Long Beach is a city in
Los Angeles County, California
Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is the ...
. It is the
42nd-most populous city in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020.
A
charter city
In the United States, a charter city is a city in which the governing system is defined by the city's own charter document rather than solely by general law. In states where city charters are allowed by law, a city can adopt or modify its organ ...
,
Long Beach is the
seventh-most populous city in California.
Incorporated in 1897, Long Beach lies in
Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...
in the southern part of
Los Angeles County
Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the List of the most populous counties in the United States, most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, ...
. Long Beach is approximately south of
downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) contains the central business district of Los Angeles. In addition, it contains a diverse residential area of some 85,000 people, and covers . A 2013 study found that the district is home to over 500,000 jobs. It is a ...
, and is part of the
Gateway Cities
The Gateway Cities Region, or Southeast Los Angeles County (also shortened to Southeast Los Angeles and Southeast LA) is an urbanized region located in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, between the City of Los Angeles proper, Orange ...
region. The
Port of Long Beach
The Port of Long Beach, also known as the Harbor Department of the City of Long Beach, is a container port in the United States, which adjoins Port of Los Angeles. Acting as a major gateway for US–Asian trade, the port occupies of land with ...
is the second busiest
container port
A container port or container terminal is a facility where cargo containers are transshipped between different transport vehicles, for onward transportation. The transshipment may be between container ships and land vehicles, for example trai ...
in the United States and is among the world's largest shipping ports. The city is over
an oilfield with minor wells both directly beneath the city as well as offshore.
The city is known for its waterfront attractions, including the permanently docked and the
Aquarium of the Pacific
The Aquarium of the Pacific (formerly the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific) is a public aquarium on a site on Rainbow Harbor in Long Beach, California, United States. It is situated across the water from the Long Beach Convention Center, Shore ...
. Long Beach also hosts the
Grand Prix of Long Beach
The Grand Prix of Long Beach (known as Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach since 2019 for naming rights reasons) is an IndyCar Series race held on a street circuit in downtown Long Beach, California. Christopher Pook is the founder of the event. It w ...
, an
IndyCar
INDYCAR, LLC, is an American-based auto racing sanctioning body for Indy car racing and other disciplines of open wheel car racing. The organization sanctions five racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with its centerpiece the Indianapoli ...
race and the
Long Beach Pride Festival and Parade.
California State University, Long Beach
California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities ...
, one of the largest universities in California by enrollment, is within the city.
History
Tongva period
Indigenous people
Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original 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 people
The Tongva ( ) are an Indigenous people of California from the Los Angeles Basin and the Southern Channel Islands, an area covering approximately . Some descendants of the people prefer Kizh as an endonym that, they argue, is more historicall ...
. They had at least three major settlements within the present-day city. ''Tevaaxa'anga'' was an inland settlement near the
Los Angeles River
, name_etymology =
, image = File:Los Angeles River from Fletcher Drive Bridge 2019.jpg
, image_caption = L.A. River from Fletcher Drive Bridge
, image_size = 300
, map = LARmap.jpg
, map_size ...
, while ''Ahwaanga'' and ''
Povuu'nga'' were coastal villages. Along with other Tongva villages, they were forced to relocate in the mid-19th century due to missionization, political change, and a drastic drop in population from exposure to European diseases.
Spanish and Mexican period
In 1784, the
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its predece ...
's
King Carlos III granted
Rancho Los Nietos
Rancho Los Nietos was one of the first, and the largest, Spanish land concession in Alta California. Located in present-day Los Angeles County and Orange County, California. Rancho Los Nietos was awarded to Manuel Nieto in 1784. The rancho rema ...
to Spanish soldier
Manuel Nieto. The
Rancho Los Cerritos :''This article refers to the land grant. For the Rancho Los Cerritos adobe, see Los Cerritos Ranch House''
Rancho Los Cerritos was a 1834 land grant in present-day southern Los Angeles County and Orange County, California The grant was the re ...
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
Rancho San Pedro was one of the first California land grants and the first to win a patent from the United States. The Spanish Crown granted the of land to soldier Juan José Domínguez in 1784, with his descendants validating their legal clai ...
. Its boundaries were in dispute for years, due to flooding changing the
Los Angeles River
, name_etymology =
, image = File:Los Angeles River from Fletcher Drive Bridge 2019.jpg
, image_caption = L.A. River from Fletcher Drive Bridge
, image_size = 300
, map = LARmap.jpg
, map_size ...
boundary between Rancho San Pedro and Rancho Los Nietos.
In 1843,
Juan Temple bought
Rancho Los Cerritos :''This article refers to the land grant. For the Rancho Los Cerritos adobe, see Los Cerritos Ranch House''
Rancho Los Cerritos was a 1834 land grant in present-day southern Los Angeles County and Orange County, California The grant was the re ...
, having arrived in California in 1827 from
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces o ...
. He built what is now known as the "
Los Cerritos Ranch House", a still-standing
adobe
Adobe ( ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for ''mudbrick''. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is used to refer to any kind of e ...
which is a
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
. 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
The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...
. On an island in the
San Pedro Bay,
Mormon
Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...
pioneers made an abortive attempt to establish a colony (as part of
Brigham Young
Brigham Young (; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), from 1847 until his death in 1877. During his time as ch ...
's plan to establish a continuous chain of settlements from the Pacific to
Salt Lake
A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water that has a concentration of salts (typically sodium chloride) and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes (often defined as at least three grams of salt per litre). ...
).
Post-Conquest period
Following the U.S.
Conquest of California
The Conquest of California, also known as the Conquest of Alta California or the California Campaign, was an important military campaign of the Mexican–American War carried out by the United States in Alta California (modern-day California), t ...
, Temple had his Rancho Los Cerritos deeded to him by the
Public Land Commission
The California Land Act of 1851 (), enacted following the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and the admission of California as a state in 1850, established a three-member Public Land Commission to determine the validity of prior Spanish and Mexican l ...
. 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
Lewellyn 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 Lewellyn'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 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
The City of Long Beach was officially incorporated in 1897. The town grew as a
seaside resort
A seaside resort is a town, village, or hotel that serves as a vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requirements, such as in the German ' ...
with light agricultural uses.
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
A Ferris wheel (also called a Giant Wheel or an observation wheel) is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating upright wheel with multiple passenger-carrying components (commonly referred to as passenger cars, cabins, tubs, gondolas, capsule ...
and
''Cyclone Racer'' roller coaster
A roller coaster, or rollercoaster, is a type of amusement ride that employs a form of elevated railroad track designed with tight turns, steep slopes, and sometimes inversions. Passengers ride along the track in open cars, and the rides are ...
. 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
The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...
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, Lewellyn and Jotham Bixby, and him, to purchase the rancho. In addition to bringing innovative farming methods to the Alamitos (which under
Abel Stearns
Abel Stearns (February 9, 1798 – August 23, 1871) was an American trader who came to the Pueblo de Los Angeles, Alta California in 1829 and became a major landowner and cattle rancher and one of the area's wealthiest citizens.
Early life
Stear ...
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
Appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these typical symptoms. Severe complications of a ru ...
. The Rancho Los Alamitos property was split up, with Hellman getting the southern third, Jotham and Lewellyn, 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 Lewellyn 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.
When Jotham Bixby died in 1916, the remaining of Rancho Los Cerritos was subdivided into the neighborhoods of
Bixby Knolls,
California Heights,
Los Cerritos,
North Long Beach and part of the city of
Signal Hill.
Pine Avenue near 4th became the center of a large shopping district. Besides upscale
Buffums (1912; expanded 1926), in 1929 alone
Barker Brothers, the Hugh A. Marti Co., and Wise Company department stores built large new stores,
Walker's (1933), and nearby at American and 5th,
Sears (1928) and
Montgomery Ward
Montgomery Ward is the name of two successive U.S. retail corporations. The original Montgomery Ward & Co. was a world-pioneering mail-order business and later also a leading department store chain that operated between 1872 and 2001. The curre ...
(1929). It would remain popular until suburban malls sprung up starting in the 1950s. (see also:
History of Retail in Southern California)
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.
[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.] 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.
The M6.4
1933 Long Beach earthquake
The 1933 Long Beach earthquake took place on March 10 at south of downtown Los Angeles. The epicenter was offshore, southeast of Long Beach, California, on the Newport–Inglewood Fault. The earthquake had a magnitude estimated at 6.4 , and a ...
caused significant damage to the city and surrounding areas, killing a total of 120 people. Most of the damage occurred in
unreinforced masonry building
An unreinforced masonry building (or UMB, URM building) is a type of building where load bearing walls, non-load bearing walls or other structures, such as chimneys, are made of brick, cinderblock, tiles, adobe or other masonry material that is ...
s, especially schools.
Pacific Bible Seminary (now known as
Hope International University
Hope International University is a private Christian university in Fullerton, California. It enrolls around 1,140 students. While Hope is non-denominational, it has strong ties to the Restoration Movement and the Christian churches and churche ...
) was forced to move classes out of First Christian Church of Long Beach and into a small local home due to damage.
The
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...
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, 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 the location of 12th Street and Olive, with a later factory built at East Seventh Street and Santa Fe Avenue after 1914.
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.
The city was part of the
Battle of Los Angeles
The Battle of Los Angeles, also known as the Great Los Angeles Air Raid, is the name given by contemporary sources to a rumored attack on the continental United States by Imperial Japan and the subsequent anti-aircraft artillery barrage which ...
during
World War II when observers for the
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
reported shells being fired from the sea. Anti-aircraft batteries fired into the night sky, although no planes were ever sighted.
Before the war, Long Beach had a sizable Japanese-American population, who worked in the fish canneries on
Terminal Island
Terminal Island, historically known as Isla Raza de Buena Gente, is a largely artificial island located in Los Angeles County, California, between the neighborhoods of Wilmington and San Pedro in the city of Los Angeles, and the city of Long Be ...
and owned small truck (produce) farms in the area. Due to fears on the coast, state officials persuaded the national government to remove Japanese nationals and Japanese Americans for
internment
Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simp ...
in 1942 to inland facilities. Most did not return to the city after their release from the camps. Due to this and other factors, Japanese Americans now make up less than 1% of the population of Long Beach, but the Japanese Community Center and a Japanese Buddhist Church survive. The Japanese-American Cultural Center is over the Gerald Desmond Bridge and the
Vincent Thomas Bridge
The Vincent Thomas Bridge is a suspension bridge, crossing Los Angeles Harbor in Los Angeles, California, linking San Pedro with Terminal Island. It is the only suspension bridge in the Greater Los Angeles area. The bridge is part of State ...
in
San Pedro.
Douglas Aircraft Company
The Douglas Aircraft Company was an American aerospace manufacturer based in Southern California. It was founded in 1921 by Donald Wills Douglas Sr. and later merged with McDonnell Aircraft in 1967 to form McDonnell Douglas; it then operated a ...
