Alamitos Beach, Long Beach, California
Encyclopedia
Alamitos Beach is a coastal neighborhood in the southern portion of the city of Long Beach, California
.
to the west, Hellman
to the north and Bluff Park
to the east, with a wide sandy beach along the Pacific Ocean
to the south.
, temperatures in Alamitos Beach are moderate throughout the year. Heat and humidity rarely coincide, making heat waves more tolerable than they would be otherwise. Temperature highs typically range from the low-80s F° in the summertime, 70s F° during the spring and fall, and 60s in the winter.
As in most locations in Southern California
, rainfall occurs largely during the winter months. Storms can bring heavy rainfall, but Alamitos Beach receives less precipitation than locations adjacent to the San Gabriel
or San Bernardino
mountains further inland, whose rainfall is enhanced by orographic lift
.
that starts at Shoreline Village and ends in the Belmont Shore neighborhood of Long Beach.
The neighborhood was laid out in the 1920s, and many of its buildings date back to that era. As a result, the experience of living here is to feel the human scale of its often-quaint two-story-building setting, and with many conveniences only a short walk away. The urban yet human-scale neighborhood makes this section of Long Beach unique among beach communities in Los Angeles
and neighboring Orange
Counties.
community. The Broadway Corridor
business district in Alamitos Beach, is home to many well-established bars, restaurants and other businesses that are mostly gay-owned and operated or cater especially to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community. Bars serving a largely LGBT clientele include The Paradise Piano Bar and Restaurant, The Brit Pub, The Mine Shaft, Sweetwater Saloon, and Hamburger Mary's. The Coffee houses and restaurants, which typically remain open until at least midnight, are "gay-friendly" but also serve a large straight clientele. The 4th Street Corridor
, along the constituting central part of Alamitos Beach, is where bars like The V-Room, and The Pike Bar & Fish Grill are located. The shops and restaurants along Shoreline Village and the Pike
are also within walking distance.
,
Lethal Weapon
and Dexter
.
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
.
Location
The coastal neighborhood is bounded by Junipero Avenue on the east, Shoreline Drive and Alamitos Boulevard on the west, 4th Street on the north, and Ocean Boulevard on the south. Surrounding communities include the East Village Arts DistrictEast Village, Long Beach, California
East Village Arts District is the name of the eastern half of Downtown Long Beach, California. The borders are Ocean Blvd. to the south, Long Beach Blvd. to the west, 7th Street to the north, and Alamitos Avenue to the east...
to the west, Hellman
Hellman, Long Beach, California
-Hellman Street/Craftsman Historic District:This area is located north of 7th Street, south of 10th Street, between Orange & Walnut Ave.A high concentration of Craftsman bungalows, built for middle-class working families, remains intact today in this district. Secondary "contributing" structures...
to the north and Bluff Park
Bluff Park, Long Beach, California
Bluff Park is a small, upscale neighborhood in Long Beach, California. There is a bluff along much of the beach in Long Beach, and on one stretch, there is the narrow Bluff Park from which the neighborhood gets its name....
to the east, with a wide sandy beach along the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
to the south.
Climate
Due to its coastal location next to the Pacific OceanPacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
, temperatures in Alamitos Beach are moderate throughout the year. Heat and humidity rarely coincide, making heat waves more tolerable than they would be otherwise. Temperature highs typically range from the low-80s F° in the summertime, 70s F° during the spring and fall, and 60s in the winter.
As in most locations in Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
, rainfall occurs largely during the winter months. Storms can bring heavy rainfall, but Alamitos Beach receives less precipitation than locations adjacent to the San Gabriel
San Gabriel Mountains
The San Gabriel Mountains Range is located in northern Los Angeles County and western San Bernardino County, California, United States. The mountain range lies between the Los Angeles Basin and the Mojave Desert, with Interstate 5 to the west and Interstate 15 to the east...
or San Bernardino
San Bernardino Mountains
The San Bernardino Mountains are a short transverse mountain range north and east of San Bernardino in Southern California in the United States. The mountains run for approximately 60 miles east-west on the southern edge of the Mojave Desert in southwestern San Bernardino County, north of the...
mountains further inland, whose rainfall is enhanced by orographic lift
Orographic lift
Orographic lift occurs when an air mass is forced from a low elevation to a higher elevation as it moves over rising terrain. As the air mass gains altitude it quickly cools down adiabatically, which can raise the relative humidity to 100% and create clouds and, under the right conditions,...
