Long Beach, California, is seeing a rebirth
We were definitely the country cousins when we went to visit my Uncle Bob and Aunt Eleanor in Long Beach, California. My cousin Ray is close to my age, and as we swam in the canal alongside their yacht moored behind their house, it seemed like he had a childhood charmed like no other.
But on our way to the elite island section of town called Naples, we would drive through the Long Beach downtown. It was a puzzling paradox, with rundown street fronts and dusty shops. In the 1960s, there was nothing glamorous about Long Beach.
But the city administrators eventually took matters in hand. They reviewed the city’s assets: a terrific harbor; mild, sunny weather; residential neighborhoods for the uber-rich on Naples Island; and a very, very long beach. Easy access to Disneyland, Hollywood and other LA area attractions didn’t hurt either.
Americans are risk takers, and Long Beach undertook a pull-upby-the-bootstraps reinvention into a world-class tourist destination. It was a tremendous financial risk. But the alternative was unacceptable.
City leaders started by acquiring the retired ocean liner, The Queen Mary. A tourist city needs tourist attractions. Thousands of U.S. troops had crossed the ocean on her sumptuous decks on their way to and from the European theater during World War II. Long Beach repatriated her into a nautical hotel with posh restaurants, rentable event areas and interesting museums.
The Pike amusement park had deteriorated into a dangerous area with bums and prostitutes. There was no saving it. The site was razed and then reborn into a pleasant walking/biking/ skating marina roadway with polished retailers and a wide variety of midpriced restaurants. The bridge that links Rainbow Harbor walkway to the outdoor mall area is reminiscent of the old roller coaster, and a Ferris wheel still gives the beachy/Pike feel.
The Aquarium of the Pacific is nestled adjacent to the Pike area. Hundreds of school-age children swarmed it the day we visited, but the Behind-the-Scenes tour geared to adults fascinated us. Stingray and shark touch and feeding areas are memory makers. Sea robins, puffer fish, sea dragons compete for attention with sea otters, seals and sea lions.
City planners soon turned their attention to their natural assets. A classmate of my cousin Ray’s, Michael O’Toole, started a gondola ride business called Gondola Getaway. Jeff and I were alone in our boat with our gondolier, Eric Sjoberg. He regaled us with local history, advised us of the tradition of kissing under each of the five bridges and then serenaded us with Italian love songs in a rich baritone. The boats are authentic Venetian gondolas.
The stately old buildings have been renovated into trendy beach condos. New hotels overlook the palm-laced marina and tourist shops in Shoreline Village. The anchor business in Shoreline Village is Parkers’ Lighthouse restaurant with waterside dining and excellent seafood.
The long beach itself is protected by a long breakwater so the surf is never high enough to facilitate surfing, but at the back of the beach, there is one path paved with springy rubberized pavement for joggers and walkers and another path for cyclists/skaters. The bike share system that dots the city allows people to pick up a bike in one part and drop it off at any other of 50 stations. It costs just $21 for four hours of total ride time.
At Rainbow Harbor, there are reasonably priced harbor cruises, whale watching trips and Catalina excursions. We saw hundreds of dolphins, some sea lions and a magnificent blue whale on our whale watching trip.
In the center of the downtown there’s a long shady walkway. Shops, restaurants and parks line a pretty street where no motorized vehicles are allowed.
Long Beach has assumed the title of the aquatic capital of the world. It has Olympic-level athletes in beach volleyball, swimming, rowing, water polo and lots of other sports, and water-related activities are abundant and readily available.
The Long Beach transformation is nearly finished. Polished streets, an abundance of murals and inlaid art sidewalks in the downtown make the city fun to walk. Some of the city bus routes are free and frequent, and the rest are low priced. Exceptionally good restaurants of every ethnic variety should attract foodies. (The Attic for breakfast, George’s Greek Cafe for lunch and Sir Winston’s on The Queen Mary for dinner were my three favorites.) There’s plenty of room on the beach so that it’s never crowded. The sun shines 350 days a year, and the locals are welcoming and helpful. The Long Beach airport is nearby and extremely simple to navigate.
City leaders’ risk has paid off. Long Beach is fresh and clean and fun, having successfully replaced their other faltering industries with tourism.
Only in America. God bless it.