inhabitants per square mile (3,438.9/km2). There were 181,251 housing units at an average density of 3,576.9 per square mile (1,381.0/km2).[58][60][61] The racial makeup of the city was 34.6% White, 20.1% some other race, 12.5% Asian, 11.8% Black or African American, 1.8% Native American or Alaskan Native, and 1.0% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, with 18.2% from two or more races.[58]Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 44.0% of the population.[58]
Of the 170,965 households, 27.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 25.9% had seniors 65 years or older living with them, 35.6% were married couples living together, 9.7% were couples cohabitating, 22.3% had a male householder with no partner present, and 32.5% had a female householder with no partner present.[59] The median household size was 2.57 and the median family size was 3.34.[59]
The age distribution was 20.0% under 18, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 25.6% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 or older. The median age was 36.7 years.[62] For every 100 females, there were 97.5 males.[58]
The median income for a household was $80,493, with family households having a median income of $96,970 and non-family households $56,245. The per capita income was $41,896.[63][64] Out of the 443,634 people with a determined poverty status, 13.8% were below the poverty line. Further, 17.9% of minors and 16.2% of seniors were below the poverty line.[65]
Long Beach, California – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
The ethnic Cambodian population of approximately 20,000 is the largest outside of Asia.[71]
The Census reported 453,980 people (98.2% of the population) lived in households, 5,321 (1.2%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 2,956 (0.6%) were institutionalized.[70]
There were 163,531 households, out of which 58,073 (35.5%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 61,850 (37.8%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 26,781 (16.4%) had a female householder with no husband present, 10,598 (6.5%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 12,106 (7.4%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 3,277 (2.0%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. Of the households, 46,536 (28.5%) were made up of individuals, and 11,775 (7.2%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78. There were 99,229 families (60.7% of all households); the average family size was 3.52.
The age distribution of the city was as follows: 115,143 people (24.9%) were under the age of 18, 54,163 people (11.7%) aged 18 to 24, 140,910 people (30.5%) aged 25 to 44, 109,206 people (23.6%) aged 45 to 64, and 42,835 people (9.3%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.8 males.
There were 176,032 dwelling units at an average density of 3,422.2 per square mile (1,321.3/km2), of which 67,949 (41.6%) were owner-occupied, and 95,582 (58.4%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.0%; the rental vacancy rate was 7.2%. 195,254 people (42.2% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 258,726 people (56.0%) lived in rental housing units.
During 2009–2013, Long Beach had a median household income of $52,711, with 20.2% of the population living below the federal poverty line.[56]
As of 2014, the population of Long Beach was 473,577.
2000
As of the census[72] of 2000, there were 461,522 people, 163,088 households, and 99,646 families residing in the city. The population density was 9,149.8 inhabitants per square mile (3,532.8 inhabitants/km2). There were 171,632 dwelling units at an average density of 3,402.6 per square mile (1,313.8/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 45.2% White, 14.9% Black or African American (U.S. Census), 0.8% Native American, 12.1% Asian, 1.2% Pacific Islander, 20.6% from other races, and 5.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 35.8% of the population.
The city has changed since the 1950s, when its population was predominantly European-American and the city was nicknamed "Iowa by the Sea" or "Iowa under Palm Trees" as it had a slower pace than neighboring Los Angeles. In 1950, whites represented 97.4% of Long Beach's population.[73] Since the second half of the 20th century, the city has been a major port of entry for Asian and Latin American immigrants headed to Los Angeles. The Harbor section of downtown Long Beach was once home to people of Dutch, Greek, Italian, Maltese, Portuguese and Spanish ancestry, most of them employed in manufacturing and fish canneries until the 1960s.
According to a report by USA Today in 2000, Long Beach is the most ethnically diverse large city in the United States.[74] It has a relatively high proportion of Pacific Islanders (over 1% as of the 2000 Census), from Samoa and Tonga. Most American Indians, about 0.8% of the city's population, arrived during the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs urban relocation programs in the 1950s.
24,000 Jews live in Long Beach. Jews are concentrated in Rossmor, Los Alamitos, Seal Beach, and Lakewood in the Greater Long Beach area.[76]
As of the 2000 census, there were 163,088 households, out of which 35.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.2% were married couples living together, 16.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.9% were non-families. Of all households, 29.6% were made up of individuals, and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77 and the average family size was 3.55.