's largest facility was its Long Beach plant, totaling 1,422,350 sq. ft. The first plane rolled out the door on December 23, 1941. The plant produced
C-47 Skytrain
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF
The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) ( mi, Te Tauaarangi o Aotearoa, "The Warriors of the Sky of New Zealand"; previously ', "War Party of the Blue") is the aerial service br ...
transports,
B-17 Flying Fortress
The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Thea ...
bombers, and
A-20 Havoc
The Douglas A-20 Havoc (company designation DB-7) is an American medium bomber, attack aircraft, night intruder, night fighter, and reconnaissance aircraft of World War II.
Designed to meet an Army Air Corps requirement for a bomber, it was ...
attack bombers simultaneously. Douglas merged with the
McDonnell Aircraft Company in 1967 where the
Douglas DC-8
The Douglas DC-8 (sometimes McDonnell Douglas DC-8) is a long-range narrow-body airliner built by the American Douglas Aircraft Company.
After losing the May 1954 US Air Force tanker competition to the Boeing KC-135, Douglas announced in Jul ...
and the
McDonnell Douglas DC-9
The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced by the developer company as the Douglas DC-9 until August 1967 and then by McDonnell Douglas.
After ...
were built. In 1997 McDonnell Douglas merged with
Boeing
The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and pr ...
, which made
C-17 Globemaster
The McDonnell Douglas/Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport aircraft that was developed for the United States Air Force (USAF) from the 1980s to the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas. The C-17 carries forward the name of two ...
transport planes in Long Beach until the close of the manufacturing facility in 2015.
Geography
Long Beach is about south of downtown
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
. According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...
, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (2.22%) is water. Long Beach completely surrounds the city of
Signal Hill.
Neighborhoods
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.
Climate
Long Beach has a climate that can either be described as a
hot semi-arid climate
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...
or a
hot-summer Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...
. 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
Long Beach Airport is a public airport three miles northeast of downtown Long Beach, in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is also called Daugherty Field, named after local aviator Earl Daugherty. The airport was an operating bas ...
, 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.
Long Beach's location directly east of the
Palos Verdes Peninsula
The Palos Verdes Peninsula (''Palos Verdes'', Spanish for "Green Sticks") is a landform and a geographic sub-region of the Los Angeles metropolitan area, within southwestern Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. Located in the So ...
, 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
Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...
, and
Newport Beach
Newport Beach is a coastal city in South Orange County, California. Newport Beach is known for swimming and sandy beaches. Newport Harbor once supported maritime industries however today, it is used mostly for recreation. Balboa Island draws v ...
.
As in most locations in Southern California, most rainfall in Long Beach occurs during the winter months. Storms can bring heavy rainfall.
Environment
Pollution
Long Beach suffers from some of the worst air pollution in the entire
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
. 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.
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
Drayage is the transport of goods over a short distance in the shipping and logistics industries. Drayage is often part of a longer overall move, such as from a ship to a warehouse. Some research defines it specifically as "a truck pickup from ...
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
A carcinogen is any substance, radionuclide, or radiation that promotes carcinogenesis (the formation of cancer). This may be due to the ability to damage the genome or to the disruption of cellular metabolic processes. Several radioactive substan ...
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
The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California. Located to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it contains a large portion of the City of Los Angeles, as well as unincorporated ...
, or
San Gabriel Valley
The San Gabriel Valley ( es, Valle de San Gabriel) is one of the principal valleys of Southern California, lying immediately to the east of the eastern city limits of the city of Los Angeles, and occupying the vast majority of the eastern part ...
. 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.
Additionally, Long Beach is directly downwind of several of the
South Bay oil refineries
An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refined into useful products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, asphalt base, fuel oils, heating oil, kerosene, liquefi ...
. Any refinery process or chemical upset that results in the atmospheric release of refinery by-products (commonly
sulfur dioxide
Sulfur dioxide (IUPAC-recommended spelling) or sulphur dioxide (traditional Commonwealth English) is the chemical compound with the formula . It is a toxic gas responsible for the odor of burnt matches. It is released naturally by volcanic ac ...
) will usually impact air quality in Long Beach due to the west-south-westerly prevailing wind.
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
Heal the Bay is a U.S. environmental advocacy group of activists based in Santa Monica, California. The focus is protecting coastal waters and watersheds of southern California, and is focused on Santa Monica Bay.
Heal the Bay is a 501(c)(3) no ...
.
However, during dry periods the water may have an A or B rating in the same reports. The
Los Angeles River
, name_etymology =
, image = File:Los Angeles River from Fletcher Drive Bridge 2019.jpg
, image_caption = L.A. River from Fletcher Drive Bridge
, image_size = 300
, map = LARmap.jpg
, map_size ...
discharges directly into the Long Beach side of San Pedro Bay, meaning a large portion of all the
urban runoff
Urban runoff is surface runoff of rainwater, landscape irrigation, and car washing created by urbanization. Impervious surfaces (roads, parking lots and sidewalks) are constructed during land development. During rain , storms and other precipita ...
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
In fluid dynamics, a wind wave, water wave, or wind-generated water wave, is a surface wave that occurs on the free surface of bodies of water as a result from the wind blowing over the water surface. The contact distance in the direction of ...
, 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 tide
A harmful algal bloom (HAB) (or excessive algae growth) is an algal bloom that causes negative impacts to other organisms by production of natural algae-produced toxins, mechanical damage to other organisms, or by other means. HABs are sometimes ...
s 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.
Ecology
The area that is now Long Beach historically included several ecological communities, with coastal scrub dominating. A handful of the native plants of the region can still be found in the city. These include California buckwheat (''
Eriogonum fasciculatum''), California sagebrush (''
Artemisia californica''), and California poppy (''
Eschscholzia californica
''Eschscholzia californica'', the California poppy, golden poppy, California sunlight or cup of gold, is a species of flowering plant in the family Papaveraceae, native to the United States and Mexico. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant f ...
''). Some stands of coast live oak (''
Quercus agrifolia
''Quercus agrifolia'', the California live oak, or coast live oak, is a highly variable, often evergreen oak tree, a type of live oak, native to the California Floristic Province. It may be shrubby, depending on age and growing location, but is g ...
'') still remain in the
El Dorado Nature Center. California fan palm (''
Washingtonia filifera
''Washingtonia filifera'', the desert fan palm, California fan palm, or California palm,Flora of North America Association. ''Flora of North America: North of Mexico Volume 22: Magnoliophyta: Alismatidae, Arecidae, Commelinidae (in Part), and Zi ...
''), a plant that is native further inland, was introduced to the city as a garden ornamental and is now naturalized. Some indigenous species of birds, mammals, and other wildlife have adapted to development.
Since the arrival of Europeans, many alien species have become naturalized in the area. Introduced plants include yellow
mustard
Mustard may refer to:
Food and plants
* Mustard (condiment), a paste or sauce made from mustard seeds used as a condiment
* Mustard plant, one of several plants, having seeds that are used for the condiment
** Mustard seed, seeds of the mustard p ...
,
eucalyptus
''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including ''Corymbia'', they are commonly known as euca ...
,
wild radish, and
tumbleweed
A tumbleweed is a structural part of the above-ground anatomy of a number of species of plants. It is a diaspore that, once mature and dry, detaches from its root or stem and rolls due to the force of the wind. In most such species, the tumbl ...
. Such plants now far outnumber the indigenous plants and spread rapidly in the city's vacant lots and oil fields.
The city and its residents have initiatives underway to preserve and reclaim part of its ecological heritage. The RiverLink project has begun to revegetate the Long Beach stretch of the
Los Angeles River
, name_etymology =
, image = File:Los Angeles River from Fletcher Drive Bridge 2019.jpg
, image_caption = L.A. River from Fletcher Drive Bridge
, image_size = 300
, map = LARmap.jpg
, map_size ...
with indigenous plants. Part of the remaining
Pacific Electric
The Pacific Electric Railway Company, nicknamed the Red Cars, was a privately owned mass transit system in Southern California consisting of electrically powered streetcars, interurban cars, and buses and was the largest electric railway system ...
right-of-way was cleared of nonnatives, planted with indigenous plants, and made accessible with foot and bike paths. This community open space is now known as
The Long Beach Greenbelt and is the focus of continuing efforts in restoration and community education.
The
El Dorado Nature Center has changed its original "hands-off" approach and has begun to actively introduce indigenous species.
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
A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free ( anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...
. Long Beach is the first city in California to join the 'EcoZone' Program, intended to measurably improve environmental conditions through public-private partnerships. Such projects seek to reduce pollution, restore native habitat, and provide green areas for the city's residents to enjoy.
Other places in Long Beach to see natural areas include
Bluff Park (coastal bluffs), the Golden Shore Marine Biological Reserve, the Jack Dunster Marine Reserve, Shoreline Park, and DeForest Park.
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.
Demographics
2010
The
2010 United States Census
The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servi ...
reported that Long Beach had a population of 462,257.
[ The population density was . The racial makeup of Long Beach was 213,066 (46.1%) ]White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...
, 62,603 (13.5%) Black or African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...
, 3,458 (0.7%) Native American, 59,496 (12.9%) Asian (4.5% Filipino, 3.9% Cambodian, 0.9% Vietnamese, 0.6% Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of v ...
, 0.6% Japanese, 0.4% Indian, 0.4% Korean
Korean may refer to:
People and culture
* Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula
* Korean cuisine
* Korean culture
* Korean language
**Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl
**Korean dialects and the Jeju language
* ...
, 0.2% Thai, 0.1% Laotian, 0.1% Hmong), 5,253 (1.1%) Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of Oce ...
(0.8% Samoan, 0.1% Guamanian
The Chamorro people (; also CHamoru) are the indigenous people of the Mariana Islands, politically divided between the United States territory of Guam and the encompassing Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Micronesia. Today, signifi ...
, 0.1% Tongan), 93,930 (20.3%) from other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 24,451 (5.3%) from two or more races. Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties form ...
or Latino of any race were 188,412 persons (40.8%). 32.9% of the city's population was of Mexican heritage.[Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010]
". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved June 7, 2012. Non-Hispanic Whites
Non-Hispanic whites or Non-Latino whites are Americans who are classified as "white", and are not of Hispanic (also known as "Latino") heritage. The United States Census Bureau defines ''white'' to include European Americans, Middle Eastern Amer ...
were 29.4% of the population in 2010,[ down from 86.2% in 1970.]
The ethnic Cambodian population of approximately 20,000 is the largest outside of Asia.
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.
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
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideal ...
(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 , 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
The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two equal groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways o ...
of $52,711, with 20.2% of the population living below the federal poverty line.[
As of 2014, the population of Long Beach was 473,577.
]
2000
As of the census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...
of 2000, there were 461,522 people, 163,088 households, and 99,646 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberP ...
was 9,149.8 inhabitants per square mile (3,532.8/km2). There were 171,632 dwelling units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 45.2% White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...
