History of Long Beach

Long Beach, the city in Los Angeles County where diversity and culture meet, sits comfortably located in southwestern California, on San Pedro Bay. The city boasts not only a rapidly growing metropolitan area but a vast residential community that prides itself in the roots of history as well as the aggressive development of its future. Long Beach continues its many layers of intrigue while being a major shipping, industrial, commercial, and cruise line docking station. The Port of Long Beach, opened in 1911, is one of the nation’s largest container ports and shares its border with The Port of Los Angeles, the sum of which makes the nation’s largest harbor of import and export. In 1921, oil was discovered in Signal Hill and proved to jumpstart the economy with quick millions made.  One can still see the existence of past and present oil and natural gas production and can even see it extend off the city’s shore.

The community was originally owned by Spain until it was divided into ownership by Rancho Los Cerritos and Rancho Los Alamitos.  In 1882, a developer named William Willmore designed the layout of the city and in 1888 the city’s name was changed to Long Beach after a decided effort to capitalize on the area’s natural beaches.  The Pike, a 1900’s a popular vacation spot for sun and fun lovers of all ages and walks of life was the site of historic amusement park rides such as The Cyclone Racer, the city’s public pool – The Plunge, and Looff’s Carousel.  Current Long Beach goers still enjoy The Pike today as it is the home of a ferris wheel, boat marina and The Aquarium of the Pacific, not to mention dozens of restaurants. The 6.4 earthquake of 1933 truly defined the city’s resilience in spite of fifty million dollars of damage. Long Beach rebuilt and inspired the Field Act of 1933 which requires earthquake resistant design for public schools as well as future revisions made to the Uniform Building Code in 1935. In the 1970’s a revamped development program was introduced and projected to be completed by the year 2000. The program was well timed as the Long Beach Naval Station closed in the early 1990s bringing with it ripples of hardship felt throughout the community and surrounding areas. The naval shipyard was closed as part of a national large scale base-consolidation program. Long Beach’s continued promise of economic revitalization is the impetus behind a reuse plan for these sites that is intended to result in job creation and celebration of history.

The recently-expanded Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center remains the heart of the downtown area.  Thousands attend trade shows and events daily while enjoying the local hot spots of food and dining within a short walking distance. The retired ocean liner Queen Mary, a hotel and major tourist attraction sits docked across from the skyline in the city’s harbor. Also of visitor interest are the Long Beach Museum of Art, housed in a 1912 original mansion; the El Dorado Nature Center; and Rancho Los Alamitos and Rancho Los Cerritos, 19th-century original adobe ranch houses.