In the city, 29.2% of the population was under the age of 18, 10.9% from 18 to 24, 32.9% from 25 to 44, 18.0% from 45 to 64, and 9.1% was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $37,270, and the median income for a family was $40,002. Males had a median income of $36,807 versus $31,975 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,040. About 19.3% of families and 22.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 32.7% of those under age 18 and 11.0% of those age 65 or over. In 2008, the Census Bureau showed the number of people living below the poverty line had dropped to 18.2%.[77]
The most commonly reported ancestries of Long Beach residents were Mexican (28.1%) and German (5.5%), according to the 2000 census. Mexico (51.0%) and the Philippines (10.3%) were the most common foreign places of birth.[78]
Homelessness
In 2022, the Long Beach's point-in-time Homeless Count counted 3,296 homeless individuals in the city.[79]
Epson America, Inc. the U.S. affiliate of Japan-based Seiko Epson Corporation, is headquartered in Long Beach.[85] Pioneer Electronics, the U.S. affiliate of Japan-based Pioneer Corporation, is also headquartered in Long Beach along with SCAN Health Plan, a non-profit "Medicare Advantage" HMO for seniors. Molina Healthcare, Inc., a Medicaid management healthcare program, is headquartered in Long Beach. The real estate company HCP is based in Long Beach. Jesse James' West Coast Choppers custom motorcycle shop was in Long Beach, and much of the Monster Garagecable TV show was shot in Long Beach. Long Beach Green Business Association is an organization working to create economic growth through the promotion of green business and promoting a buy local program for Long Beach.[86] The North American subsidiary of video game developer and publisher Spike Chunsoft is headquartered in a building adjacent to the Long Beach Airport.
The Long Beach Accelerator was founded in 2019 as a public-private partnership between the city of Long Beach, Sunstone Management, and California State University, Long Beach, with the aim of growing the presence of diverse technology entrepreneurs in the city.[87]
Trade valued annually at more than $140 billion moves through Long Beach, making it the second busiest seaport in the United States. The Port supports more than 30,000 jobs in Long Beach, 316,000 jobs throughout Southern California and 1.4 million jobs throughout the United States. It generates about $16 billion in annual trade-related wages statewide.[89]
Retail
Los Altos Center is the only mall anchored by major department stores within city limits, while Lakewood Center mall is adjacent to Long Beach. Until the 1950s, Long Beach was the major retail hub between Los Angeles and Santa Ana. Buffum's, Walker's and Robert's all had their flagship stores in the city.[90] Later the Long Beach Plaza and Marina Pacifica malls were built, since repurposed as retail power centers. The largest shopping center within the city is the Long Beach Towne Center, a power center opened in 1999 on the site of the Long Beach Naval Hospital. The Pike Outlets and 2nd & PCH are new retail centers.
The Long Beach Museum of Art, sited in the historic Elizabeth Milbank Anderson residence, is owned by the City of Long Beach, and operated by the Long Beach Museum of Art Foundation. Long Beach also features the Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA), founded in 1996 by Dr. Robert Gumbiner. It is the only museum in the western United States that exclusively features modern and contemporary Latin American art.
Long Beach's newest museum is The Pacific Island Ethnic Art Museum (PieAM). This museum was a project of Robert Gumbiner at the time of his death.[91] The museum opened October 15, 2010.
In 1965, Long Beach State hosted the first International Sculpture Symposium to be held in the United States and the first at a college or university. Six sculptors from around the world and two from the United States created many of the monumental sculptures seen on the campus. There are now over 20 sculptures on the campus.
Long Beach is known for its street art. Some of the murals were created in conjunction with the city's Mural and Cultural Arts Program, but many others were not.[92][93]
Adjacent to the Museums of Latin American Art (MOLAA) and the Pacific Island Ethnic Art Museum (PieAM), in Gumbiner Park, stands the Long Beach High Five, created by sculptor Jorge Mujica. This interactive aluminium sculpture is intended to engage the public.[94]
Shops and galleries in the East Village Arts District, in downtown Long Beach hold their monthly art openings and artists exhibit in street galleries on the second Saturday of the month during the Artwalk.
Long Beach has a percent for art program administered through the Arts Council of Long Beach and the Redevelopment Agency which ensures new private developments contribute to the arts fund or commission artworks for their new projects.[95]
Music
The Bob Cole Conservatory of Music, the recently renamed school of music at CSULB, presents a wide variety of classical, jazz, and world music concerts each year. The Conservatory is part of CSULB's renowned College of the Arts.