, 14.9% Black or African American (U.S. Census), 0.8% Native American, 12.1% Asian, 1.2% Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of Oce ...
, 20.6% from other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 5.3% from two or more races. Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties form ...
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. 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
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People ...
, Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
, Italian, Maltese, Portuguese and Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
ancestry, most of them employed in manufacturing and fish canneries until the 1960s.
According to a report by ''USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'' in 2000, Long Beach is the most ethnically diverse large city in the United States. Non-Hispanic White Americans made up 30.0% of the city's population. Its Asian community includes the largest Cambodian community in the United States, and the second-largest Cambodian community outside of Asia (after Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
). A neighborhood along Anaheim Street is called " Little Phnom Penh". There are also sizable populations of immigrants and descendants from Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...
and the Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
.
Long Beach had offered many industrial jobs to African Americans during the years of World War II. This resulted in the increase of blacks in Long Beach caused by the Second Great Migration. There are black communities in the Eastside, North Long Beach, and Upper Westside neighborhoods.
It has a relatively high proportion of Pacific Islanders (over 1% as of the 2000 Census), from Samoa
Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...
and Tonga
Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...
. Most American Indians, about 0.8% of the city's population, arrived during the Department of the Interior
The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the man ...
's Bureau of Indian Affairs
The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States federal agency within the Department of the Interior. It is responsible for implementing federal laws and policies related to American Indians and Al ...
urban relocation programs in the 1950s.
Long Beach once had a sizable Japanese American
are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 census, they have declined in number to constitute the sixth largest Asi ...
population, which largely worked in the fish canneries on Terminal Island
Terminal Island, historically known as Isla Raza de Buena Gente, is a largely artificial island located in Los Angeles County, California, between the neighborhoods of Wilmington and San Pedro in the city of Los Angeles, and the city of Long Be ...
and on small truck farms in the area. In 1942, not long after the Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawai ...
and subsequent , President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As th ...
issued United States Executive Order 9066 which allowed military commanders to designate areas "from which any or all persons may be excluded". Under this order, all Japanese and Americans of Japanese ancestry were categorically removed from Western coastal regions and sent to internment camp
Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simp ...
s, without regard for due process
Due process of law is application by state of all legal rules and principles pertaining to the case so all legal rights that are owed to the person are respected. Due process balances the power of law of the land and protects the individual pe ...
. Most did not return to Long Beach after their release from the camps. Japanese Americans make up less than 1% of the population of Long Beach, yet the city still has a Japanese Community Center and a Japanese Buddhist Church from its earlier history.
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
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
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, the population was spread out, with 29.2% 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% who were 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
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the city was $19,040. About 19.3% of families and 22.8% of the population were below the poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, 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%.
Economy
The economic base has changed over the years. Oil extraction created a boom and continues to fund portions of the city budget. Long Beach was a Navy town for many years before the base closed. The aerospace industry played an important role. Douglas Aircraft Company
The Douglas Aircraft Company was an American aerospace manufacturer based in Southern California. It was founded in 1921 by Donald Wills Douglas Sr. and later merged with McDonnell Aircraft in 1967 to form McDonnell Douglas; it then operated a ...
(later McDonnell Douglas
McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturing corporation and defense contractor, formed by the merger of McDonnell Aircraft and the Douglas Aircraft Company in 1967. Between then and its own merger with Boeing in 1997, it pro ...
and now part of Boeing
The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and pr ...
) had plants at the Long Beach Airport where they built aircraft for World War II, and later built DC-8
The Douglas DC-8 (sometimes McDonnell Douglas DC-8) is a long-range narrow-body airliner built by the American Douglas Aircraft Company.
After losing the May 1954 US Air Force tanker competition to the Boeing KC-135, Douglas announced in Jul ...
s, DC-9
The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced by the developer company as the Douglas DC-9 until August 1967 and then by McDonnell Douglas.
Aft ...
s, DC-10
The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 is an American trijet wide-body aircraft manufactured by McDonnell Douglas.
The DC-10 was intended to succeed the DC-8 for long-range flights. It first flew on August 29, 1970; it was introduced on August 5, 1971, ...
s, and MD-11
The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 is an American tri-jet wide-body airliner manufactured by American McDonnell Douglas (MDC) and later by Boeing.
Following DC-10 development studies, the MD-11 program was launched on December 30, 1986.
Assembly of t ...
s. Boeing built the Boeing 717
The Boeing 717 is an American five-abreast narrow-body aircraft, single-aisle airliner produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The Twinjet, twin-engine airliner was developed for the 100-seat market and originally marketed by McDonnell Dougla ...
until 2006 and the C-17 Globemaster III
The McDonnell Douglas/Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport aircraft that was developed for the United States Air Force (USAF) from the 1980s to the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas. The C-17 carries forward the name of two ...
strategic airlift
An airlift is the organized delivery of supplies or personnel primarily via military transport aircraft.
Airlifting consists of two distinct types: strategic and tactical. Typically, strategic airlifting involves moving material long distance ...
er until 2015, the plants were leased by Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquarter ...
and Relativity Space
Relativity Space is an American aerospace manufacturing company headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 2015 by Tim Ellis and Jordan Noone. Relativity Space is developing manufacturing technologies, launch vehicles and ...
. Even after greatly reducing the number of local employees in recent years, Boeing is still the largest private employer in the city. Polar Air Cargo
Polar Air Cargo Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, is a cargo airline based in Purchase, New York, United States. It operates scheduled all-cargo services to North America, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. Its m ...
, an international cargo airline
Cargo airlines (or air freight carriers, and derivatives of these names) are airlines mainly dedicated to the transport of cargo by air. Some cargo airlines are divisions or subsidiaries of larger passenger airlines.
In 2018, airline cargo traf ...
, was formerly based in Long Beach. TABC, Inc., a part of Toyota
is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
, makes a variety of car parts, including steering columns and catalytic converters, in Long Beach.
Epson America, Inc. the U.S. affiliate of Japan-based Seiko Epson
Seiko Epson Corporation, or simply known as Epson, is a Japanese multinational electronics company and one of the world's largest manufacturers of computer printers and information- and imaging-related equipment. Headquartered in Suwa, Nagano ...
Corporation, is headquartered in Long Beach. Pioneer Electronics, the U.S. affiliate of Japan-based Pioneer Corporation
commonly referred to as Pioneer, is a Japanese multinational corporation based in Tokyo, that specializes in digital entertainment products. The company was founded by Nozomu Matsumoto in January 1, 1938 in Tokyo as a radio and speaker repair ...
, is also headquartered in Long Beach along with SCAN Health Plan, a non-profit
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
" Medicare Advantage" HMO
In the United States, a health maintenance organization (HMO) is a medical insurance group that provides health services for a fixed annual fee. It is an organization that provides or arranges managed care for health insurance, self-funded heal ...
for seniors. Molina Healthcare, Inc., a Medicaid
Medicaid in the United States is a federal and state program that helps with healthcare costs for some people with limited income and resources. Medicaid also offers benefits not normally covered by Medicare, including nursing home care and pers ...
management healthcare program, is headquartered in Long Beach. The real estate company HCP is based in Long Beach. Jesse James
Jesse Woodson James (September 5, 1847April 3, 1882) was an American outlaw, bank and train robber, guerrilla and leader of the James–Younger Gang. Raised in the " Little Dixie" area of Western Missouri, James and his family maintained stro ...
' West Coast Choppers custom motorcycle shop was in Long Beach, and much of the ''Monster Garage
''Monster Garage'' is an American television series aired on the Discovery Channel and hosted by Jesse James. Each episode was an hour in length and was conceived and produced (along with James) by Thom Beers.
The show premiered on June 23, 200 ...
'' cable TV
Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with broadc ...
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.
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.
Top employers
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.
Retail
Los Altos Center
Los Altos Center is a regional shopping mall in the Los Altos area of northeastern Long Beach, California along Bellflower Boulevard, 4 miles south of Lakewood Center Mall and 5 miles east of Downtown Long Beach.
History Launch (1953–1956)
So ...
is the only mall anchored by major department stores within city limits, while Lakewood Center
Lakewood Center is a super-regional shopping mall in Lakewood, California. Lakewood Center opened in 1952 and was enclosed in 1978.
The interior mall is anchored by Costco, Forever 21, JCPenney, Macy's, a Round One Entertainment center, and Targe ...
mall is adjacent to Long Beach. Until the 1950s, Long Beach was the major retail hub between Los Angeles and Santa Ana. Buffum's
Buffums, originally written as Buffums' with an apostrophe, was a chain of upscale department stores, headquartered in Long Beach, California. The Buffums chain began in 1904, when two brothers from Illinois, Charles A. and Edwin E. Buffum, ...
, Walker's and Robert's all had their flagship stores in the city. Later the Long Beach Plaza
Long Beach Plaza was a two-level shopping mall located in Downtown Long Beach, California. It was designed in the 1970s by The Hahn Company and opened in 1982. The eight-block dumbbell-shaped mall was an enclosed structure and included a two-story ...
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.
Culture
Art
The Long Beach Museum of Art
The Long Beach Museum of Art is a museum located on Ocean Boulevard in the Bluff Park neighborhood of Long Beach, California, United States.
The museum's permanent collection includes over 4,000 paintings, drawings, sculptures, works on paper, a ...
, sited in the historic Elizabeth Milbank Anderson
Elizabeth Milbank Anderson (December 20, 1850 – February 22, 1921), American philanthropist and advocate for public health and women's education, was the daughter of Jeremiah Milbank (1818–1884), a successful commission merchant, manufactu ...
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, 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
Latin Americans ( es, Latinoamericanos; pt, Latino-americanos; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-eth ...
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. The museum opened October 15, 2010.
In 1965, Long Beach State hosted the first International Sculpture Symposium
The International Sculpture Symposium movement was spearheaded by Karl Prantl in Austria in 1959.
This initiative grew from the need to facilitate communication and exchange between members of the international sculpture community. It was also roo ...
to be held in the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
and the first at a college
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...
or university
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...
. 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
Street art is visual art created in public locations for public visibility. It has been associated with the terms "independent art", "post-graffiti", "neo-graffiti" and guerrilla art.
Street art has evolved from the early forms of defiant graff ...
. Some of the mural
A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage.
Word mural in art
The word ''mural'' is a Spanis ...
s were created in conjunction with the city's Mural and Cultural Arts Program, but many others were not.
On the exterior of the Long Beach Sports Arena is one of the artist Wyland's '' Whaling Walls''. At 116,000 square feet (11,000 m2), it is the world's largest mural
A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage.
Word mural in art
The word ''mural'' is a Spanis ...
(according to the ''Guinness Book of Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
'').
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.
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.
The Long Beach Symphony plays numerous classical and pop music concerts throughout the year. The symphony plays at the Terrace Theater in the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center.
Long Beach Opera Long Beach Opera is a Southern California opera company serving the greater Los Angeles and Orange County metroplex. Founded in 1979, it is the oldest continually running opera company in the L.A. area. Though small in size, the company has surveye ...
