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After years of languishing in storage, city officials are planning to return the famous VIP Records sign to Central Long Beach.
Officials confirmed last week — barring public disapproval — their desire to raise the sign at the southwest corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, across the street from the original storefront location.
It will sit on a quarter-acre plot of public land, which officials said can be used to hold events, artwork or something more permanent — it all depends on what the community wants, they said.
The location was laid out during a community forum Thursday at Long Beach City College, during which officials detailed building plans ahead of the Summer Olympics in 2028.
“That is the property we are focusing on,” said Public Works Director Eric Lopez, who added: “But then what goes around that property, what else happens there? That is the question that we don’t have answers to. That is a question that we want to begin the conversation (with.)”
The city says it will soon release a survey to get community input.
The sign, which was taken down in 2018 when VIP Record’s original location became a 7-Eleven, will also be refurbished. Removal of the sign revealed serious signs of wear. As a designated historic landmark, officials said it will undergo restoration that meets federal standards, which may include “repainting, electrical repair, repair of acrylic, replacement of globes, repairs for rust and other damage, and other similar work.”
Officials said they want a contractor who can handle both restoration and installation of the sign.
Lopez did not provide an exact timeline but said at the meeting the city will need at least a “few months” for planning before bringing it to the Long Beach City Council for approval.
It’s been seven years since the 20-foot sign was removed from the roof of its namesake store.
In its heyday, the sign accompanied the VIP Records store in Long Beach — the flagship of 14 locations across Los Angeles County — that helped birth the careers of locals like Snoop Dogg, Warren G and the late Nate Dogg, who recorded their first four-song demo at VIP. After he signed his first label deal, Snoop Dogg recorded part of his “Who Am I? (What’s My Name)” video on the store’s roof.
But declining sales and branch closures led to the location’s move — from the 3,300-square-foot store on Pacific Coast Highway to a space half the size nearby.
VIP Records owner Kelvin Anderson shared his excitement about the sign’s restoration at the meeting Thursday.
“Definitely can’t wait to get it back out and in public view,” Anderson said of the sign, adding he’d still like to see the sign eventually land in a museum. “But this is the first start to get it back out in public view, definitely with the Olympics coming, and I’m really excited about it.”
Anderson added he’s constantly amazed by the canonized legacy behind the store. “I would say fifty percent of the people that come down here on a daily basis are tourists,” he said. “I see people come in with tattoos of the sign on their neck, on their shoulders. … I don’t (even) have one, but that’s amazing that it still has the recognition that it gets.”
It’s also a small but meaningful part of the years-long effort to restore the Central Long Beach district, long misprized as a pass-through community suffering from disinvestment.
“We know that the VIP Records sign is more than just a landmark. … It’s a symbol of Long Beach’s contribution to Black music history and a testament to the legacy of Mr. Kelvin Anderson,” said 6th District Councilmember Suely Saro.