Long Beach Opera, founded in 1979, is the oldest professional opera company serving the Los Angeles and Orange County regions. It presents performances of standard and non-standard opera repertoire at various locations, including the Terrace Theater and Center Theater of the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center and the Richard and Karen Carpenter Performing Arts Center at CSULB.[97]
Long Beach Community Concert Association[98] is a volunteer organization that provides musical entertainment appealing to seniors and others, four Sunday afternoons a year at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center[99] at CSULB. LBCCA also has an outreach program taking musical entertainment to senior care and senior housing facilities around the greater Long Beach area.
KJAZZ 88.1 FM (KKJZ) broadcasts from California State University, Long Beach. The station originally featured jazz and blues music exclusively but now plays a broader range of music including Rhythm and Blues (R&b). KKJZ can also be listened to over the Internet.[100] Kbeach is the student owned and operated web-only radio at CSULB.[101]
Long Beach City College operates two internet student-run radio stations, KCTY FM[102] and KLBC AM.
Long Beach is the host to a number of long-running music festivals. They include the Bob Marley Reggae Festival (February), the Cajun & Zydeco Festival (May), the El Dia De San Juan Puerto Rican Festival (Salsa music, June) the Aloha Concert Jam (Hawaiian music, June), the Long Beach Jazz Festival (August), the Long Beach Blues Festival (September, since 1980), and the Brazilian Street Carnaval (Brazilian music, September).
The Long Beach Municipal Band, founded in 1909, is the longest running, municipally supported band in the country. In 2005, the band played 24 concerts in various parks around Long Beach.[103]
Long Beach has several resident professional and semi-professional theater companies. Musical Theatre West, one of the largest regional theatrical producers in Southern California, performs at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center on the campus of CSU Long Beach. International City Theatre produces plays and musicals at the Beverly O'Neill Theatre (part of the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center). The Long Beach Playhouse, in continuous operation for over 75 years, has shows running 50 weeks out of the year on two stages.[104] Long Beach Shakespeare Company for over 20 years has provided free outdoor Shakespeare Festivals in the Summer.
Additionally, Long Beach is home to a number of smaller and "black-box" theaters, including the Found Theatre, Alive Theatre,[105] the Garage Theatre[106] and California Repertory Company (part of the graduate theater program at CSULB) that performs at the Royal Theater aboard the Queen Mary in downtown Long Beach.[107] Numerous tours and other stage events come through Long Beach, particularly at the Terrace Theater and the Carpenter Center, and both CSU Long Beach and Long Beach City College maintain active theater departments.
Cultural events
Two young men at the Long Beach Lesbian and Gay Pride Parade and Festival in 2015.
In October, Long Beach State hosts the CSULB Wide Screen Film Festival, at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center. The festival started in 1992 as a showcase for movies shot in the widescreen format, but has since been transformed into an artist-in-residence event. A major video and film artist (such as former CSULB student Steven Spielberg) screens and discusses their own work as well as the ten productions that most influenced their cinematic vision.[108]
The Long Beach Lesbian and Gay Pride Parade and Festival has been held in May or June since 1984. It is the second largest event in Long Beach, attracting over 125,000 participants over the two-day celebration. It is the third largest Gay Pride Parade in the United States.[110][104]
The Long Beach Sea Festival is held during the summer months (June through August). It features events centered on the ocean and the beach. These events include beach volleyball, movies on the beach, and a tiki festival.[111]
Sites of interest
RMS Queen Mary in Long Beach Harbor
The RMS Queen Mary is a 1936 Art Deco ocean liner permanently docked at Long Beach. It was purchased by the city in 1967 for conversion to a hotel and maritime museum.[112]
The nonprofit Aquarium of the Pacific is on a 5-acre (20,000 m2) site on Rainbow Harbor in Long Beach, across the water from the Long Beach Convention Center, Shoreline Village, and the Queen Mary Hotel and Attraction.