, 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.
Long Beach Community Concert Association is a 49-year-old volunteer organization that provides quality musical entertainment appealing to seniors and others, four Sunday afternoons a year at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center
The Richard and Karen Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach, California is a theater that hosts a variety of events, including films, forums, and musical and theatrical performances. The venue is located on the campus of California State ...
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
California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities ...
. The station originally featured jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
and blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
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
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, p ...
. Kbeach is the student owned and operated web-only radio at CSULB.
Long Beach City College operates two internet student-run radio stations, KCTY FM 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.
Long Beach is also the point of origin for bands and musicians such as Daz Dillinger, The Pussycat Dolls
The Pussycat Dolls were an American girl group and dance ensemble, founded in Los Angeles, California, by choreographer Robin Antin in 1995 as a burlesque troupe. At the suggestion of Jimmy Iovine, Antin decided to take the burlesque troupe ma ...
, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is an American country rock band formed in 1966. The group has existed in various forms since its founding in Long Beach, California. Between 1976 and 1981, the band performed and recorded as the Dirt Band.
Constant ...
, Jenni Rivera
Dolores Janney "Jenni" Rivera Saavedra (July 2, 1969 – December 9, 2012) was an American singer known for her work within the Regional Mexican music genre, specifically in the styles of Banda, Mariachi and Norteño. In life and death, seve ...
, T.S.O.L.
T.S.O.L. (True Sounds of Liberty) is an American punk rock band formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California. Although most commonly associated with hardcore punk, T.S.O.L.'s music has varied on each release, including such styles as deathrock, a ...
, Frank Ocean
Christopher Francis "Frank" Ocean (born Christopher Edwin Breaux; October 28, 1987), is an American singer, songwriter, and rapper. His works are noted by music critics for featuring avant-garde styles and introspective, elliptical lyrics. Ocean ...
, Sublime
Sublime may refer to:
Entertainment
* SuBLime, a comic imprint of Viz Media for BL manga
* Sublime (band), an American ska punk band
** ''Sublime'' (album), 1996
* ''Sublime'' (film), a 2007 horror film
* SubLime FM, a Dutch radio station dedi ...
, Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...
, Tha Mexakinz, Nate Dogg
Nathaniel Dwayne Hale (August 19, 1969 – March 15, 2011), known professionally as Nate Dogg, was an American singer and rapper. He gained recognition for providing guest vocals for a multitude of hit rap songs between 1992 and 2007, earning the ...
, Warren G
Warren Griffin III (born November 10, 1970) is an American rapper and producer known for his role in West Coast rap's 1990s ascent.Steve Huey"Warren G: Biography" ''AllMusic.com'', Netaktion LLC, visited May 8, 2020. Along with Snoop Dogg and N ...
, Tha Dogg Pound
Tha Dogg Pound is an American hip hop duo made up of rappers Kurupt and Daz Dillinger. They were signed to Death Row Records in their early careers and were key to the label's success.
Kurupt and Daz went on to release solo albums starting i ...
, Knoc-Turn'al, the Long Beach Dub Allstars
The Long Beach Dub Allstars are an American dub/ska/ rock band formed in 1997 and disbanded in 2002, but reformed 10 years later.
History Initial career (1997–2001)
Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh met in childhood (in 1979) and later started thei ...
, Avi Buffalo
Avi Buffalo (born Avigdor Benyamin Zahner-Isenberg, November 5, 1990) is an American musician, songwriter, and producer.
Career
Avi Buffalo's self-titled debut album was released on April 27, 2010, and was given positive reviews by ''The A.V. Clu ...
, Crystal Antlers, The Emperors, The Pyramids, Crooked I
Dominick Antron Wickliffe (born September 23, 1976), better known by his stage names Crooked I and Kxng Crooked, (stylised as KXNG Crooked and pronounced "King Crooked") is an American rapper from Long Beach, California. He is best known as a for ...
, Stick to Your Guns, War
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
and Vince Staples
Vincent Jamal Staples (born July 2, 1993) is an American rapper and singer. Staples was once a close associate of Odd Future, Mike G and Earl Sweatshirt in particular. He is currently signed to Motown and Blacksmith Records.
Staples rose to p ...
.
Theater
Long Beach has several resident professional and semi-professional theater companies. Musical Theatre West, one of the largest regional theatrical producers in Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...
, performs at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center
The Richard and Karen Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach, California is a theater that hosts a variety of events, including films, forums, and musical and theatrical performances. The venue is located on the campus of California State ...
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. 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, the Garage Theatre 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. 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
Long Beach City College (LBCC) is a public community college in Long Beach, California. It was established in 1927 and is divided into two campuses, the Liberal Arts Campus in Lakewood Village and the Pacific Coast Campus in central Long Beach ...
maintain active theater departments.
Cultural events
In October, Long Beach State hosts the CSULB Wide Screen Film Festival, at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center
The Richard and Karen Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach, California is a theater that hosts a variety of events, including films, forums, and musical and theatrical performances. The venue is located on the campus of California State ...
. The festival started in 1992 as a showcase for movies
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
shot in the widescreen
Widescreen images are displayed within a set of aspect ratios (relationship of image width to height) used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than t ...
format, but has since been transformed into an artist-in-residence
Artist-in-residence, or artist residencies, encompass a wide spectrum of artistic programs which involve a collaboration between artists and hosting organisations, institutions, or communities. They are programs which provide artists with space a ...
event. A major video and film artist (such as former CSULB student Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Sp ...
) screens and discusses their own work as well as the ten productions that most influenced their cinematic vision.
The "Naples Island Christmas Parade" has been held since 1946, and passes through the canals of Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's admin ...
and around Alamitos Bay past Belmont Shore. The "Parade of A Thousand Lights" is in the Shoreline Village area (near downtown Long Beach
Downtown Long Beach is the heart of Long Beach, California, United States, and is the location for most of the city's major tourist attractions and municipal services. It is also the location for numerous businesses. There are many hotels and rest ...
and the RMS ''Queen Mary''). There is also a Christmas boat parade in the nearby Port of Los Angeles
The Port of Los Angeles is a seaport managed by the Los Angeles Harbor Department, a unit of the City of Los Angeles. It occupies of land and water with of waterfront and adjoins the separate Port of Long Beach. Promoted as "America's Port", t ...
/ San Pedro area, and another in the Huntington Harbour community of nearby Huntington Beach
Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County in Southern California, located southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. The city is named after American businessman Henry E. Huntington. The population was 198,711 during the 2020 census, maki ...
.
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
A pride parade (also known as pride march, pride event, or pride festival) is an outdoor event celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer culture, queer (LGBTQ) social and self-acceptance, achievements, LGBT rights by country o ...
in the United States.
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.
Sites of interest
The RMS ''Queen Mary'' is a 1936 Art Deco
Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
ocean liner
An ocean liner is a passenger ship primarily used as a form of transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships).
C ...
permanently docked at Long Beach. Roughly longer than the RMS ''Titanic'', the former Cunard
Cunard () is a British shipping and cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its three ships have been registered in Hamilton, Be ...
Liner is famous for being the fastest in the world from 1936 to 1952, for its distinctive art deco design and for its use during World War II as a troop transport. It was purchased by the City of Long Beach in 1967 for conversion to a hotel and maritime museum.
The nonprofit Aquarium of the Pacific
The Aquarium of the Pacific (formerly the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific) is a public aquarium on a site on Rainbow Harbor in Long Beach, California, United States. It is situated across the water from the Long Beach Convention Center, Shore ...
is on a site on Rainbow Harbor in Long Beach, across the water from the Long Beach Convention Center
The Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center is a convention center located in Long Beach, California. Built on the former site of the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium, the venue is composed of the Long Beach Convention Center, Long Beach Ar ...
, Shoreline Village, and the Queen Mary Hotel and Attraction.
Lions Lighthouse is a decorative lighthouse built by the Lions Club to advertise their services for the blind. It is popular for scenic viewing.
The Long Beach Department of Parks, Recreation and Marine received a Gold Medal award from the National Recreation and Park Association
The National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) is the leading non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of public parks, recreation and conservation. Their work draws national focus to the far-reaching impact of successes generated ...
in 2002, 2003, and 2004, recognizing the Department's "outstanding management practices and programs". The department manages 92 parks covering over throughout the city, including the El Dorado Regional Park, which features fishing lakes, an archery range, youth campground, bike trails, and picnic areas. The department also operates four public swimming pools, and four launch ramps for boaters to access the Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the conti ...
.
The El Dorado Nature Center is part of the larger El Dorado Regional Park. The center features lakes, a stream, and trails, with meadows and forested areas.
The Municipal Fly Casting Pool at Recreation Park in East Long Beach is a 260-by-135-foot clear water, fishless pond built and operated since 1925 by the Long Beach Casting Club as only one of two Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...
city operated casting ponds (the other being in Pasadena
Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district.
Its ...
).[Russell, Kelle. (February 5, 1993) ]Long Beach Press-Telegram
The ''Press-Telegram'' is a paid daily newspaper published in Long Beach, California. Coverage area for the ''Press-Telegram'' includes Long Beach, Lakewood, Signal Hill, Artesia, Bellflower, Cerritos, Compton, Downey, Hawaiian Gardens, L ...
Getting Hooked on Fly-Fishing.
'' Section: Local news; Page D3. Described recently as a serene pond "surrounded by a seemingly endless stretch of green grass against a backdrop of mountains and palm trees", several movie stars from the 1940s were taught to fly cast at the pond, including Robert Taylor, Clark Gable
William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American film actor, often referred to as "The King of Hollywood". He had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in multiple genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades ...
, Jimmy Durante
James Francis Durante ( , ; February 10, 1893 – January 29, 1980) was an American comedian, actor, singer, vaudevillian, and pianist. His distinctive gravelly speech, Lower East Side accent, comic language-butchery, jazz-influenced songs ...
, and Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck (; born Ruby Catherine Stevens; July 16, 1907 – January 20, 1990) was an American actress, model and dancer. A stage, film, and television star, during her 60-year professional career she was known for her strong, realistic sc ...
. In 1932, the fly fishing clubhouse adjacent to the fly fishing pond was used for the Summer Olympic Games
The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...
and housed military personnel during World War II.
The Long Beach Greenbelt is a section of the old Pacific Electric right-of-way, restored by community activists as native habitat. It supports approximately 40 species of California native plants as well as a plethora of urban wildlife. Its pleasant, relaxing atmosphere provides for community open space while educating citizens about what the land was like prior to industrialization and urbanization.
Rancho Los Alamitos is a 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, of gardens, and an adobe
Adobe ( ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for ''mudbrick''. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is used to refer to any kind of e ...
ranch house dating from around 1800. The Rancho is within a gated community
A gated community (or walled community) is a form of residential community or housing estate containing strictly controlled entrances for pedestrians, bicycles, and automobiles, and often characterized by a closed perimeter of walls and fences. ...
