After a successful event that addressed what can be done about the civic center’s brutalist architecture, the next discussion in The Future of Long Beach series will ask one question: “What is going on at Pine & Ocean?” Presented by the Long Beach/South Bay chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and Long Beach Heritage (LBH), the series was created to have experts address current and pressing issues that pertain to architecture and urban design within Long Beach.
The Pine/Ocean intersection is viewed by discussion series organizer Laura Verbryck as “Main and Main. There is a vacant lot on the south east corner and a neglected building on the south west corner,” she explained to the Long Beach Post. “Any future development is going to have the potential to really change the face of that intersection.”
Given the high foot traffic with the nearby Convention Center in combination with the vehicular traffic, the corner is essential from every civic angle: economically, architecturally, design-wise and developmentally. While half of the intersection—its northern side—is governed by the Downtown Plan, the south side was excluded because it is technically, according to the Planning Department of the City, in a different development area.
“While that may make sense to Planning officials,” says Verbryck, “it doesn’t make sense to the average citizen. The intersection should not be split up; it is one whole entity. In fact, the entire south side of Pine Avenue and the developments along the water should be part of the Downtown Plan—certainly everyone thinks of that area as part of Downtown.”
The Pine/Ocean discussion will take place on Wednesday, October 24, at 7PM at the Ocean Theatre at the Aquarium of the Pacific, located at 100 Aquarium Way. Tickets, set at $5 each, are currently available by visiting www.aialb-sb.org/events.