Rancho Los Alamitos is a 7.5-acre (30,000 m2) historical site owned by the City of Long Beach and is near the Long Beach campus of the California State University system. The site includes five agricultural buildings, including a working blacksmith's shop, 4 acres (16,000 m2) of gardens, and an adobe ranch house dating from around 1800. The Rancho is within a gated community; visitors must pass through security gates to get to it.[114]
Rancho Los Cerritos is a 4.7-acre (19,000 m2) historical site owned by Long Beach in the Bixby Knolls area near the Virginia Country Club. The adobe buildings date from the 1880s. The site also includes a California history research library.[115]
Long Beach led Southern California in parks access, size and spending, ranking 16th among a survey of 75 large U.S. cities, with Los Angeles and Anaheim tied for 51st and Santa Ana 69th, according to a study released by a national conservation group.[120] The Long Beach Department of Parks, Recreation and Marine received a Gold Medal award from the National Recreation and Park Association in 2002, 2003, and 2004, recognizing the Department's "outstanding management practices and programs". The department manages 92 parks covering over 3,100 acres (13 km2) throughout the city. The department also operates four public swimming pools, and four launch ramps for boaters to access the Pacific Ocean.
The 815 acres (3.30 km2) El Dorado Regional Park, which features fishing lakes, an archery range, youth campground, bike trails, and picnic areas. The 102.5-acre (0.4 km2) El Dorado Nature Center is part of the El Dorado Regional Park. The center features lakes, a stream, and trails, with meadows and forested areas.[121] After an original hands-off approach, the center has begun to actively introduce indigenous species.[121]
Willow Springs Park was founded as a part of the Willow Springs Wetlands Restoration Project which opened in October 2017. The project restored 11 acres of a 48-acre degraded oil well site into wetlands. These highlight the pivotal role the ecosystem played in the City of Long Beach’s establishment in the late 1800’s and helps preserve the site's history and unique topography. It is now at about 16 acres restored and, in August 2024, it began the process of being dedicated as a open space by the city council, which will make it the largest green space in Central Long Beach once done.[122] It is run in collaboration with the city's office of Climate Action and Sustainability which was established in 2008 to support and advance environmental stewardship and equity in the City of Long Beach.[123][124]
The Long Beach Green Belt path is a section of the old Pacific Electric right-of-way, restored by community activists as native habitat. The right-of-way was cleared of nonnatives, planted with indigenous plants, and made accessible with foot and bike paths. It supports approximately 40 species of California native plants as well as urban wildlife. The city and its residents have initiatives underway to revegetate the Long Beach stretch of the Los Angeles River with indigenous plants.[125]
The Los Cerritos Wetlands Study Group, state government agencies, and grassroots groups are collaborating on a plan to preserve Long Beach's last remaining wetlands.[127] Long Beach is the first city in California to join the 'EcoZone' Program, intended to measurably improve environmental conditions through public-private partnerships. Other places in Long Beach to see natural areas include Bluff Park (coastal bluffs), Colorado Lagoon, the Golden Shore Marine Biological Reserve, the Jack Dunster Marine Reserve, Shoreline Park, and DeForest Park.
Rosie's Dog Beach in Belmont Shore is the only legal off-leash beach area for dogs in Los Angeles County.[133] This 3-acre (12,000 m2) area is situated between Roycroft and Argonne Avenues.
The Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Fame is on South Pine Avenue in front of the Long Beach Convention Center adjacent to the Long Beach Grand Prix circuit. The Walk of Fame was created in 2006 to honor key contributors to motorsports and annually inducts new members in conjunction with the Long Beach Grand Prix. A 22-inch (560 mm) bronze medallion is placed in the sidewalk for each new inductee. The medallion includes a rendition of the racer's car and lists top achievements in motor sports.
Long Beach Marathon
The Long Beach Marathon is run every year in October throughout the City of Long Beach. The annual event includes a variety of races including a Kids Fun Run, a Bike Tour, 5K, Half Marathon and Full Marathon. All races begin and end around the Shoreline Village area of downtown Long Beach. 25,000 runners and cyclists participated in the 2013 festivities drawing nearly 50,000 people attending the event overall.[134] The full marathon is a fast Boston qualifying course passing through sandy beaches, Belmont Shore, and the Cal State Long Beach campus.[135]
Long Beach was the home of the American Basketball League team Long Beach Chiefs during the 1962/1963 season. They played in the newly opened Long Beach Arena.
The Southern California Summer Pro League is a showcase for current and prospective NBA basketball players, including recent draft picks, NBA players working on their skills and conditioning, and international professionals hoping to become NBA players. The league plays in the Pyramid-on the Long Beach State campus during July.