; visitors must pass through security gates to get to it.
Rancho Los Cerritos :''This article refers to the land grant. For the Rancho Los Cerritos adobe, see Los Cerritos Ranch House''
Rancho Los Cerritos was a 1834 land grant in present-day southern Los Angeles County and Orange County, California The grant was the re ...
is a 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.
Bembridge House, a Queen Anne Victorian house
In Great Britain and former British colonies, a Victorian house generally means any house built during the reign of Queen Victoria. During the Industrial Revolution, successive housing booms resulted in the building of many millions of Victorian ...
, is open for tours. Long Beach is also home to the nation's skinniest house.
The Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden is on the campus of California State University, Long Beach
California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities ...
.
Long Beach offers singing gondolier trips through the canals of Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's admin ...
. Along with gondola rides on Lake Merritt
Lake Merritt is a large tidal lagoon in the center of Oakland, California, just east of Downtown. It is surrounded by parkland and city neighborhoods. It is historically significant as the United States' first official wildlife refuge, designat ...
, on the Napa River, in Huntington Beach
Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County in Southern California, located southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. The city is named after American businessman Henry E. Huntington. The population was 198,711 during the 2020 census, maki ...
, in Newport Beach
Newport Beach is a coastal city in South Orange County, California. Newport Beach is known for swimming and sandy beaches. Newport Harbor once supported maritime industries however today, it is used mostly for recreation. Balboa Island draws v ...
, in Redondo Beach, and at The Venetian (Las Vegas)
The Venetian Las Vegas is a luxury hotel and casino resort located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States, on the site of the old Sands Hotel. Designed by KlingStubbins, the hotel tower contains 36 stories and rises . The Venet ...
, Long Beach is only one of seven places in the Western United States where tourists may ride in a gondola.
The front beach area of the city was once home to a now-defunct amusement park. Its first rollercoaster opened for business in June 1907. It was named the Figure 8 after the shape of the tracks, and was built on pilings that reached out over the water. In 1914 the Pike Amusement Zone undertook several upgrades and a new roller coaster named the Jack Rabbit Racer was opened in May 1915 becoming the second largest racing coaster in the country. It was part of the Silver Spray Pier which included several new rides and concessions. In the mid-twenties, several expansions were made to the area and the Jack Rabbit Racer was remodeled raising the ride's dips to a greater height and steepness but it was soon removed to make way for the Cyclone Racer roller coaster which opened May 1930. The new coaster was also built on pilings over the ocean, but as the breakwater was built and the harbor expanded, the sandy beach extended. Eventually the entire pier stood over the beach. When demolished in September 1968, the Cyclone Racer was the only two track roller coaster in the United States.
Rosie's Dog Beach in Belmont Shore is the only legal off-leash beach area for dogs on in Los Angeles County. The Dog Zone is in effect from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day. This area is situated between Roycroft and Argonne Avenues.
Sports
Grand Prix of Long Beach
The Grand Prix of Long Beach in April is the single largest event in Long Beach. It started in 1975 as a Formula 5000
Formula 5000 (or F5000) was an open wheel, single seater auto-racing formula that ran in different series in various regions around the world from 1968 to 1982. It was originally intended as a low-cost series aimed at open-wheel racing cars tha ...
race on the streets of downtown, and became a Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
race, the United States Grand Prix West, the following year. From 1984 to 2008 it was a Champ Car
Champ Car World Series (CCWS) was the series sanctioned by Open-Wheel Racing Series Inc., or Champ Car, a sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 2004 to 2008. It was the successor to Championship Auto Racing Team ...
event, and is now an IndyCar
INDYCAR, LLC, is an American-based auto racing sanctioning body for Indy car racing and other disciplines of open wheel car racing. The organization sanctions five racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with its centerpiece the Indianapoli ...
race. During the same weekend as the Grand Prix, there is also an IMSA SportsCar Championship
The IMSA SportsCar Championship, currently known as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under sponsorship, is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada and organized by the International Motor Sports Association (IM ...
race, a Formula D round and the Pirelli World Challenge
The GT World Challenge America is a North American auto racing series launched in 1990 by the Sports Car Club of America. It has been managed by the Stephane Ratel Organisation since 2018, and has been sanctioned by the United States Auto Club s ...
.
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 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. The full marathon is a fast Boston qualifying course passing through sandy beaches, Belmont Shore, and the Cal State Long Beach
California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities ...
campus.
Baseball
The Long Beach State 49ers baseball team has been playing since 1954. They play at Blair Field
Blair Field is a stadium in Long Beach, California. It originally opened in 1956 and is primarily used for baseball. It holds 3,238 people. It is named for Frank Blair, the sports editor for the ''Long Beach Press-Telegram'' newspaper for 32 ye ...
, across the street from Wilson High School. They are called the ''Dirtbags'' by many fans and is the team's official nickname.
Basketball
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 Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center is a convention center located in Long Beach, California. Built on the former site of the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium, the venue is composed of the Long Beach Convention Center, Long Beach Ar ...
.
The minor league American Basketball Association
The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, leading to four A ...
team, the Long Beach Jam, played in the Walter Pyramid
The Walter Pyramid, formerly known as The Long Beach Pyramid, is a 4,000-seat, indoor multi-purpose arena on the campus of Long Beach State University in Long Beach, California.
History
The Walter Pyramid was officially opened on November 30, ...
(a pyramid-shaped gym) on the Long Beach State campus) from 2003 to 2005.
The Southern California Summer Pro League is a showcase for current and prospective NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
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.
Sailing
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
A match race is a race between two competitors, going head-to-head.
In sailboat racing it is differentiated from a fleet race, which almost always involves three or more competitors competing against each other, and team racing where teams consis ...
regatta held in the United States. The one-on-one race format is the same as the America's Cup
The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one f ...
, 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.
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 circuit. This race has been held annually since 1948 and features skiers from up to seventy teams from around the world.
Surfing
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 long breakwater built in 1949 to protect the United States Pacific Fleet
The United States Pacific Fleet (USPACFLT) is a theater-level component command of the United States Navy, located in the Pacific Ocean. It provides naval forces to the Indo-Pacific Command. Fleet headquarters is at Joint Base Pearl Harbor� ...
. 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. 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
A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...
.
Rugby union
The Belmont Shore rugby team plays in the US Rugby Super League. They have been in seven league finals, and have been champions three times.
College sports
Long Beach State
California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities i ...
's team mascot are the Beach
A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shells ...
. 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. Their cheer team were national champions in 2003, 2004 and 2006. 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
Long Beach City College (LBCC) is a public community college in Long Beach, California. It was established in 1927 and is divided into two campuses, the Liberal Arts Campus in Lakewood Village and the Pacific Coast Campus in central Long Beach ...
. 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.
Archery
The archery field in El Dorado Regional Park was the site for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics archery competition.
CSU Long Beach has one of the few remaining university varsity archery teams in California.
2028 Summer Olympics
Multiple sports will be held in Long Beach during the 2028 Summer Olympics
The 2028 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXXIV Olympiad, also known as Los Angeles 2028 or LA28) is an upcoming international multi-sport event scheduled to take place from July 14 to July 30, 2028, in and around Los Angeles, Cal ...
, including BMX racing
BMX racing is a type of off-road bicycle racing. The format of BMX was derived from motocross racing. BMX bicycle races are sprint races on purpose-built off-road single-lap race tracks. The track usually consists of a starting gate for up to e ...
, water polo
Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with the ...
, triathlon
A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of swimming, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the time transitioning between the ...
, open water swimming
Open water swimming is a swimming discipline which takes place in outdoor bodies of water such as open oceans, lakes, and rivers.
The beginning of the modern age of open water swimming is sometimes taken to be May 3, 1810, when Lord Byron swam s ...
, sailing
Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' ( sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' ( iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen ...
and handball
Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the ...
.
Government
Municipal
Long Beach is a California charter city
In the United States, a charter city is a city in which the governing system is defined by the city's own charter document rather than solely by general law. In states where city charters are allowed by law, a city can adopt or modify its organ ...
, and is governed by nine City Council members, who are elected by district, and the Mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...
, 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. 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
Municipal services or city services refer to basic Public services, services that residents of a city expect to the city government to provide in exchange for the taxes which citizens pay. Basic city services may include sanitation (both sanitary ...
, 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
Water reclamation (also called wastewater reuse, water reuse or water recycling) is the process of converting municipal wastewater (sewage) or industrial wastewater into water that can be reused for a variety of purposes. Types of reuse include ...
system for parks and other landscaping
*A Gas & Oil Department, which manages consumer natural gas service and infrastructure, as well as crude oil extraction subsidence control
*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
Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district.
Its ...
, and Vernon)
*Sanitation and recycling services through the Environmental Services Bureau in the Public Works Department
*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
Southern California Edison (or SCE Corp), the largest subsidiary of Edison International, is the primary electricity supply company for much of Southern California. It provides 15 million people with electricity across a service territory of app ...
.
Federal and state representation
In the California State Senate
The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature, the lower house being the California State Assembly. The State Senate convenes, along with the State Assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento.
Due ...
, Long Beach is split between , , and . In the California State Assembly
The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento.
The Asse ...
, it is split between , , and .
In the United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...
, Long Beach is split between , and .
Politics
According to the California Secretary of State
The secretary of state of California is the chief clerk of the U.S. state of California, overseeing a department of 500 people. The secretary of state is elected for four year terms, like the state's other constitutional officers; the officeho ...
, 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.
Infrastructure
Police department
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
KFI (640 AM) is a radio station in Los Angeles, California, owned and operated by iHeartMedia, Inc. It began operations in 1922 and became one of the first high-powered, clear-channel Class A stations. It was the first U.S. station west of Chi ...
'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 of any child care center, public or private school, or park. Google Maps
Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panoramic views of streets (Street View), real-time traffic conditions, and rout ...
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 of such places.
Fire department
The Long Beach Fire Department (LBFD), ISO Class 1, provides fire protection
Fire protection is the study and practice of mitigating the unwanted effects of potentially destructive fires. It involves the study of the behaviour, compartmentalisation, suppression and investigation of fire and its related emergencies, as we ...
and emergency medical services
Emergency medical services (EMS), also known as ambulance services or paramedic services, are emergency services that provide urgent pre-hospital treatment and stabilisation for serious illness and injuries and transport to definitive care. ...
to the City of Long Beach. The Long Beach Fire Department operates out of 23 Fire Stations throughout the city.
In addition to serving 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
Marine safety is one of the eleven missions of the United States Coast Guard.
