Culture & Commentary
Belmont Shore is having an entire renaissance—and Long Beach is here for it
Belmont Shore has been one of Long Beach's most important businesses corridors for decades—but the late 2010s and the beginning of this decade were anything but kind to it as multiple spaces closed up shop. But 2023? It's proving to be one of its most altering years in decades as Belmont Shore puts on a new dancin' dress.
Culture & Commentary
Why the most recent Beach Streets was easily Long Beach’s best (and why our streets are more than things for cars)
This year's Beach Streets event was genuinely its best yet: Fully activated hubs, a genuinely communal feel that superseded formally sanctioned happenings, and a continual presence of walkers, bicyclists, strollers, skaters...
Culture & Commentary
Long Beach Lost: The forgotten LB origins of one the most notorious white power gangs, PEN1
My ongoing series, Long Beach Lost, was launched to examine buildings and spaces that have either been demolished or were never even in existence—including the forgotten tales attached to existing or nonexistent things and places.
Culture & Commentary
Long Beach Lost: The oft forgotten tale behind Long Beach’s ‘resort’ oil drilling islands
My ongoing series, Long Beach Lost, was launched to examine buildings and spaces that have either been demolished or were never even in existence—including the forgotten tales attached to existing places. This is not a preservationist series but rather a historical series that will help keep a record of our architectural, cultural, and spatial history.
Culture & Commentary
Steve Dolinsky, Chicago’s ‘Food Guy,’ took a tour of Long Beach’s restaurant scene—and why that matters
A 13-time James Beard award winner, one of the pioneers of local videographic food storytelling, and an overall great human, Steve Dolinsky decided to take a tour through Long Beach's food scene—guided by yours truly and James Tir.
Culture & Commentary
Long Beach Lost: The Jungle, DTLB’s adult playground for ‘immorality and sexual deviation’
My ongoing series, Long Beach Lost, was launched to examine buildings, places, and things that have either been demolished, are set to be demolished, or are in motion to possibly be demolished—or were never even in existence. This is not a preservationist series but rather a historical series that will help keep a record of our architectural, cultural, and spatial history.
Culture & Commentary
Prospector Long Beach to close after nearly 60 years of service; developer to revamp into two new spaces
Just shy of serving Long Beach for 60 years, its final day of service will be May 28 as developer Hilco Development takes over the restaurant to revamp the building into two new spaces.
Culture & Commentary
MADE, the long-running DTLB store dedicated to local creators, will be permanently closing
A private memo was sent out to select vendors by its owner, stating they wanted to inform "friends" before announcing publicly on Facebook, along with noting that Elinor, the shuttered drinking space that Millworks promised to reopen, will also have no future.
Culture & Commentary
Long Beach Lost: The Buffums’ department store in Downtown
My ongoing series, Long Beach Lost, was launched to examine buildings, places, and things that have either been demolished, are set to be demolished, or are in motion to possibly be demolished—or were never even in existence. This is not a preservationist series but rather a historical series that will help keep a record of our architectural, cultural, and spatial history.
Culture & Commentary
Long Beach Lost: The cringey and strange tale of how Lucille’s Smokehouse created a fictitious Black woman for their brand
In a move that echoes the controversy surrounding Quaker Oats's creation of Aunt Jemima, Lucille's proudly admitted to creating Lucille Buchanan, a fictitious Black woman from South Carolina which inspired their barbecue. Come the BLM protests of 2020, the restaurant removed the entire story without a word.
