4th Street Corridor

Last updated
4th Street Corridor
Nicknames: 
Retro Row, Funky Fourth Street
Location map Long Beach.png
Red pog.svg
4th Street Corridor
Location within Long Beach
Coordinates: 33°46′18″N118°10′06″W / 33.7717°N 118.1682°W / 33.7717; -118.1682 Coordinates: 33°46′18″N118°10′06″W / 33.7717°N 118.1682°W / 33.7717; -118.1682
CountryFlag of the United States.svg United States
StateFlag of California.svg California
CountyFlag of Los Angeles County, California.svg Los Angeles
CityFlag of Long Beach, California.png Long Beach

The 4th Street Corridor, also known as Retro Row, is a small business district in the city of Long Beach, California, along 4th Street from Walnut Avenue to Temple Avenue.

Contents

Located east of Downtown Long Beach, this section of streets is the place for Long Beach visitors who enjoy vintage and kitschy shopping. Furniture and clothing from bygone eras is available in good condition at antique and used clothing stores. [1] There are also a number of bars and restaurants.

Location

The 4th Street Corridor, roughly centered on Cherry Avenue, passes between several neighborhoods: Alamitos Beach is to the south, North Alamitos Beach to the north-west, with Rose Park South on the north-east. Carroll Park, and Bluff Heights extend to the south-east end of the business district.

Attractions and characteristics

4th Street is a unique showcase of Long Beach culture, with a collection of independent local businesses. Portfolio Coffeehouse has served as the street's de facto anchor since its establishment in September 1990, [2] when it became the first coffeehouse in Long Beach to present poetry readings. 4th Street also features a number vintage clothing boutiques, antique furniture stores, restaurants, and coffee shops, including the Assistance League Thrift & Vintage Shop. [3]

4th Street is also home to The Art Theater, [4] the oldest operating single screen house in Long Beach. The Art Theatre originally opened in 1924 as The Carter Theatre with 636 seats, an orchestra pit and pipe organ. It was constructed in a modest vernacular style with "orientalizing" touches reminiscent of Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. Two storefronts flanked the theater. In 1934, the theater was remodeled in Art Deco Streamline Moderne style by Schilling & Schilling [5] after the 1933 Long Beach earthquake and renamed The Lee Theatre. Additions included the ticket booth, terrazzo floor and zigzag elements like the stepped piers, vertical fluting, and the central-stepped vertical tower that unfolds as a fern. This tower has also been likened to the bow of a ship cutting through the water. In 1947, the theatre was remodeled again with a larger marquee and renamed The Art Theatre. In 2008, the theater was updated using the original blueprints, but with new interior, new sound and vision upgrades and restored exterior including a replica of the 1934 marquee and art deco trademark symmetrical storefronts. Named Retro-Row by Christopher Reece in his Antique & Retro Shoppers Map, a guide to So. Calif. antiques shopping.

See also

Related Research Articles

Long Beach, California City in California, United States

Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California.

S. H. Kress & Co. was the trading name of a chain of "five and dime" retail department stores in the United States of America, established by Samuel Henry Kress, which operated from 1896 to 1981. In the first half of the 20th century, there were Kress stores with ornamented architecture on "Main Street" in hundreds of cities and towns.

Historic Core, Los Angeles Neighborhood of Los Angeles in Los Angeles County, California, United States

The Historic Core is a district within Downtown Los Angeles includes the world's largest concentration of movie palaces, former large department stores, and office towers, all built chiefly between 1907 and 1931. Within it lie the Broadway Theater District and the Spring Street historic financial district, and in its west it overlaps with the Jewelry District and in its east with Skid Row.

Pellissier Building and Wiltern Theatre Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument

The Pellissier Building and adjoining Wiltern Theatre is a 12-story, 155-foot (47 m) Art Deco landmark at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue in Los Angeles, California. The entire complex is commonly referred to as the Wiltern Center. Clad in a blue-green glazed architectural terra-cotta tile and situated diagonal to the street corner, the complex is considered one of the finest examples of Art Deco architecture in the United States. The Wiltern building is owned privately, and the Wiltern Theatre is operated by Live Nation's Los Angeles division.

Broadway (Los Angeles) Department stores list in Los Angeles

Broadway, until 1890 Fort Street, is a thoroughfare in Los Angeles County, California, USA. The portion of Broadway from 3rd to 9th streets in the Historic Core of Downtown Los Angeles, was the city's main commercial street from the 1910s until World War II, and is the location of the Broadway Theater and Commercial District, the first and largest historic theater district listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). With twelve movie palaces located along a six-block stretch of Broadway, it is the only large concentration of movie palaces left in the United States.

Downtown Long Beach Neighborhood of Long Beach in Los Angeles, California, United States

Downtown Long Beach is the heart of Long Beach, California, United States, and is the location for most of the city's major tourist attractions and municipal services. It is also the location for numerous businesses. There are many hotels and restaurants in the area that serve locals, tourists, and convention visitors.

Vintage clothing

Vintage clothing is a generic term for garments originating from a previous era. The phrase is also used in connection with a retail outlet, e.g. in vintage clothing store. Today vintage dressing encompasses choosing accessories, mixing vintage garments with new, as well as creating an ensemble of various styles and periods. Vintage clothes typically sell at low prices for high end named brands. It has been part of the world since World War I as an idea of reusing clothing because of the textile shortage.