Coast Guard personnel inspect commercial vessels, respond to pollution, investigate marine casualties and merchant mariners, manage waterways, and license merchant mari ...
and lifeguard
A lifeguard is a rescuer who supervises the safety and rescue of swimmers, surfers, and other water sports participants such as in a swimming pool, water park, beach, spa, river and lake. Lifeguards are trained in swimming and CPR/ AED f ...
division as well as the safe and lawful use of the of beaches, of oceanfront property, waterways and marinas. This includes the Port of Long Beach
The Port of Long Beach, also known as the Harbor Department of the City of Long Beach, is a container port in the United States, which adjoins Port of Los Angeles. Acting as a major gateway for US–Asian trade, the port occupies of land with ...
and Alamitos Bay
Alamitos Bay is an inlet on the Pacific Ocean coast of southern California, United States, between the cities of Long Beach and Seal Beach, at the outlet of the San Gabriel River. It is near Los Angeles.
The bay is named for the Spanish word ...
. The division staffs 9 facilities year round, with an additional 41 stations during the summer 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.[
]
County
*The Los Angeles Superior Court
The Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, is the California superior court with jurisdiction over Los Angeles County, which includes the city of Los Angeles. It is the largest single unified trial court in the United States.
The ...
, which covers all of Los Angeles County, operates the Governor George Deukmejian
Courken George Deukmejian Jr. (;
June 6, 1928 – May 8, 2018) was an American politician who served as the 35th governor of California from 1983 to 1991. Of Armenian descent, Deukmejian was a member of the Republican Party and he also serve ...
Courthouse in downtown Long Beach. It is one of the 50 courthouses in the county.
*The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services
Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (abbreviated DHS and LADHS) operates the public hospitals and clinics in Los Angeles County, and is the United States' second largest municipal health system, after NYC Health + Hospitals.
DHS o ...
operates the Torrance Health Center in Harbor Gateway, Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
, near Torrance and serving Long Beach.
State and federal
*The Glenn M. Anderson Long Beach Federal Building in downtown Long Beach at 501 West Ocean Blvd., houses offices for NOAA
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditio ...
and other federal agencies, although NOAA plans to shift leadership of the Fisheries office to the Pacific Northwest and shrink this office through attrition.
*The Long Beach Main Post Office of the U.S. Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the Federal government of the Uni ...
serves as the main postal facility for Long Beach.
*The Long Beach Naval Shipyard
The Long Beach Naval Shipyard (Long Beach NSY or LBNSY), which closed in 1997, was located on Terminal Island between the city of Long Beach and the San Pedro district of Los Angeles, approximately 23 miles south of the Los Angeles International ...
was established in 1943 and closed in 1997, employing over 16,000 people at its peak in 1945.
Education
Primary and secondary schools
Public schools
Long Beach Unified School District serves most of the City of Long Beach.
Other school districts that serve sections of Long Beach include:
* ABC Unified School District
* Paramount Unified School District
* Los Angeles Unified School District
Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is a public school district in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the largest public school system in California in terms of number of students and the 2nd largest public school district ...
(LAUSD)
Private schools
Colleges and universities
Long Beach, California has two public institutions dedicated to higher education: California State University, Long Beach
California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities ...
and Long Beach City College
Long Beach City College (LBCC) is a public community college in Long Beach, California. It was established in 1927 and is divided into two campuses, the Liberal Arts Campus in Lakewood Village and the Pacific Coast Campus in central Long Beach ...
.
Founded in 1949, California State University, Long Beach
California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities ...
is a comprehensive public university
A public university or public college is a university or college that is in state ownership, owned by the state or receives significant government spending, public funds through a national or subnational government, as opposed to a private unive ...
in the tree-filled Los Altos neighborhood. Long Beach State is three miles away from the Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the conti ...
and is known for their resources of the arts, such as the Carpenter Performing Arts Center
The Richard and Karen Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach, California is a theater that hosts a variety of events, including films, forums, and musical and theatrical performances. The venue is located on the campus of California State ...
.
Long Beach City College
Long Beach City College (LBCC) is a public community college in Long Beach, California. It was established in 1927 and is divided into two campuses, the Liberal Arts Campus in Lakewood Village and the Pacific Coast Campus in central Long Beach ...
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.
Additionally, Pacific Coast University, a private non-profit law school, is located in Long Beach.
Transportation
Ports and freight
As of 2005, the Port of Long Beach
The Port of Long Beach, also known as the Harbor Department of the City of Long Beach, is a container port in the United States, which adjoins Port of Los Angeles. Acting as a major gateway for US–Asian trade, the port occupies of land with ...
was the second busiest seaport in the United States and the tenth busiest in the world, 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 Pacific Rim comprises the lands around the rim of the Pacific Ocean. The '' Pacific Basin'' includes the Pacific Rim and the islands in the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific Rim roughly overlaps with the geologic Pacific Ring of Fire.
List of ...
. The combined operations of the Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles
The Port of Los Angeles is a seaport managed by the Los Angeles Harbor Department, a unit of the City of Los Angeles. It occupies of land and water with of waterfront and adjoins the separate Port of Long Beach. Promoted as "America's Port", t ...
are the busiest in the USA.
Rail shipping is provided by Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...
and BNSF Railway
BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three Transcontinental railroad, tr ...
, 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 long and deep in order to eliminate 200 grade crossing
A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line crossing over or under using an overpass or tunnel. The term also ...
s and cost about US$2.4 billion.
;Long Beach Cruise Terminal
Operated by Carnival Corporation
Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival ty ...
, 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.
;Catalina Landing
Catalina Express
Catalina Express (legally Catalina Channel Express) is an American passenger ferry service that operates scheduled trips between Santa Catalina Island and mainland California. The company began service in 1981 with a single sixty-passenger ves ...
operates scheduled trips from the Catalina Landing.
Public transportation
;Bus and coach services
Long Beach Transit
Long Beach Transit (LBT) is a municipal transit company providing fixed and flexible bus transit services in Long Beach, California, United States, in other communities in south and southeast Los Angeles County, and northwestern Orange County. ...
provides local public transportation
Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typica ...
services within Long Beach, Lakewood, and Signal Hill. Long Beach Transit regularly operates 38 bus routes. Most regular service bus routes begin or end at the Long Beach Transit Mall
Downtown Long Beach station (formerly Transit Mall station) is an at-grade light rail station on the A Line of the Los Angeles Metro Rail system. The station is located in the middle of 1st Street between Pine Avenue and Pacific Avenue in Dow ...
in downtown Long Beach
Downtown Long Beach is the heart of Long Beach, California, United States, and is the location for most of the city's major tourist attractions and municipal services. It is also the location for numerous businesses. There are many hotels and rest ...
.
Long Beach Transit also operates the Passport shuttle within downtown Long Beach. The free shuttle carries passengers to the Aquarium of the Pacific
The Aquarium of the Pacific (formerly the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific) is a public aquarium on a site on Rainbow Harbor in Long Beach, California, United States. It is situated across the water from the Long Beach Convention Center, Shore ...
, Pine Avenue, Shoreline Village, the Long Beach Convention Center
The Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center is a convention center located in Long Beach, California. Built on the former site of the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium, the venue is composed of the Long Beach Convention Center, Long Beach Ar ...
, the Queen Mary, Catalina Landing, various hotels, and other points of interest. During the summer, Long Beach Transit operates the AquaLink, a catamaran that carries passengers between the downtown Long Beach
Downtown Long Beach is the heart of Long Beach, California, United States, and is the location for most of the city's major tourist attractions and municipal services. It is also the location for numerous businesses. There are many hotels and rest ...
waterfront and the Alamitos Bay Landing. 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.
Several transit operators offer services from the Long Beach Transit Mall
Downtown Long Beach station (formerly Transit Mall station) is an at-grade light rail station on the A Line of the Los Angeles Metro Rail system. The station is located in the middle of 1st Street between Pine Avenue and Pacific Avenue in Dow ...
. Torrance Transit
Torrance Transit is a transit agency primarily serving the South Bay region of Los Angeles County. In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of .
History
Torrance Transit inaugurated service on January 15, 1940 using three ...
offers bus service to the South Bay. The Los Angeles Department of Transportation
The Los Angeles Department of Transportation, commonly referred to as LADOT, is a municipal agency that oversees transportation planning, design, construction, maintenance and operations within the city of Los Angeles. LADOT was created by city or ...
(LADOT) offers bus service to San Pedro. LA Metro operates other regional bus lines. Orange County Transportation Authority
The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) is the transportation planning commission for Orange County, California in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. OCTA is responsible for funding and implementing transit and capital projects for t ...
offers limited bus service to Orange County. Route 1, from Long Beach to San Clemente
San Clemente (; Spanish for " St. Clement") is a city in Orange County, California. Located in the Orange Coast region of the South Coast of California, San Clemente's population was 64,293 in at the 2020 census. Situated roughly midway betw ...
is the longest bus route in the OCTA system. Traveling along Pacific Coast Highway for most of the route, it takes 2–2.5 hrs to complete. Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada. ...
Thruway offers bus shuttles starting in San Pedro, with stops at the Queen Mary and downtown Long Beach, that then goes to Union Station
A union station (also known as a union terminal, a joint station in Europe, and a joint-use station in Japan) is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway company, railway companies, allowi ...
in downtown Los Angeles, and ends in Bakersfield
Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley (California), Central Valley r ...
.
Greyhound Lines
Greyhound Lines, Inc. (commonly known as simply Greyhound) operates the largest intercity bus service in North America, including Greyhound Mexico. It also operates charter bus services, Amtrak Thruway services, commuter bus services, and ...
operates the Long Beach Station in Long Beach. A FlyAway bus route to LAX
Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the W ...
began service on December 30, 2015. Buses to LAX leave 30 minutes past the hour every hour from 5:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
;Light rail
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) operates the Metro A Line, a light rail service that runs between the Downtown Long Beach Station (known as the Transit Mall Station until July 2013) and the 7th Street/Metro Center station in downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) contains the central business district of Los Angeles. In addition, it contains a diverse residential area of some 85,000 people, and covers . A 2013 study found that the district is home to over 500,000 jobs. It is a ...
. From the 7th Street/Metro Center Station, passengers can make connections to Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywoo ...
, Union Station, Pasadena
Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district.
Its ...
, East LA, Universal Studios, Chinatown, and other points of interest along the Los Angeles Metro Rail
The Los Angeles Metro Rail is an urban rail transit system serving Los Angeles County, California, United States. It consists of seven lines, including five light rail lines (the A, C, E, K, L lines) and two rapid transit (known locally a ...
network. From Union Station in downtown L.A., transit users can access the regional Metrolink rail system to access a vast area of urban Southern California, and connect to nationwide Amtrak trains as well. The Metro A Line also offers connections to the Metro E Line at both the 7th Street/Metro Center Station and Pico Station
Pico station is an at-grade light rail station on the Los Angeles Metro Rail system located on Flower Street at the intersection of Pico Boulevard. The station also has southbound bus stops on Flower Street, across from the station and northbou ...
with service to Santa Monica
Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...
