About the Long Beach, Lakewood and Seal Beach, California Area 

LONG BEACH 

Centrally located to all of Southern California’s attractions and the gateway to beautiful Catalina Island, Long Beach is a vibrant seaside town with a relaxed outdoor atmosphere. With outstanding cultural arts and music festivals throughout the year, world-class sporting events, interesting shopping, top restaurants, exciting nightlife, and the warm sunny climate of Southern California, Long Beach has a lot going on, but the pace is in keeping with the holiday air of this beachside community.
 

Residents enjoy walking, jogging, bicycling, and rollerblading along the 5 ½ mile seaside promenade, where palm trees sway in the ocean breezes and the sun flashes on the blue waters of the Pacific. En route they pass by the Long Beach Marina, open air cafes, bustling shopping streets, high rise apartments, and beautiful parks. Steps lead down to over five miles of soft white beach. Swimming and boating are much loved pastimes; jet skis, kayaks, boats, and windsurfers can be rented at Belmont Shore and Alamitos Bay. Long Beach is also popular with surfers, and has been one of the many top surfing spots along the Los Angeles coastline since the 1950s.  

Old downtown Long Beach has been beautifully renovated and is now an exciting and energetic district of shops, open air restaurants and local galleries. Pine Avenue has trendy fashion stores and galleries and is the city’s “restaurant row.” From hip cafes to romantic restaurants, Pine Avenue has the full range of dining experiences on offer. Award-winning restaurants serve patrons everything from spicy Latin cuisine to top quality Japanese, Italian, Greek, and more.
 

The Pike is a beautiful waterfront shopping, dining, and entertainment district in downtown Long Beach’s historic Rainbow Harbor. Local residents fondly recall the city’s “Pike” rollercoaster, which once stood on this spot. Today, there is a lovely antique carousel for children in The Pike, as well as a state of the art Cinemark Theatre complex. The Long Beach Convention Center is in The Pike, as is the superb Aquarium of the Pacific. 

One of the largest in the country, the Aquarium presents visitors with the breathtaking world of the undersea. Nineteen major Pacific habitats are represented, and exhibits take visitors on a journey throughout the Pacific Ocean’s primary ecosystems: the Southern California/Baja region, the Tropical Pacific, and the Northern Pacific. 

The Queen Mary cruise ship is anchored in Long Beach harbor and may be boarded for a step into history. The classic red funnels and sleek black lines of this beautiful ship are local landmarks. History buffs may also take a walking tour through Downtown Long Beach or the eclectic East Village, guided by knowledgeable local members of the Long Beach Historical Society. 

The bluff top Long Beach Museum of Art offers Pacific views to rival the art on display, and the Museum of Latin American Art has a superb collection. The Long Beach Performing Arts Center is home to the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra and the excellent International City Theater, and sports fans can check out the local pro-ice hockey team at the Long Beach Arena. The Long Beach Dance Center has lessons and performances in a range of dance mediums. California State University at Long Beach offers a wide range of degree programs, and there are several superb colleges in the area. 

Life in Long Beach is upbeat, relaxed and vibrant, and the city’s central location brings the advantages of life in the Los Angeles region to your doorstep.
 

LOCATION 

Sunny Long Beach is in southern Los Angeles County, just south of the Palos Verdes Peninsula and north of Seal Beach on the San Pedro Bay. Its central location means that this vibrant seaside community is easily accessible to all the Southern California attractions. Major interstates and highways run through Long Beach, including Highway 1, California’s pretty coastal highway, which runs the length of the state. A little further inland is I-405 which runs north to Hollywood and beyond and south to Orange County. I-710 journeys north from Long Beach to Pasadena, intersecting with I-405 en route. Many of Southern California’s key interstates and freeways intersect with I-405 or I-710, including I-5, which runs north to San Francisco and south to San Diego. 

Central Los Angeles is about 25 miles north of Long Beach and San Diego is about 120 miles south. Lakewood is about 10 miles inland of downtown Long Beach, and Seal Beach is about 7 miles south down the coast. 

TRANSPORTATION/AIRPORTS
 

Tower at Long Beach Airport

Long Beach Airport

 

Long Beach Airport has several daily flights to locations around Los Angeles and Orange County, many of which connect with flights from Los Angeles International (LAX). LAX is only 25 miles north of Long Beach, and is one of the world’s busiest, with flights across the nation and the globe. Alternatively, locals may use the John Wayne Airport, which is about 20 minutes drive away and offers flights to destinations throughout Orange County. 

The City has a couple of free bus services: a bright red Passport Shuttle to major Long Beach attractions, and a purple Pine Avenue Link from downtown to the Convention Center, Shoreline Village and the Aquarium of the Pacific. The regular local bus service covers a comprehensive number of routes, and the Metro Blue Line takes commuters and visitors into Los Angeles and back. There are plenty of taxis of course, but Long Bay also has a water taxi service called the Aquabus, which takes visitors to the Queen Mary, Shoreline Village, and the Aquarium of the Pacific. The Aqualink catamaran runs across the bay to the Queen Mary, Alamitos Bay Landing and the Aquarium of the Pacific. The Catalina Express Launch takes visitors across the Bay to Catalina Island, a beautiful resort and holiday spot. 