Since its inception in August 1964, the Congressional Cup has grown into one of the major international sailing events. Now held in April, it is the only grade 1 match race regatta held in the United States. The one-on-one race format is the same as the America's Cup, and many of the winners of the Congressional Cup have gone on to win the America's Cup as well.
The Leeway Sailing and Aquatics Center on Alamitos Bay in Belmont Shore is a youth sailing program founded in 1929.[136]
Water skiing
In July, there is the annual Catalina Ski Race, which starts from Long Beach Harbor and goes to Catalina Island and back to complete a 100-kilometer (62 mi) circuit. This race has been held annually since 1948 and features skiers from up to seventy teams from around the world.[137][138]
Surfing
Waves at Long Beach and the Bixby Hotel under construction,[139] c. 1906
Although California's surfing scene is said to have gotten its start in Long Beach when in 1911 two surfers returned from Hawaii and the city hosted the first National Surfing and Paddleboard Championships in 1938, surfing is now uncommon in Long Beach due to a 2.2-mile (3.5 km) long breakwater built in 1949 to protect the United States Pacific Fleet. The breakwater reduces "mighty waves to mere lake-like lapping along the city's beaches". The fleet left in the 1990s, and now some residents are calling for it to be lowered or eliminated and the city has commissioned a $100,000 study for this purpose.[140] In November 2019, the study concluded that any changes to the breakwater would be far too costly and could have potential impacts on the port of Long Beach, the port of Los Angeles, the oil islands, U.S. Naval Operations, Shoreline Marina, and the Peninsula.[141]
Long Beach State's team mascot are the Beach.[143] The school has participated in national championships in women's volleyball (5), men's volleyball (1), track and field (1), men's tennis (1; Division II), swimming (1; Division II), women's badminton (2), and women's field hockey (1). The school also has regularly appeared in NCAA tournaments in men's baseball, men's softball, men's basketball, women's basketball, men's golf, women's tennis, men's water polo, and women's water polo.[144] Their cheer team were national champions in 2003, 2004 and 2006.[145] The D1 roller hockey team were the 2011 national champions after defeating Lindenwood University.
The other collegiate sports team in the city is that of Long Beach City College. The school has appeared in national championships in men's gymnastics (6), football (5), women's soccer (3), and men's doubles and singles tennis (1 each). They have also had state championships in numerous sports, including 2006–7 championships in men's and women's water polo.[146]
Archery
The archery field in El Dorado Regional Park was the site for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics archery competition.[147]
CSU Long Beach has one of the few remaining university varsity archery teams in California.
Long Beach is a California charter city using the mayor–council form of government. It is governed by nine City Council members, who are elected by district, and the Mayor, who is elected at-large since a citywide initiative passed in 1988. The City Attorney, City Auditor, and City Prosecutor are also elected positions. The city is supported by a budget of $2.3 billion, and has more than 5,500 employees.[151] Long Beach was first incorporated in 1888 with 59 buildings and a new school. Nine years later, dissatisfaction with prohibition and high taxes led to an abortive and short-lived disincorporation. Before the year 1897 was out, the citizens voted to reincorporate, and the 1897 date of incorporation is shown on the city seal.
Long Beach is a full-service city that provides nearly all of its own municipal services, in contrast with a contract city. City hall provides a full range of traditional municipal services through the various departments that make up its staff of civil servants. In addition to its own police and fire departments, Long Beach provides:
Municipal water supply and sewer service through the Long Beach Water Department, which has a water treatment plant within the city and an extensive reclaimed water system for parks and other landscaping[152]
A Gas & Oil Department, which manages consumer natural gas service and infrastructure, as well as crude oil extraction subsidence control[153]
Health services through the Long Beach Health & Human Services Department, which handles both environmental health (such as restaurant/food inspection) and public health services. This is one of the only four municipal health departments in California (the other three being Berkeley, Pasadena, and Vernon)
Sanitation and recycling services through the Environmental Services Bureau in the Public Works Department[154]
Animal control service that, in addition to serving Long Beach, serves nearby cities including Signal Hill and Seal Beach
A City Auditor
A City Prosecutor
Long Beach held its elections for City Council on April (primary) and June (runoff) until the 2018 election. Starting with the 2020 election, primary election is being held in March and runoff election is being held in November.
The major exception to the full range of municipal services is electricity, which is provided by Southern California Edison.
