Official Lighting and Unveiling of Historic Pine Avenue Sign Happening March 24

If you’ve traveled down Pine Avenue in recent weeks you’ve seen it already: the 49-foot sign between 4th and 5th Streets welcoming everyone to Historic Pine Avenue. The unveiling and official lighting of the new sign will take place  Friday, March 24, at 7:00 pm.

The ceremony will take place in front of Kress Market and will offer food and drinks, not to mention an opportunity to learn about all of the retail development happening on Pine Avenue.

“The Pine Avenue sign is a wonderful addition to our Downtown and something I have been looking forward to seeing for a long time,” said Mayor Robert Garcia in a statement. “The sign is a great way to pay tribute to Long Beach, and in particular Pine Avenue’s history.”

The Pine Avenue sign reflects the contemporary themed architecture predominately featured in the area, while also incorporating elements of the area’s past. The sign features four historic images depicting Pine Avenue milestones over the years, including a horse and cart (early 1900s); the Red Car Tram (1930s); and the Kress Building and Woolworth’s lunch counter (1950s).

“Pine Avenue is the heartbeat of Downtown Long Beach in many ways,” said Councilwoman Lena Gonzalez. “The Historic Pine Avenue sign will shine just as bright as our future.”

The design and construction of the new sign was a part of the recent Pine Avenue street improvement project between Seaside Way and Anaheim Street, which involved replacing damaged streets and sidewalks, installing diagonal crosswalks and adding trees, lighting, benches and additional signage.

The sign was funded with one-time infrastructure funds from the Office of Councilwoman Gonzalez.