. In addition, at Willowbrook Station, passengers can transfer to the Metro C Line with service to Redondo Beach, Norwalk, and LAX
Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the W ...
via an additional shuttle connection. The Metro A Line Maintenance Shops are also in Long Beach just south of the Del Amo Blue Line station.
Historically, the city was served by Pacific Electric
The Pacific Electric Railway Company, nicknamed the Red Cars, was a privately owned mass transit system in Southern California consisting of electrically powered streetcars, interurban cars, and buses and was the largest electric railway system ...
trains, including the Long Beach Line and several local streetcars.
;Taxicabs
Taxicab
A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choic ...
s 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. 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
Uber Technologies, Inc. (Uber), based in San Francisco, provides mobility as a service, ride-hailing (allowing users to book a car and driver to transport them in a way similar to a taxi), food delivery (Uber Eats and Postmates), pack ...
and Lyft
Lyft, Inc. offers mobility as a service, ride-hailing, vehicles for hire, motorized scooters, a bicycle-sharing system, rental cars, and food delivery in the United States and select cities in Canada. Lyft sets fares, which vary using a dyna ...
by increasing regulation of these new competitors.
Airports
Long Beach Airport serves the Long Beach, South Bay and northern Orange County areas. It was also the site of a major Boeing
The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and pr ...
(formerly Douglas, then McDonnell Douglas
McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturing corporation and defense contractor, formed by the merger of McDonnell Aircraft and the Douglas Aircraft Company in 1967. Between then and its own merger with Boeing in 1997, it pro ...
) aircraft production facility, which is the city's largest non-government employer. Los Angeles International Airport
Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the W ...
(LAX) is the nearest airport with international service. John Wayne Airport
John Wayne Airport is a commercial and general aviation airport that serves Orange County, California, and the Greater Los Angeles area. The airport is located in an unincorporated area of Orange County, and it is owned and operated by the cou ...
in Santa Ana is another alternative to the airport. However, its only international services are to Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world ...
and Mexico
Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Gua ...
. Other airports with scheduled service are Bob Hope Airport
Hollywood Burbank Airport, legally and formerly marketed as Bob Hope Airport after entertainer Bob Hope , is a public airport northwest of downtown Burbank, in Los Angeles County, California, United States.. Federal Aviation Administration. e ...
in Burbank and Ontario International Airport
Ontario International Airport is an international airport two miles east of downtown Ontario, in San Bernardino County, California, United States, about east of downtown Los Angeles and west of downtown San Bernardino. It is owned and opera ...
in Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
.
Freeways and highways
Several freeway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...
s run through Long Beach, connecting it with the greater Los Angeles
Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan region in the United States with a population of 18.5 million in 2021, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino Cou ...
and Orange County areas. The San Diego Freeway (I-405) bisects the northern and southern portions of the city and takes commuters northwest or southeast to the Golden State/Santa Ana Freeways (I-5). The San Diego Freeway also provides regional access to Long Beach Airport, which is on the north side of the freeway near Signal Hill. The Long Beach Freeway (I-710) runs north–south on the city's western border, with its southern terminus adjacent to the Port of Long Beach
The Port of Long Beach, also known as the Harbor Department of the City of Long Beach, is a container port in the United States, which adjoins Port of Los Angeles. Acting as a major gateway for US–Asian trade, the port occupies of land with ...
on Terminal Island
Terminal Island, historically known as Isla Raza de Buena Gente, is a largely artificial island located in Los Angeles County, California, between the neighborhoods of Wilmington and San Pedro in the city of Los Angeles, and the city of Long Be ...
at the intersection of the Terminal Island Freeway (SR 103) and State Route 47. The Long Beach Freeway is the major spur route serving Long Beach from downtown Los Angeles, with its northern terminus near downtown Los Angeles in Alhambra
The Alhambra (, ; ar, الْحَمْرَاء, Al-Ḥamrāʾ, , ) is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Andalusia, Spain. It is one of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture and one of the best-preserved palaces of the ...
. Along with the Harbor Freeway (I-110) to the west, the Long Beach Freeway is one of the major routes for trucks transporting goods from the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles to railyards and distribution center
A distribution center for a set of products is a warehouse or other specialized building, often with refrigeration or air conditioning, which is stocked with products ( goods) to be redistributed to retailers, to wholesalers, or directly t ...
s in downtown Los Angeles and the Inland Empire
The Inland Empire (IE) is a metropolitan area and region inland of and adjacent to coastal Southern California, centering around the cities of San Bernardino and Riverside, and bordering Los Angeles County to the west. It includes the cities o ...
. The southern end of the Long Beach Freeway joins Long Beach with Terminal Island via the Gerald Desmond Bridge.
Southeast Long Beach is served by the San Gabriel River Freeway (I-605), which joins the San Diego Freeway at the Long Beach/ Los Alamitos border. The Artesia Freeway (SR 91) runs east–west near the northern border of Long Beach. The western portion of the Garden Grove Freeway (SR 22) provides a spur off of the San Diego and 605 Freeways to 7th Street in southeast Long Beach for access to the VA Long Beach Healthcare System, California State University, Long Beach
California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities ...
, and Alamitos Bay.
Pacific Coast Highway (SR 1) takes an east to southwest route through the southern portion of Long Beach. Its intersection with Lakewood Boulevard (SR 19) and Los Coyotes Diagonal is the Los Alamitos Traffic Circle.
Bicycles and pedestrians
The city of Long Beach has five major Class 1 bike paths (separate off-road bike paths) within its boundaries, encompassing over . 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).
A 2019 study by Walk Score
Walk Score, a subsidiary of Redfin, provides walkability analysis and apartment search tools. Its flagship product is a large-scale, public access walkability index that assigns a numerical walkability score to any address in the United States, ...
ranked Long Beach the tenth most walkable of over 100 cities around the world.
The Shoreline Pedestrian Bikepath runs along the ocean from Shoreline Village to Belmont Shore. The southern terminus of the L.A. River bicycle path is in southwest Long Beach between downtown and the port. The southern terminus of the San Gabriel River bicycle path is just east of Long Beach in Seal Beach
Seal Beach is a coastal city in Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,242, up from 24,168 at the 2010 census.
Seal Beach is located in the westernmost corner of Orange County. To the northwest ...
, and the trail runs north through the El Dorado Park neighborhood in east Long Beach and adjacent to El Dorado Regional Park.
The city's green lane project in Belmont Shore ( sharrows, bike boxes) earned an award from the Institute of Transportation Engineers
The Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) is an international educational and scientific association of transportation professionals who are responsible for meeting mobility and safety needs. ITE facilitates the application of technology and ...
for best innovative project of the year (2010). In an effort to provide sustainable transportation alternatives to the community, as well as a safe route to several neighborhood schools, the city of Long Beach is also installing a "bike boulevard" on Vista Street, extending from Temple Avenue to Nieto Avenue.
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.
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.
Media
Movies and television
Balboa Amusement Producing Company
The Balboa Amusement Producing Company (also known as Balboa Studios) was a film production company in Long Beach, California, from 1913 to 1918 that produced more than 1000 films, around 90% of which have been lost.
Some of the notable silent ...
, also known as Balboa Studios, was at Sixth Street and Alamitos Avenue; they used on Signal Hill for outdoor locations. Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, wh ...
stars who lived in Long Beach included Fatty Arbuckle
Roscoe Conkling "Fatty" Arbuckle (; March 24, 1887 – June 29, 1933) was an American silent film actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter. He started at the Selig Polyscope Company and eventually moved to Keystone Studios, where he worked ...
and Theda Bara
Theda Bara ( ; born Theodosia Burr Goodman; July 29, 1885 – April 7, 1955) was an American silent film and stage actress.
Bara was one of the more popular actresses of the silent era and one of cinema's early sex symbols. Her femme fatal ...
. The 1917 film ''Cleopatra
Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler. ...
'', starring Theda Bara, was shot at the Dominguez Slough just west of Long Beach, and Moses parted the Red Sea for Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American film director, producer and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of the American cinem ...
's 1923 version of '' The Ten Commandments'' on the flat seashore of Seal Beach
Seal Beach is a coastal city in Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,242, up from 24,168 at the 2010 census.
Seal Beach is located in the westernmost corner of Orange County. To the northwest ...
, southeast of Long Beach. Long Beach was the famous location of Paramount
Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to:
Entertainment and music companies
* Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...
newsreel
A newsreel is a form of short documentary film, containing news stories and items of topical interest, that was prevalent between the 1910s and the mid 1970s. Typically presented in a cinema, newsreels were a source of current affairs, inform ...
footage of the 1933 Long Beach earthquake
The 1933 Long Beach earthquake took place on March 10 at south of downtown Los Angeles. The epicenter was offshore, southeast of Long Beach, California, on the Newport–Inglewood Fault. The earthquake had a magnitude estimated at 6.4 , and a ...
, out-takes from the W.C. Fields
WC or wc may refer to:
* Water closet or flush toilet
Arts and entertainment
* ''W.C.'' (film), an Irish feature film
* WC (band), a Polish punk rock band
* WC (rapper), a rapper from Los Angeles, California
* Westside Connection, former h ...
1933 featurette ''International House'' was possibly the first earthquake to be captured in action on film.
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. One advantage for Long Beach is that the video and film industry uses a zone that extends from Beverly Blvd. and La Cienega Blvd. in the West Hollywood
West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. It is considered one of the most prominent gay villages in ...
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) 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
''Ferris Bueller's Day Off'' is a 1986 American teen comedy film written, co-produced, and directed by John Hughes and co-produced by Tom Jacobson. The film stars Matthew Broderick, Mia Sara, and Alan Ruck with supporting roles by Jennifer G ...
''. Though the film was set in the North Shore suburbs of Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
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, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
the house is at 4160 Country Club Dr.
Long Beach Polytechnic High School
Long Beach Polytechnic High School, founded in 1895 as Long Beach High School, is a four-year public high school located at 1600 Atlantic Avenue in Long Beach, California, United States. The school serves portions of Long Beach, including Bixby ...
has played host to numerous films, featuring its outdoor grounds in movies such as '' Coach Carter'', among others. Robert A. Millikan High School has also lent its classrooms and hallways to films such as '' American Pie'', among others. Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo High School has been a very popular place to shoot movies as well, with 2–4 films shot per year, and is being used to shoot 20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...
's musical comedy-drama, ''Glee
Glee means delight, a form of happiness.
Glee may also refer to:
* Glee (music), a type of English choral music
* ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy
* ''Glee'' (Bran Van 3 ...
''. St. Anthony High School's, Jack Errion Memorial Gymnasium has also been featured in a few movies and television shows, including '' Sunset Park'', ''American Wedding
''American Wedding'' (known as ''American Pie 3: The Wedding'' or ''American Pie: The Wedding'', in some countries) is a 2003 American sex comedy film written by Adam Herz and directed by Jesse Dylan. It is the sequel to '' American Pie'' (1999) ...
