A Photography Project
A 2018 restoration project led by Edward Ahdoot of Rockwell Properties uncovered a mosaic mural created by Susan Hertel of Millard Sheets Studio for the Homes Savings Center (now International City Bank) on Ocean Blvd. in Long Beach.
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The Long Beach Venus is modeled on a 1767 bronze sculpture by Christophe-Gabriel Allegrain entitlad “Venus Au Bain.” It held a prominent position in an alcove above the marquee of Fox West Coast Theater on Ocean Boulevard in Long Beach.
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A small, hexagonal building in Long Beach got a programmatic makeover in about 1932, adding a metal and glass percolator on the roof, to become the Hot Cha Café. It was renamed Koffee Pot Café, but remained a coffee shop into the 1960s.
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In Sept 1980, Wrather Port Properties signed a lease to manage the Queen Mary, berthed in Long Beach harbor. In 1981, Howard Hughes’s Spruce Goose was saved from demolition in the Wrather-funded geodesic dome next to the Queen Mary.
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The Long Beach Playhouse was established in 1929. It moved numerous times before buying a lot for $11,000 on Anaheim Street in 1948. When the theater on Anaheim opened in 1951, the first production charged $6 for admission.
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The Long Beach Main Post Office opened in September 1934. Its architectural style has been described as “Post-Quake Moderne” because the Moderne style of Art Deco architecture was prevalent as Long Beach was rebuilt after the 1933 quake.
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George’s 50’s Diner in Long Beach was opened by George and Helen Alvarez in 1996. It originally opened in 1952 as Grisinger’s Drive-In. It was designed by Googie architect Wayne McAllister, who also designed the Bob’s Big Boy in Burbank.
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