Belmont Shore, Long Beach, California Neighborhood of Long Beach in Los Angeles, California, United States of America

Belmont Shore is a neighborhood in Long Beach, California. It is home to many shops, restaurants, salons and business offices.

Lark Street

Lark Street is a historic street in Albany, New York, USA. It is part of the Arbor Hill, Sheridan Hollow, Center Square, Park South and Hudson/Park neighborhoods, and is located one block east of Washington Park. Lark Street is the site of many independently owned shops, coffee houses, restaurants, art galleries, antique shops, marketing agencies, bars and tattoo shops. Although the part between Madison Avenue and Washington Avenue was rebuilt in 2002-2003 to place new roadways, trees and sidewalks in front of the new shops in the active portion of Lark Street, some local residents have protested against the neglect of the northern end of the street, which runs down into the less-affluent Arbor Hill neighborhood. Lark Street and Jay Street was used as a location during the filming of Ironweed. The Washington Avenue Armory is located at the corner of Lark Street and Washington Avenue.

Alamitos Beach, Long Beach, California Neighborhood of Long Beach in Los Angeles, California, United States

Alamitos Beach is a coastal neighborhood in the southern portion of the city of Long Beach, California. Although it was in unincorporated Los Angeles County when annexed by the City of Long Beach, it had been planned as its own community with a townsite.

Capitol Theater Building United States historic place

The Capitol Theater Building is a historic mixed commercial, residential, and theatrical building at 202–208 Massachusetts Avenue in Arlington, Massachusetts. It was built in 1925 by the Locatelli family, and is one of the area's finest early motion picture theaters. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

Pacific Boulevard

Pacific Boulevard is a street and principal commercial thoroughfare in the city of Huntington Park, California and the Los Angeles County neighborhood of Walnut Park. It runs from Vernon and Santa Fe Avenues in Vernon to Cudahy Street in Walnut Park before changing to Long Beach Boulevard. The Pacific Boulevard commercial district is the third highest grossing commercial district in the County of Los Angeles. The Christmas Lane Parade, seen in millions of homes via television throughout the United States and parts of Europe, has run down Pacific Boulevard since 1946. As many as 300,000 people attend the annual Carnaval Primavera held on Pacific Boulevard each year. Pacific Boulevard is well known to Latino residents of the L.A. area, and a magnet for commerce, culture, and night life.

Walker & Eisen

Walker & Eisen (1919−1941) was an architectural partnership of architects Albert R. Walker and Percy A. Eisen in Los Angeles, California.

The Crump Theatre United States historic place

The Crump Theatre is located in downtown Columbus, Indiana, at 425 Third Street, is part of the Columbus Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The theatre is owned by the Columbus Capital Foundation and periodically used as an event space for a variety of acts, including musicians, comedians, and paranormal investigators.

The Grand (Ellsworth, Maine) United States historic place

The Grand is a Non-Profit performing arts center on Main Street in Ellsworth, Maine). Built in 1938, it is a significant local example of Art Deco architecture, with a prominent marquee and a stepped steel-and-glass tower. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 1, 2012.

Mahaiwe Block United States historic place

The Mahaiwe Block is a commercial and theater building in the heart of downtown Great Barrington, Massachusetts. In addition to smaller businesses, it houses the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, the town's only major performance space. It has been in virtually continuous operation since its construction in 1905. The building is located at 6-14 Castle St. and 314-322 Main St, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Criterion Theatre (Bar Harbor, Maine) United States historic place

The Criterion Theatre is a historic performance space at 35 Cottage Street in downtown Bar Harbor, Maine. Built in 1932 when Bar Harbor's summer scene was at its height, it is one of only two Art Deco theaters in the state of Maine. The theatre has in recent years struggled for financial solvency but was purchased in 2014 by a nonprofit organization. After a major renovation, the theater reopened for business in May 2015. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

Malco Theatre United States historic place

The Malco Theatre, located at 817 Central Avenue in Hot Springs, Arkansas, was built on a site that has housed vaudeville shows, silent movies, modern films, and specialty productions. The Malco, which was frequented by Bill Clinton as a boy, has played host to the prestigious Hot Springs Documentary Film Institute (HSDFI). The Art Deco building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 21, 2010. The Malco is currently home to the Maxwell Blade Theatre of Magic & Comedy.

Vintage design refers to an item of another era that holds important and recognizable value. This style can be applied to interior design, decor and other areas. Vintage design is popular and vintage items have risen in price. Outlets of vintage design have shifted from thrift store to shabby chic stores.

Famous Department Store Department store in Los Angeles, California

The Famous Department Store was a department store in Los Angeles, California.

References

  1. Moon, Freda (March 15, 2012). "36 Hours: Long Beach, Calif". The New York Times .{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. http://www.everythinglongbeach.com/spotlight-on-business-portfolio-coffeehouse/ [ dead link ]
  3. "Thrift & Vintage Shop". Assistance League of Long Beach.
  4. http://www.arttheatrelongbeach.com
  5. "PCAD - Schilling and Schilling, Architect and Engineer". pcad.lib.washington.edu.