BRIEF HISTORY 

Home to local Indian bands for centuries, the Long Beach area was first seen by non-indigenous people about 50 years after Columbus reached the east coast of America. The Spaniard Cabrillo was the first European to reach the Californian coast, and he and his crew anchored their boats in the San Pedro bay. 

Cabrillo named the area "Bahia de los Fumos" (the Bay of Smokes), for the clouds of smoke the crew saw over present day Long Beach. Local Indians periodically burned grass and brush to drive rabbits into their waiting traps. 

Under the original Spanish Land Grant, Manuel Nieto was given a huge rancho that included the Long Beach region in 1784. This was divided up and sold over time, and by the eighteen-seventies, most of the Long Beach region was held by two ranchos, Los Cerritos and Los Alamitos. 

English settler William Willmore bought and subdivided a portion of Los Cerritos in 1880, launching Willmore City two years later. Settlement was sluggish and Willmore left for Arizona in 1884. Slowly over the next few years families straggled in, and in 1888 the city was incorporated and renamed Long Beach after the long sandy beaches that grace the town. There were 59 buildings at that time, and a school was built to serve the children. In 1902 an electric trolley line was built to Long Beach, and regular visitors began to arrive. 

Long Beach has grown alongside Los Angeles, first as a holiday destination, and later after the Second World War, as a nice place to live and commute to the city from. From a population of 1,500 and an area of three square miles in 1897, the City has grown to an estimated population of 440,000 citizens living in a 50-square-mile area. 

Lakewood
 

Long famous as the model town for post-WWII urban development, Lakewood is a pleasant green city just inland of Long Beach, close to the white sandy beaches of the Pacific Coast and to the cultural, sporting, and entertainment attractions of the wider Los Angeles region. A plentitude of parks and gardens distinguishes Lakewood from other suburban towns. Mayfair Park is a popular community recreation spot, and Monte Verde Park has a beautiful nature trail.  

Lakewood has a variety of cultural happenings throughout the year, including the fantastic Pan-American Fiesta, the town’s oldest community event. The family orientated nature of the community is reflected in the wide range of recreational events and classes offered by the City.
 

LOCATION

Lakewood is in Los Angeles County, California, about 10 miles inland from downtown Long Beach and about 25 miles south of downtown Los Angeles. Several key interstates and highways pass through or surround Lakewood, including I-605 and North Lakewood Boulevard, which pass through the city on their way east from the coast to inland Los Angeles. Artesia Boulevard passes north/south between Lakewood and Paramount, intersecting with I-605 in Lakewood and I-710 in neighboring Long Beach. 

TRANSPORTATION/AIRPORTS  

Lakewood has a good bus and rail service to Los Angeles and to surrounding Orange County centers, and the local DASH transit service helps active senior citizens and disabled adults get around town. 

Lakewood residents have access to three bus systems with local connections: the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), Long Beach Transit (LBT) and the Orange County Transit District (OCTD). Comprehensive routes reach communities throughout the Long Beach, South Bay, Torrance, Los Angeles, and Orange County regions. Many routes serve the Lakewood Center Mall, or connect with the two local rail stations. 

There are two light rail lines that pass through Lakewood: the Blue Line (at the Del Amo Station) and the Green (at the Aviation Station), and these journey to Los Angeles. 

Lakewood is about 25 miles from Los Angeles International Airport, which can be reached via the free Green Line train shuttle service. The LAX shuttle is timed to operate on a complimentary schedule. 

BRIEF HISTORY
The close of the Second World War saw the men who returned from Europe, Asia, and the Pacific keen to settle down and raise families, and urban centers like Los Angeles saw unprecedented “booms” in suburban development. In 1949, a group of three Jewish developers bought the boggy beet and lima bean fields that were to become present day Lakewood, and worked together to develop a community that would be ethnically diverse, friendly, and economically viable for its residents. Facing prejudice and sometimes scorn, the men planned their city, helped by young lawyer John S Todd, who designed a new civic plan for self-governance that accorded more self-determination to citizens.  

Lakewood was the nation’s largest and fastest built post-War community, and a model for future city developments. Heralded as “the city they built in six months” Lakewood was a city of sturdy and affordable mass produced homes. Egalitarian planning led to Lakewood having plenty of parks and one of the first regional shopping malls in America—the largest of its day. Other new towns were quick to follow suit, thus beginning the death of the downtown shopping district in many places. Amenities were carefully located under half a mile from every home, so that families who could not afford cars would still be able to shop and enjoy parks. 

Lakewood was incorporated in 1954, after a long struggle to resist incorporation by the town of Long Beach. Other municipalities were quick to follow the independent model set up by Lakewood, and this revolutionized local government in California. 