According to the California Secretary of State, as of October 19, 2020, Long Beach has 279,735 registered voters. Of those, 147,276 (52.65%) are registered Democrats, 47,615 (17.02%) are registered Republicans, and 66,857 (23.90%) have declined to state a political party/are independents.[157]
The Long Beach Police Department provides law enforcement for the City of Long Beach.
Restrictions on registered sex offenders
On March 18, 2008, Long Beach became the first city in California to heavily restrict residency and visitation rights for California registered sex offenders. Triggered by a local protest of a multi-apartment dwelling which tenanted several paroled registered sex offenders, and fueled by local radio hosts John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou of KFI's John and Ken show, city council members voted 7–0 to enact 18 ordinances, of which the most restrictive prohibits residency by all registered sex offenders, whether they are on parole or not, within 2,000 feet (610 m) of any child care center, public or private school, or park. Google Maps measurements indicate the total exclusion area encompasses over 96% of the area of Long Beach that is zoned for residential use. Registered sex offenders residing within the exclusion zone were given until September 2008 to vacate the restricted area. Once this happens, no sex offender will legally be able to live in the vast majority of Long Beach. While several other ordinances restrict the number of registered sex offenders who may reside in an apartment complex, there are no apartment complexes within city limits that are outside of the exclusion zone. In addition, the ordinances prohibit all registered sex offenders from using any park, beach, or facility that caters to children, such as amusement parks and restaurants with children's playgrounds, or even travel within 500 feet (150 m) of such places.[158][159][160]
The Long Beach Fire Department (LBFD), ISO Class 1, provides fire protection and emergency medical services to the City of Long Beach.[161] The Long Beach Fire Department operates out of 23 Fire Stations throughout the city.[162]
In addition to serving 55 square miles (140 km2) with over 500,000 residents, the department's Marine Safety Division patrols the waterways and beach front areas.
Marine Safety Division
The Marine Safety Division is responsible for the operation and management of the marine safety and lifeguard division as well as the safe and lawful use of the 9 miles (14 km) of beaches, 5,300 acres (2,100 ha) of oceanfront property, waterways and marinas.[163] This includes the Port of Long Beach and Alamitos Bay. The division staffs 9 facilities year round, with an additional 41 stations during the summer[164] Additionally the division has at its disposal 6 rescue boats, 7 beach patrols and a dive rescue unit. In 2012, lifeguards and other members of the marine safety division responded to 17,867 calls for service.[164]
The American Lifeguard Association has been offering lifeguard courses for over 30 years.[165]
The Los Angeles Superior Court, which covers all of Los Angeles County, operates the Governor George Deukmejian Courthouse in downtown Long Beach.[166] It is one of the 50 courthouses in the county.
The Glenn M. Anderson Long Beach Federal Building in downtown Long Beach at 501 West Ocean Blvd., houses offices for NOAA and other federal agencies, although NOAA plans to shift leadership of the Fisheries office to the Pacific Northwest and shrink this office through attrition.
Long Beach City College is a community college established in 1927. LBCC is composed of two separate campuses; the Liberal Arts Campus is on the residential area of Lakewood Village, while the Pacific Coast Campus is adjacent to the Eastside neighborhood.[173]
Additionally, Pacific Coast University, a private non-profit law school, is located in Long Beach.
Transportation
Ports and freight
Northwest-facing view of the harbor and port at dusk
As of 2005, the Port of Long Beach was the second busiest[174]seaport in the United States and the tenth busiest in the world,[175] shipping some 66 million metric tons of cargo worth $95 billion in 2001. The port serves shipping between the United States and the Pacific Rim. The combined operations of the Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles are the busiest in the US.
Rail shipping is provided by Union Pacific Railroad and BNSF Railway, which carry about half of the trans-shipments from the port. Long Beach has contributed to the Alameda Corridor project to increase the capacity of the rail lines, roads, and highways connecting the port to the Los Angeles rail hub. The project, completed in 2002, created a trench 20 miles (32 km) long and 33 feet (10 m) deep in order to eliminate 200 grade crossings and cost about US$2.4 billion.