.
Characteristics
The coastal neighborhood is mainly dense residential, with large condominium buildings along the beach and smaller condominiums, apartment buildings, and single family residences as one moves inland. A public beach is within short walking distance of all residences with some buildings having direct access. The beach includes the Long Beach bicycle pathLong Beach bicycle path
The Long Beach Bike Path in Los Angeles County meanders about along the sand from Shoreline Village in downtown Long Beach, California to Bayshore Avenue in Belmont Shore...
that starts at Shoreline Village and ends in the Belmont Shore neighborhood of Long Beach.
The neighborhood was laid out in the 1920s, and many of its buildings date back to that era. As a result, the experience of living here is to feel the human scale of its often-quaint two-story-building setting, and with many conveniences only a short walk away. The urban yet human-scale neighborhood makes this section of Long Beach unique among beach communities in Los Angeles
Los Angeles County, California
Los Angeles County is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 9,818,605, making it the most populous county in the United States. Los Angeles County alone is more populous than 42 individual U.S. states...
and neighboring Orange
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
Counties.
Nightlife
It is known for its vibrant nightlife, and for its significant LGBTLGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
community. The Broadway Corridor
Broadway Corridor, Long Beach, California
Broadway in Long Beach, California is the name for the stretch of East Broadway between Downtown Long Beach and Belmont Shore where the majority of the city's gay-friendly businesses are located. Nearby 4th Street also has a number of gay-owned businesses and is the location of the Gay and Lesbian...
business district in Alamitos Beach, is home to many well-established bars, restaurants and other businesses that are mostly gay-owned and operated or cater especially to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community. Bars serving a largely LGBT clientele include The Paradise Piano Bar and Restaurant, The Brit Pub, The Mine Shaft, Sweetwater Saloon, and Hamburger Mary's. The Coffee houses and restaurants, which typically remain open until at least midnight, are "gay-friendly" but also serve a large straight clientele. The 4th Street Corridor
4th Street Corridor, Long Beach, California
The 4th Street Corridor, also known as Retro Row, is a small business district in the city of Long Beach, CA, along 4th Street from Walnut Avenue to Junipero Avenue....
, along the constituting central part of Alamitos Beach, is where bars like The V-Room, and The Pike Bar & Fish Grill are located. The shops and restaurants along Shoreline Village and the Pike
The Pike
The Pike became a world famous Long Beach, California amusement zone in 1902 along the shoreline south of Ocean Boulevard with several independent arcades, food stands, gift shops, a variety of rides and a grand bath house...
are also within walking distance.
Events
Ocean Blvd is the home of many city events, including the Long Beach Marathon and the Long Beach Pride Parade. the Amgen Tour of California Bike Race to name a few.In popular culture
Alamitos Beach is seen in many movies and television shows including: Blow, The O.C.The O.C.
The O.C. is an American teen drama television series that originally aired on the Fox television network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 21, 2007, running a total of four seasons...
,
Lethal Weapon
Lethal Weapon
Lethal Weapon is a 1987 American buddy cop action film and the first in a series of films, all directed by Richard Donner and starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover as a mismatched pair of LAPD detectives, and Gary Busey as their primary adversary...
and Dexter
Dexter (TV series)
Dexter is an American television drama series, which debuted on Showtime on October 1, 2006. The sixth season premiered on October 2, 2011. The series centers on Dexter Morgan , a bloodstain pattern analyst for the Miami Metro Police Department who moonlights as a serial killer...
.