{"id":33296,"date":"2023-03-08T07:00:11","date_gmt":"2023-03-08T15:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/hi-lo\/?p=30000029976"},"modified":"2023-03-07T17:25:54","modified_gmt":"2023-03-08T01:25:54","slug":"retro-row-how-a-pink-neon-beacon-spawned-a-long-beach-subculture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/retro-row-how-a-pink-neon-beacon-spawned-a-long-beach-subculture","title":{"rendered":"Retro Row: How a pink neon beacon spawned a Long Beach subculture"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kathleen Schaaf remembers scouring antique shops scattered throughout the length of Fourth Street in search of vintage clothing at 16 years old. \u201cTrue\u201d vintage, she says\u2014\u201d\u201930s, \u201840s, \u201850s.\u201d It was 1974.<\/p>\n

\u201cCan you imagine what they were stocking in the \u201870s? It was crazy, and it was all 10 cents,\u201d Schaaf told the Long Beach Post.<\/p>\n

In 1986, Schaaf would light the neon sign above her very own vintage shop, Meow. Gradually, over 37 years, a prismatic and like-fashioned smattering of shops opened up around Schaaf\u2019s pink neon beacon at 2210 E. Fourth St.<\/p>\n

Schaaf\u2019s shop became a Long Beach destination years before the block was crowned \u201cRetro Row\u201d\u2014given that there was no \u201crow\u201d back then. When Schaaf first arrived on the street, there was an antique mall and there was the movie theater, which was a revival house, but today\u2019s Row, spanning from Cherry to Junipero, had yet to materialize.<\/p>\n

\"\"
A street view of Fourth Street in 1992. Courtesy of Kathleen Schaaf.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe people who lived around here\u2014they went to the bank, they went to the insurance agency, they went to the dry cleaners. But other than that, it was pretty bleak,\u201d said Schaaf, who is also a board member of the Fourth Street Business Improvement Association<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Schaaf pivoted from waitressing while studying costume design at Cal State Long Beach and University of California, Los Angeles to open her shop.<\/p>\n

Quickly, Schaaf started to garner attention for her legendary feats in acquiring \u201cdead stock\u201d from various eras\u2014essentially never worn garments that have remained on a shelf somewhere like a warehouse for any number of years.<\/p>\n

So much so that by the late \u201880s, Schaaf was working with the sitcom \u201cRoseanne,\u201d supplying the show\u2019s designers with vintage and dead stock. This, she said, led to work with \u201cSeinfeld\u201d in the \u201890s.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Kathleen Schaaf walks across her vintage store Meow on Retro Row in Long Beach Monday, March 6, 2023. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On March 1, Schaaf said she has been busier than ever lately with a post-pandemic content boom. These days, Netflix, HBO and other production companies are always on the horn. The Post even had to play a little phone tag.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a hectic morning,\u201d she told the Post that day. \u201cWhen Hollywood calls, I have to drop everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schaaf has worked on a few productions you may recognize: \u201cMad Men,\u201d \u201cStranger Things,\u201d \u201cWelcome to Chippendales,\u201d \u201cLicorice Pizza\u201d\u2014the list goes on. In fact, it\u2019s so long, Schaaf can\u2019t pull them all from the top of her head.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have my cheat sheet somewhere,\u201d she says, prompting her employee Valerie Ramerez. \u201cValerie, what have we worked on lately? Oh yeah, \u2018That ’90s Show\u2019, which is really funny because we worked on the original \u2018That ’70s Show\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, Schaaf couldn\u2019t reveal which film she was working on when we spoke to her in early March.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause I know actresses’ sizes. I know plot twists, you know, that kind of stuff,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Today, there are around nine vintage shops on the street, with a handful of other shops that also offer some retro and vintage garb. Schaaf said it\u2019s not out of the ordinary for her to run to one of those neighboring shops when Hollywood calls and she doesn\u2019t have what the designer needs.<\/p>\n