Long Beach Cruise Terminal
Long Beach Cruise Terminal
Operated by Carnival Corporation, the Long Beach Cruise Terminal is the year-round home of three cruise ships carrying over 600,000 passengers annually. Passengers are processed in the domed structure that housed the Spruce Goose.[176][177]
Long Beach Transit also operates the Passport shuttle within downtown Long Beach. The free shuttle carries passengers to the Aquarium of the Pacific, Pine Avenue, Shoreline Village, the Long Beach Convention Center, the Queen Mary, Catalina Landing, various hotels, and other points of interest.[181] During the summer, Long Beach Transit operates the AquaLink, a 68-foot (21 m) catamaran that carries passengers between the downtown Long Beach waterfront and the Alamitos Bay Landing.[182] In addition, during the summer, a 49-passenger water taxis called the AquaBus is provided. With $1 fares, the AquaBus serves six different locations within the downtown Long Beach waterfront.[183]
A Metro Blue Line train arrives at the Downtown Long Beach Station (the service was renamed to the A Line in 2019, while the station was renamed from its original name of Transit Mall Station in July 2013).
Taxicabs in Long Beach serve the tourism and convention industry and local services such as for elderly and disabled residents. Yellow Long Beach is the city's only licensed taxi franchise, with 199 taxicabs in service.[188] Long Beach was the nation's first large city to relax restrictions on cabs by allowing them to offer variable, discounted fares, free rides and other price promotions to lure customers while keeping maximum fares in place. Many other cities have responded to Uber and Lyft by increasing regulation of these new competitors.[189]
The city of Long Beach has five major Class 1 bike paths (separate off-road bike paths) within its boundaries, encompassing over 60 miles (97 km). The city also has many Class 2 (painted lanes on roadway) and Class 3 paths (connecting bike routes with shared use of road with cars).[190]
A 2019 study by Walk Score ranked Long Beach the tenth most walkable of over 100 cities around the world.[191]
Modal characteristics
According to the 2016 American Community Survey, 73.6 percent of working residents of Long Beach commuted by driving alone, 10.2 percent carpooled, 6.2 percent used public transportation, and 3.4 percent walked. About 2 percent commuted by all other means of transportation, including taxi, bicycle, and motorcycle. About 4.6 worked at home.[192]
In 2015, 10.4 percent of city of Long Beach households were without a car, which decreased slightly to 10.0 percent in 2016. The national average was 8.7 percent in 2016. Long Beach averaged 1.69 cars per household in 2016, compared to a national average of 1.8 per household.[193]
On September 30, 1933, the Press-Telegram published what David Dayen called "One of the more influential letters to the editor in American history": Francis Townsend's letter outlining the Townsend Plan, a proposal that sparked a national campaign which influenced the establishment of the Roosevelt administration's Social Security system.[194]
California State University, Long Beach also has a student newspaper published four times a week during the fall and spring semesters, the Daily Forty-Niner.
The Gazette newspapers called The Grunion Gazette, The Downtown Gazette, and The Uptown Gazette are free, weekly newspapers that focus on various parts of the city. The Gazettes were sold to MediaNews (now Digital First Media), owner of the Press-Telegram, in 2004.[195]
Palacio Magazine (formerly Palacio de Long Beach) is a free quarterly,[196] bilingual magazine which runs stories focusing on community, education, art, health and wellness side by side in English and Spanish.[197]
Although not based in Long Beach, the alternative weekliesOC Weekly and LA Weekly are distributed widely in Long Beach. Starting in 2007, Long Beach was served by its own The District Weekly, an alternative weekly that covered news, the arts, restaurants, and the local music scene. The District Weekly ceased publication in March 2010, citing lack of advertiser support.
In 2013 Freedom Communications, owner of the Orange County Register, launched a five-day daily newspaper, the Long Beach Register, aimed at competing with the Press-Telegram.[198] In September 2014, the Long Beach Register was reduced to Sundays only, and was distributed as an insert in the Orange County Register. In August of the same year, just sixteen months after its much-publicized launch, Freedom Communications announced it would cease publication of the Long Beach Register completely,[199] citing lack of reader and advertiser interest.[200]
Radio
Long Beach is part of the Los Angeles DMA radio and television markets. Although a few radio stations have had studios in Long Beach over the years, including the 1980s alternative music and later hard rock station KNAC, the only remaining radio stations in Long Beach are the jazz and blues station KKJZ on the Cal State Long Beach campus, and the Christian radio broadcaster KFRN. The most recent radio station to grace the Long Beach airways is public radio station KLBP, 99.1, a low-power station, which started broadcasting in December 2018.