New families moving into Lakewood found their neighbors to be ethnically diverse, something that is still the case today. Lakewood’s Pan American Festival was set up in 1948; this celebration is proudly marked to this day. 

Seal Beach 

Seal Beach is a charming seaside village with a beautiful long pier and a friendly Main Street with nary a chain store in site. Galleries, antique and one-of-a-kind stores, restaurants, cafes, ice-cream shops, and little parks and gardens line the warm, palm tree lined streets. Locals meet for coffee in shorts, often with a beach towel over their shoulders. Cute beach cottages far outnumber high rise apartments, and swaying palm trees are everywhere.  

Mix this charm with beautiful beaches and year round Californian sunshine and its easy to see why Seal Beach is a prime holiday spot, particularly for nearby city dwellers. Movie and television stars and high profile professionals love to come here to relax alongside everyone else, taking advantage of the community’s laid back attitude, where money is seen as less important than taking the time to be friendly and enjoy life. As a local website states, “it’s almost a fad to have a rusty bicycle to ride.” 

Because recreation and tourism is such an important part of the local economy in this largely residential community, Seal Beach takes pains to protect its character from rampant development, and to provide top recreational facilities. The City maintains the pier, a beach park, and a skate park, and runs a wide range of recreational programs. There is a smooth beachside bike path for riding, walking, jogging or skating, and there are over 30 miles of bike paths around the city.  

The beach is perfect for surfing, boogie boarding, wind surfing and swimming, and the city has some of the best sailing waters on the west coast. You can fish from the pier, make sandcastles with your kids on the beach, and take long walks along the sand. The banks of the Los Angeles River are another nice place to stretch your legs.  

The Red Car Museum is an interesting place to visit, housed in an rare Pacific Electric Tower Car. The museum displays photographs of early Seal Beach, sea shells and Indian artifacts collected locally. It also has reference library of local history with detailed regional maps. 

About two-thirds of the land within the city is given over to the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station, and the Navy Harbor and wetlands are a national bird sanctuary. East of the Pacific Coast Highway, the Naval Station is neighbored by Boeing, tract housing and the gated Leisure World retirement community. 

LOCATION
 

On San Pedro Bay just south of neighboring Long Beach and north of Huntington Beach, Seal Beach is in the northern end of California’s Orange County. State Highway 1 passes through this seaside community on its way south to San Diego (about 110 miles away) and north of Los Angeles (about 30 miles away) and San Francisco. 

I-405 is on the inland border of Seal Beach, traveling north to Hollywood and downtown Los Angeles and south through Orange County to intersect with I-5, which journeys to San Diego. 

TRANSPORTATION/AIRPORTS
Seal Beach is close to Long Beach Airport, which offers several daily flights to locations around Los Angeles and Orange County, including Los Angeles International (LAX). LAX is just over 30 miles north of Seal Beach, and has flights to cities across America and the world. Seal Beach locals are also close to the John Wayne Airport, which has flights to destinations throughout Orange County. 

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) operates an excellent bus and light rail service in the region, with comprehensive routes to surrounding communities like Long Beach, Lakewood, and Torrance, and to Los Angeles. The City of Seal Beach also runs a senior bus program to serve the community’s large group of senior residents. 

BRIEF HISTORY
Since the earliest days of human settlement in the region, people have always come to present day Seal Beach for the sunshine and the ocean. The nomadic Gabrielino Indians built winter shacks here and shared the abundance of food with other peoples who came through. They were superb basket-weavers. 

The Spaniards eventually took the land from the indigenous people and in time it passed to the Californians. By the eighteen-hundreds, what was to become Seal Beach was part of the Los Alamitos rancho. Much of this land was bought by locals Fred and Jotham Bixby and I W Hellman in the later part of the century and you see their names on street signs around town. 

Seal Beach township was originally Anaheim Landing, a port for the German settlers who founded the village of Anaheim further inland. The Germans began to use it as a holiday spot, and others began to catch on. When the Pacific Redcar arrived in the eighteen-eighties, the port folded, but any economic loss to the town was made up by the increase in tourism that the railway bought. Old Seal Beach’s small lots date from these days; they were originally drawn up to accommodate tents! 

A local developer built the pier, which was the longest in its day, with a “Joy Zone” of amusements, dining, and dancing at its foot. A wicker rollercoaster added to the attraction. By the time of its incorporation in 1915, Seal Beach was becoming popular amongst movie stars, and the future looked bright. Then came the Depression, which changed everything. 

The town went bust, the “Joy Zone” closed, and the roller coaster fell into disrepair. Prohibition saw the town become a drop off point for rum runners and a place to pick up a prostitute. Known locally as “Sin City”, Seal Beach began to pick up during the Second World War, with the influx of navy men and their families. These people fought to remove gambling and drive out crime, the growing aerospace industry after the war bought new money to the town. 

By the late nineteen-seventies locals began to clean up the boarded up downtown, and holiday makers started to return in force. Today Seal Beach has one of the best school systems in California and is considered one of the best places on the coast to raise a family.
 

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