Long Beach History

WHAT YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT THE QUEEN MARY AND HER MARITIME PAST: A BRIEF HISTORY

By Alexander Amaro | Photos courtesy of the Historical Society of Long Beach Afloat in the waters of Long Beach is a testament to a...

LONG BEACH BUILT TO LAST:THESE TWELVE INSTITUTIONS HAVE SHAPED OUR CITY’S CULTURE FOR 75+ YEARS

By Kathryn Wells Photo Submitted by The Historical Society of Long Beach As a Long Beach resident for over 12 years, I’ve come to cherish...

THE CITY OF SIGNAL HILL: A CENTURY IN THE MAKING

By Sarah Teran Most people would agree: Reaching the 100-year mark is a big deal. This is true whether you’re talking about a person, a...

THE GUY WHO FOUNDED THE GRAND PRIX OF LONG BEACH“SO CAL’S 200 MPH BEACH PARTY”

By Gina Valencia Photo submitted by Chris Pook Before Long Beach had come into embodying its city motto, “The International City,” one...

The Gregory Family

By Kelli Kreis HOW WE GOT HERE My maternal grandfather, William Gregory, came to LB with his family in 1924 from Boise, Idaho. My...

The Vavak Family

By Desiree Vavak HOW WE GOT HERE My grandpa Albert H. E. Vavak came to LB in 1946, after he married my grandmother in 1945, in Honolulu,...

The Hanania Family

By Lindsey Marangi HOW WE GOT HERE Our first Long Beach relative, my great-grandfather Jacob Elias Hanania, came to America on November...

The Dimon Family

By Jenni Dimon HOW WE GOT HERE Both my parents came to Long Beach during grade school, which was sometime in the 1940s. My mom came from...

The Green Family

By Carleigh Latimer HOW WE GOT HERE Horace and Jessie Green became Long Beach residents in 1896. Horace’s family came from England in...

The Dewire-Watkins Family

By Kelsey Hoppe Mobers HOW WE GOT HERE My great-great-grandparents Richard E. Dewire and Jennie S. Dewire came to Long Beach from...

EAST LONG BEACH’S DEVELOPMENT DURING WWII

By Monique Garcia “As a city that started out in the late 1800s, it’s amazing how it’s changed over so much time in so many ways.” – Jen...

The Halsted Family

By Jenna Wolfson HOW WE GOT HERE My great-grandmother came to California from Oklahoma during the dust bowl, settled in Sacramento, then...

The Luyben Family

By James and Jessica Luyben HOW WE GOT HERE The start of the Luyben Family in Long Beach was when my grandfather John George Luyben Jr....

The Norris Family

By Heather Norris HOW WE GOT HERE My grandparents on my mom’s side came out in 1949 from Illinois to find a better job. My grandfather...

PEOPLE OF THE EARTH

By Monique Garcia “[Rancho Los Alamitos] has several areas that speak to the lengths of time that the Tongva people have been at...

The Beebe Family

By Erica Beebe HOW WE GOT HERE My great-great-grandmother brought my great-grandfather and his brother to Long Beach in 1914. They came...

The Summer The Universe Watched Long Beach Host the "Miss Universe" Pageant

By Jennifer Newton It was the summer of 1952 and Long Beach was a buzz with excitement. The city had been chosen – over Catalina Island...

A Bixby Christmas

The oldest Long Beach Christmas traditions—just in case you were wondering—date to the era of the Spanish ranchos. On Christmas Eve, the...

MOLAA Exhibits Long Beach Ink Through the Years

The history of tattoo culture in Long Beach is a rich tapestry, much like the skin of our inked comrades in tattoo parlors and the walls...

The Story of Prospector Pete

Prospector Pete has been the beloved mascot of California State University, Long Beach for decades but not too many know that he was...

Early Long Beach History - Puvungna

Did you know that before California State University, Long Beach, before The Pike, and even before Rancho Los Alamitos Historic Ranch &...

908's Week of Love: "No Kissing"

No one knows exactly how Valentine’s Day began, but what would it be without a kiss between lovers? Well, folks Long Beach was faced with...

908's Week of Love: "A Father Changes His Mind"

When Y. Igloppi of Long Beach married a lovely Japanese girl in Los Angeles in January 1919, he thought their lives together would be...

908's Week of Love: "A Love Rekindled"

On November 20, 1907, two thousand people crowded the shore of Long Beach to bid goodbye to the cruisers Colorado, Maryland, Pennsylvania...

908's Week of Love: "An Elopement"

It was almost like Romeo and Juliet, fifteen-year-old Jennie Thomson of Duarte thought as she eloped with twenty-four year-old Homer...

908's Week of Love: "Lost Love Found"

Stories of Love Remembered What would Valentine’s Day be like without stories of love? Tales of romance around Long Beach. Let me share a...

The Names Behind Our Fields and Stadiums

Gene “Skip” Rowland Field Wilson High School On the corner of Seventh Street and Park Avenue, the Wilson Bruins baseball team plays at...