'', '' Coach Carter'' and ''Joan of Arcadia
''Joan of Arcadia'' is an American Fantasy television, fantasy Drama (film and television), family drama television series telling the story of teenager Joan Girardi (Amber Tamblyn), who sees and speaks with God and performs tasks she is given. ...
''. Long Beach Woodrow Wilson High School was used to shoot '' Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel'' and has been used for commercials for Nike
Nike often refers to:
* Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory
* Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment
Nike may also refer to:
People
* Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...
and Adidas
Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufactur ...
, particularly one with Los Angeles Sparks
The Los Angeles Sparks (LA Sparks) are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was foun ...
basketball star Candace Parker
Candace Nicole Parker (born April 19, 1986) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Sky of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was selected as the first overall pick in the 2008 WNBA draft by the Los An ...
. The film ''Freedom Writers
''Freedom Writers'' is a 2007 American drama film written and directed by Richard LaGravenese and starring Hilary Swank, Scott Glenn, Imelda Staunton, Patrick Dempsey and Mario.
It is based on the 1999 book '' The Freedom Writers Diary'' by tea ...
'', although not shot there, was based on Long Beach Woodrow Wilson High School.
Other locations in Long Beach have been used frequently as well. An episode of '' The Lone Wolf'', "The Long Beach Story", 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
''It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World'' is a 1963 American comedy film produced and directed by Stanley Kramer with a story and screenplay by William Rose and Tania Rose. The film, starring Spencer Tracy with an all-star cast of comedians, is a ...
'' and numerous episodes of the 1970s TV drama ''CHiPs
''CHiPs'' is an American crime drama television series created by Rick Rosner and originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to May 1, 1983. It follows the lives of two motorcycle officers of the California Highway Patrol (CHP). The ser ...
'' (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'' is a 1974 American action film written, directed, produced by, and starring H. B. Halicki. The film centers on a group of car thieves and the 48 cars they must steal in a matter of days. It is known for having wrecked and d ...
'', ''Gone in 60 Seconds (2000 film)
''Gone in 60 Seconds'' (also known as ''Gone in Sixty Seconds'') is a 2000 American action heist film starring Nicolas Cage, Angelina Jolie, Giovanni Ribisi, Christopher Eccleston, Robert Duvall, Vinnie Jones, Delroy Lindo, Chi McBride, and ...
'', and ''Speed
In everyday use and in kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude of the change of its position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per unit of time; it is thus a scalar quanti ...
'' 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
Dexter may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Dexter, the main character of the American animated series '' Dexter's Laboratory'' that aired from 1996 to 2003
* Dexter, a fictional character in the British web series ''Diary of a Bad Man''
* Dext ...
'', and ''Jane the Virgin
''Jane the Virgin'' is an American romantic comedy-drama and satirical telenovela developed by Jennie Snyder Urman. The series premiered October 13, 2014, on The CW and concluded on July 31, 2019. It is a loose adaptation of the Venezuelan tel ...
'', although set in Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at t ...
, 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
''Mega Shark Versus Giant Octopus'' is a 2009 American-British monster disaster film distributed by The Asylum, released on May 19, 2009, in the United States and on August 7, 2009, in the United Kingdom. It was directed by Ace Hannah and stars s ...
'' 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
Glee means delight, a form of happiness.
Glee may also refer to:
* Glee (music), a type of English choral music
* ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy
* ''Glee'' (Bran Van 3 ...
'', as well as the film ''Last Action Hero
''Last Action Hero'' is a 1993 American fantasy action comedy film directed and produced by John McTiernan and co-written by Shane Black and David Arnott. It is a satire of the action genre and associated clichés, containing several parodies o ...
''. 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.
The Long Beach Naval Station and Naval Shipyard were featured in episodes of ''Visiting... with Huell Howser
Huell Burnley Howser (October 18, 1945 – January 7, 2013) was an American television personality, actor, producer, writer, singer, and voice artist, best known for hosting, producing, and writing ''California's Gold'' and his human interest sh ...
''. The Pike and SoundWalk art show have also been featured.
Online
Long Beach has a number of online news outlets, including the Long Beach Post, Long Beach Local News, The Modern Times of Long Beach, FORTHE, and LBReport.com.
Print
Long Beach's daily newspaper is the ''Long Beach Press-Telegram
The ''Press-Telegram'' is a paid daily newspaper published in Long Beach, California. Coverage area for the ''Press-Telegram'' includes Long Beach, Lakewood, Signal Hill, Artesia, Bellflower, Cerritos, Compton, Downey, Hawaiian Gardens, L ...
'', which is distributed throughout most of the Gateway Cities
The Gateway Cities Region, or Southeast Los Angeles County (also shortened to Southeast Los Angeles and Southeast LA) is an urbanized region located in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, between the City of Los Angeles proper, Orange ...
and South Bay areas of southwest Los Angeles County. The ''Press-Telegram'' is owned by Digital First Media
MNG Enterprises, Inc., doing business as Digital First Media and MediaNews Group, is a Denver, Colorado-based newspaper publisher owned by Alden Global Capital. The company has been growing its portfolio and as of May 2021, owns over 100 newsp ...
and is part of the Los Angeles Newspaper Group
The Southern California News Group (SCNG), formerly the San Gabriel Valley News Group and the Los Angeles News Group, is an umbrella group of local daily newspapers published in the greater Los Angeles area by Digital First Media, which is owned ...
, which has several newspapers in the Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...
area which share resources and reporters.
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
Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifical ...
system.
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''.
Long Beach also gets distribution of the daily ''Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'' and '' La Opinión'' newspapers, plus the weekly ''Los Angeles Sentinel
The ''Los Angeles Sentinel'' is a weekly African-American owned newspaper published in Los Angeles, California. The paper boasts of reaching 125,000 readers , making it one of the oldest, largest and most influential African-American newspapers ...
''.
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.
''Palacio Magazine'' (formerly ''Palacio de Long Beach'') is a free quarterly, bilingual magazine which runs stories focusing on community, education, art, health and wellness side by side in English and Spanish.
Although not based in Long Beach, the alternative weeklies ''OC Weekly
''OC Weekly'' was a free alternative weekly paper distributed in Orange County and Long Beach, California. OC Weekly was founded in September 1995 by Will Swaim, who acted as editor and publisher until 2007.
The paper was distributed at coffe ...
'' and ''LA Weekly
''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin, who served as president and editor until 1991. Voice Media Group sold the paper in late 2017 to Semanal Media LLC, whose par ...
'' 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
''The Orange County Register'' is a paid daily newspaper published in California. The ''Register'', published in Orange County, California, is owned by the private equity firm Alden Global Capital via its Digital Fiest/Media News subsidiaries ...
'', launched a five-day daily newspaper, the ''Long Beach Register'', aimed at competing with the ''Press-Telegram''. 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, citing lack of reader and advertiser interest.
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 Alternative music may refer to the following types of music:
*Alternative rock
*Alternative pop
*Alternative R&B
*Neo soul, sometimes known as alternative soul
*Alternative reggaeton
*Alternative hip hop
*Alternative dance
*Alternative metal
* Chri ...
and later hard rock
Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest h ...
station KNAC
KBUE (105.5 FM, "Que Buena 105.5/94.3 FM") is a commercial radio station licensed to Long Beach, California, that serves the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It is owned by Estrella Media and airs a Regional Mexican radio format. Studios and ...
, the only remaining radio stations in Long Beach are the jazz and blues station KKJZ
KKJZ (88.1 MHz FM, "K-Jazz 88.1") is a non-commercial public radio station in Southern California broadcasting from the Long Beach State campus. The station is one of several public radio stations in Southern California presenting jazz and blu ...
on the Cal State Long Beach
California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities ...
campus, and the Christian radio
Christian radio is a Christian media radio format that focus on programming with a Christian message. Many such broadcasters play contemporary Christian music, though many programs include sermons, radio dramas, as well as news and talk prog ...
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.
Notable people
Sister cities
Long Beach's sister cities
A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties.
While there are early examples of inter ...
are:
* Mombasa
Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...
, Kenya
* Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh (; km, ភ្នំពេញ, ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Cambodia, most populous city of Cambodia. It has been the national capital since the French protectorate of Cambodia and has grown to become ...
, Cambodia
* Qingdao
Qingdao (, also spelled Tsingtao; , Mandarin: ) is a major city in eastern Shandong Province. The city's name in Chinese characters literally means "azure island". Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, it is a major nodal city of the One Belt ...
, Shandong
Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region.
Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...
, China
* Sochi
Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents in ...
, Krasnodar Krai
Krasnodar Krai (russian: Краснода́рский край, r=Krasnodarsky kray, p=krəsnɐˈdarskʲɪj kraj) is a federal subject of Russia (a krai), located in the North Caucasus region in Southern Russia and administratively a part of ...
, Russia
* Yokkaichi
is a city located in Mie Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 310,259 in 142162 households and a population density of 1500 persons per km². The total area of the city is .
Geography
Yokkaichi is located in north-central ...
, Mie, Japan
* Izmir, Turkey
* Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comm ...
, West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...
, India
Friendship cities
Long Beach has friendly relations with:[
* ]Bacolod
Bacolod, officially the City of Bacolod (; hil, Dakbanwa/Syudad sang Bacolod; fil, Lungsod ng Bacolod), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Regions of the Philippines, region of Western ...
, Negros Occidental
Negros Occidental ( hil, Nakatungdang Negros; tl, Kanlurang Negros), officially the Province of Negros Occidental, is a province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital is the city of Bacolod. It occupies the nor ...
, Philippines
* Rosarito Beach
Rosarito is a coastal city in Playas de Rosarito Municipality, Baja California, situated on the Pacific Coast of Mexico. As of 2010, the city had a population of 65,278. Located south of the US-Mexico border, Rosarito is a part of the greater ...
, Baja California
Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Me ...
, Mexico
* Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isl ...
, Veneto
it, Veneto (man) it, Veneta (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 = ...
, Italy
See also
* 1939 California tropical storm
* Lakewood Boulevard (State Route 19)
* Largest cities in Southern California
This is a list of the 100 largest cities in the U.S. state of California ranked by population, based on estimates for July 1, 2021, by the United States Census Bureau.
Note: The population figures are for the incorporated areas of the listed cit ...
* List of City of Long Beach historic landmarks
* Long Beach Public Library
The Long Beach Public Library (LBPL) is an American public library system located in Long Beach, California.
Main Library
The Main Library's first building was funded by a $30,000 donation from Andrew Carnegie and $4,000 of city funds. The Lib ...
* Silverado Park, Long Beach, California
* List of U.S. cities with large Hispanic populations
* List of U.S. cities with large Cambodian-American populations
References
Bibliography
External links
*
{{Authority control
Incorporated cities and towns in California
Cities in Los Angeles County, California
Gateway Cities
Los Angeles Harbor Region
Populated coastal places in California
Port cities in California
Populated places established in 1880
1880 establishments in California
1897 establishments in California
Beaches of Los Angeles County, California
Beaches of Southern California