Updates on current issues, preservation projects in progress, and past issues, including restoration and adaptive reuse projects, as well as significant resources that have been demolished or altered beyond recognition.
First National Bank
The First National Bank building at 115 Pine Avenue will soon be adaptively reused as apartments by PineLux Associates. L’Opera restaurant occupies the former ground floor banking room and retains some details from the building designed by Los Angeles architects Train & Williams in 1903 and enlarged in 1906. The exterior retains most of its original elements and will be meticulously restored. The sheet metal clock tower was finished in 1907 and the clock from the 1903 structure was reused. A new roof garden, set back from the street so it will not be visible to passersby, will be constructed. This is the type of adaptive reuse advocated by preservationists.
Fire Station #9
Fire Station Number 9 at 3917 Long Beach Boulevard is facing demolition due to a mold issue. Originally referred to as the Cerritos Fire Station, Long Beach architect William Horace Austin designed the building. It was constructed by the Works Progress Administration and opened on May 15, 1939. The Tudor Revival style building has received Long Beach Landmark designation and retains many of its original features, such as half-timbered gables and a hose tower capped by a hip roof. It has been saved from demolition and is now owned by Gemmae Bake Shop, a Long Beach Legacy Business.
Breakers Hotel
Architects Walker & Eisen designed the luxury hotel, the Breakers, which opened in 1926. It was a Hilton Hotel from 1938 to 1947, before its most recent use as a senior living facility. The Breakers has been restored and reopened as a luxurious Fairmont Hotel. The rehabilitation received a Long Beach Heritage Preservation Award.
Ocean Center
Renowned architecture firm Meyer and Holler designed Ocean Center, a Long Beach landmark, which opened in 1929 as an office building. In 2018, investment group Pacific6 acquired the building and it has been restored, received a Long Beach Heritage Preservation Award, and apartments are available for rent. The developer kept the original wooden office doors and other details.
Dolly Varden Hotel
The Dolly Varden Hotel, 335 Pacific Avenue, built in 1929–1930, will be demolished and replaced by a large apartment building designed by Studio 111. However, it still remains standing and the sign, which is a Historic Landmark, will be placed on the roof of the new structure.
Acres of Books
Construction is completed on the Broadway Block and the developer incorporated only a small portion of the original facade into the new building, although they had agreed to use the entire front of Acres of Books. This Streamline Moderne structure was remodeled around 1934 after the Long Beach earthquake. This is a huge loss and not a good example of adaptive reuse or historic preservation. Long Beach Heritage will continue to advocate for best practices in preservation and economic development to help our city thrive.
Port of Long Beach Administration Building Mural
Architect Warren Dedrick designed the Port of Long Beach Administration Building, completed in 1959, and it served as the headquarters of port activity until 2018, when the building was demolished. Long Beach Heritage commissioned Brian Worley to remove the ceramic tile mural, created by the artist Paul Souza for Gladding McBean, in 2018. The mural, which needs a new home, remains in storage until a new location is secured.
Hot Cha Cafe
The Hota Cha Cafe was built around 1936 in a Programmatic style, resembling a coffee pot. The building was declared a city landmark, but was threatened with demolition by neglect, until the current owner rehabilitated the property. The Hot Cha Cafe received a Long Beach Heritage Preservation Award and is now occupied with a new tenant.
Seaport Marina Hotel
The Seaport Marina Hotel, originally known as the Edgewater Inn when it opened in 1963, was designed by architect Roy Sealey. The Googie-style resort was a significant example of a mid-20th century motel in Southern California. Deferred maintenance and loss of integrity challenged historic designation of the property and despite advocacy efforts, the complex was demolished in 2017 to make way for a shopping center.
Santa Fe Train Depot
The Santa Fe Train Depot was the last remaining station of three that once served Long Beach beginning in the early 20th century. The mission revival building, constructed in 1907, was originally at Broadway and Pacific, but de-commissioned and moved twice before relocation to Willow Springs Park in 2015. On September 16, 2016 the building caught fire and was declared a total loss.