Online
Long Beach has a number of online news outlets, including the Long Beach Post,[201] Long Beach Local News,[202] The Modern Times of Long Beach,[203] FORTHE,[204] and LBReport.com.[205][206]
Because of its proximity to LA-area studios and its variety of locations, today Long Beach is regularly used for movies, television shows, and advertisements. The city has filled in for locations across the nation and around the globe.[207] One advantage for Long Beach is that the video and film industry uses a zone that extends 30 miles (48 km) from Beverly Blvd. and La Cienega Blvd. in the West Hollywood area. It is cheaper to shoot within that zone, so Long Beach and other South Bay cities often stand in for areas of Orange County (such as for The O.C. TV show[208]) because almost all of Orange County is outside of the zone.
One of the most famous Long Beach film locations is the home of Ferris Bueller in Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Though the film was set in the North Shore suburbs of Chicago the house is at 4160 Country Club Dr.[209]
Other locations in Long Beach have been used frequently as well. An episode of The Lone Wolf, "The Long Beach Story",[210] features the Wilton Hotel. Shoreline Drive visually approximates a freeway but is a municipal roadway and permits are accepted for its closure for shooting video and film – it has become a frequent movie and television freeway stand-in. Many car chase and crash scenes have been shot on stretches of road near the Long Beach harbor and along the city's Shoreline Drive. Among these are the 1963 movie It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and numerous episodes of the 1970s TV drama CHiPs (as well as the 2017 film CHiPs). Long Beach's downtown neighborhood has stood in for various urban areas in a variety of movies. Gone in 60 Seconds (1974 film), Gone in 60 Seconds (2000 film), and Speed[211] were shot in Long Beach. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was also shot in Long Beach as was Big Momma's House 2. CSI: Miami, Dexter, and Jane the Virgin, although set in Miami, Florida, regularly get shot in Long Beach. Much of Tenacious D: The Pick of Destiny was shot in Long Beach. Although there was a chase scene downtown, most of Tenacious D was shot at Alex's Bar at 2913 E. Anaheim St., a punk rock/alternative rock venue. Most of the viral hit Mega Shark Versus Giant Octopus was also shot by the Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier and Alamitos Energy Center in Long Beach.
The Long Beach Terrace Theatre has also been used for various commercials, an episode of Glee, as well as the film Last Action Hero. Several scenes from this David Spade comedy, Lost & Found, were shot around the Belmont Park area. The final scene from the Jim Carrey comedy remake Fun with Dick and Jane features Long Beach's scenic E. Ocean Blvd. route. La La Land features both a Long Beach apartment house and bar.[212]
The Long Beach Naval Station and Naval Shipyard were featured in episodes of Visiting... with Huell Howser.[213][214][215] The Pike[216] and SoundWalk art show[217] have also been featured.
^"About the Port". Port of Long Beach website. Archived from the original on March 11, 2012. Retrieved December 28, 2007.
^McCawley, William (1996) [1952]. The First Angelinos: The Gabrielino Indians of Los Angeles (Paperback ed.). Malki Museum Press/Ballena Press. ISBN978-0-9651016-0-8.
^"$7 Million Spent for Building Downtown in 1929". Press-Telegram. Long Beach, California: Press-Telegram (reprinted in November 4, 1959, edition). December 31, 1929. p. 33. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
^Schmitt, R. J., Dugan, J. E., and M. R. Adamson. "Industrial Activity and Its Socioeconomic Impacts:
Oil and Three Coastal California Counties." MMS OCS Study 2002-049. Coastal Research Center, Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, California. MMS Cooperative Agreement Number 14-35-01-00-CA-31603. 244 pages; p. 47.
^Herman, Arthur. Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II, pp. 202–3, Random House, New York, NY, 2012. ISBN978-1-4000-6964-4.
^Parker, Dana T. Building Victory: Aircraft Manufacturing in the Los Angeles Area in World War II, pp. 35–48, Cypress, CA, 2013. ISBN978-0-9897906-0-4.
^Briscoe, Daren (October 29, 2001). "The Skinny on Thin House". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 5, 2011. Retrieved July 2, 2010.
^"LBReport.com". Council Approves LB Muni Code Amendments Adding Sex Offender Residency/Loitering Restrictions. Archived from the original on October 19, 2008. Retrieved March 13, 2008.
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