\"\"
A couple makes their way along Retro Row in Long Beach Wednesday, March 1, 2023. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt took 20 years to build up the street with like-minded people. And now I think we\u2019re kind of like a modern main street.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meow stood out like a sore thumb in its inaugural years. Then, in 1990, Kerstin Kansteiner opened Portfolio Coffeehouse. The space was beloved by locals for more than three decades and, in conjunction with Meow, it was responsible for attracting the subculture that still characterizes Retro Row.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a nice back-and-forth traffic,\u201d Kansteiner said.<\/p>\n

In the \u201890s, cafe culture was different. For starters, there were no laptops.<\/p>\n

Kansteiner didn\u2019t offer early morning hours at Portfolio until much later in the cafe\u2019s 32-year run. In the afternoon, people hung around. They played board games, they participated in chess competitions, they read books and they made friendships. After dark, the space would turn into an indie venue.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Vintage store, Meow, in 1986 on Retro Row in Long Beach. Courtesy of Kathleen Schaaf.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe had a live band almost every other night,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

In those days, Kansteiner and Schaaf remember most of the surrounding businesses being boarded. Many artists and even college professors lived in those buildings.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, the unhoused \u2026 they can\u2019t afford a place,\u201d Schaaf said. \u201cBut back then, there was lots of interesting street life. Eccentric people could afford to have an apartment \u2026 it was a little dicey, but I always felt safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Years before the neighborhood had a business improvement district, the two business owners would meet every Saturday morning with a trash barrel and brooms to clean up the block.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe would just clean up. You know, kind of sweep other storefronts \u2026 to give folks the impression that it was cleaner and safer,\u201d Kansteiner said.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Valerie Ramerez, employee, is seen in a mirror as she works the counter at the vintage store Meow on Retro Row in Long Beach Monday, March 6, 2023. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Shortly after, a boutique called Siren would open and run for 18 years. Now, Songbird, a novelty gift and artist shop, operates in its place. But for several years it was just Meow, Portfolio and Siren.<\/p>\n

Last year, Portfolio, a pillar of the neighborhood\u2019s defining years, closed permanently<\/a> after a lengthy dispute with her landlord and four-year legal battle. The iconic corner location remains empty, but Kansteiner has moved on, just up the street within her new venture, Alder & Sage.<\/p>\n

Kansteiner said it\u2019s sad to drive past her old cafe, which remains empty, but she\u2019s grateful to be back working in Retro Row.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels like home,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The Pike Restaurant and Bar moved into the old Chippers Corner in 2002. Courtesy of Chris Reece.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 2002, Chris Reece, former drummer of Social Distortion, bought the old Googie-style Chippers Corner where many residents remember sipping 75 cent beers. And long before Chippers, it was Topsy Bobs, which opened in the \u201850s.<\/p>\n

When the nautical Pike Restaurant and Bar opened, it was the first Retro Row style eatery. Now, the restaurant to retro shop ratio is much closer than it used to be. Lola\u2019s, The Social List, Vine, Art du Vin, Wide Eyes Open Palms have all been Retro Row staples for years now. And twice as many bakeries and bars have opened up nearby, pushing Retro Row\u2019s borders farther.<\/p>\n

Before the Pike opened, Reece started publishing a quarterly shoppers map detailing the locations of all the Long Beach antique, vintage and thrift stores. When a cluster of these shops gradually appeared around Schaaf\u2019s shop, he marked the area \u201cRetro Row\u201d on his map.<\/p>\n

Once the Press-Telegram started printing that name, Reece said, it just stuck.<\/p>\n

\"\"
A Dry Cleaners on Fourth Street in 1985. Courtesy of Kathleen Schaaf.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Kathleen Schaaf opened Meow Vintage in 1986, she had no idea one of Long Beach’s most beloved neighborhoods would raise up around it. Here’s the story of Retro Row.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":302,"featured_media":72294,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[432],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[32065],"class_list":["post-33296","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hi-lo","tag-retro-row","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33296","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/302"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33296"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33296\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33296"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33296"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33296"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=33296"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=33296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}