City Hall and Navy Base Records
Finding aid created by Historical Society of Long Beach staff using RecordEXPRESS
Historical Society of Long Beach
2023
4260 Atlantic Avenue
Long Beach, California 90807
(562) 424-2220
archives@hslb.org; programs@hslb.org (photo requests)
http://www.hslb.org/
Title: City Hall and Navy Base Records
Dates: 1927-2010
Collection Number: 2019.022, 2019.023, 2019.029, 2019.033
Creator/Collector:
City of Long Beach
Extent: Approximately 60 linear ft.
Repository:
Historical Society of Long Beach
Long Beach, California 90807
Abstract: The collection is comprised largely of collections from City of Long Beach staff including Port of Long Beach (Harbor Department)
staff when the 1970s City Hall was vacated in 2019. The City Clerk, Planning Department, Port of Long Beach, and others culled
their collections and contributed them to the HSLB before relocating to a newly constructed civic center.
Included are the original Historic American Buildings Survey and documentation for the now demolished Roosevelt Navy Base
and Shipyard complex and subsequent property reuse, aerial photography of the entire city, slide photography of the harbor
area and Long Beach Redevelopment Agency project areas, Los Angeles River Dredging, Southeast Resource Recovery Facility,
urban planning and redevelopment, infrastructure, subsidence, and more.
Language of Material: English
The collection is open for research use.
All requests for permission to publish photographs or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director
of the Historical Society of Long Beach. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Historical Society of Long Beach
as the owner of the physical items and does not include permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
[Identification of item]. City Hall and Navy Base Records. Collection Number: 2019.022, 2019.023, 2019.029, 2019.033 . Historical
Society of Long Beach
The collection arrived at the Historical Society of Long Beach in approximately five different donations in 2019, some sections
were well organized in boxes while other items were not in boxes. Once at the Historical Society of Long Beach, the materials
were sorted into six series’ and rehoused in acid-free folders and boxes. Some processing was done at the item level, others
at the folder level, and others at the box level.
Rehousing and cataloging of the collection was led by HSLB staff member Alan Scardera with help from Jen Malone, and volunteers
Joseph Vanderhorst, Tristan Willenburg, James Matthis, Samantha Jovanovic, Janine White, Amara Ly, Caitlin Fisher, and Mitchell
Tanaka. This finding aid was prepared by Alan Scardera and Julie Bartolotto in 2023. The processing of this collection and
creation of this finding aid were made possible by a generous grant from the Long Beach Navy Memorial Heritage Association.
The promotion of the collection was sponsored by the Port of Long Beach.
Biography/Administrative History
First incorporated in 1888, the City of Long Beach is the 42nd-most populated city in the United States. It is located in
Los Angeles County on San Pedro Bay. It has an area of nearly 52 square miles. Long Beach is a charter city governed by nine
council members elected by district, and a Mayor elected at large. Its population is among the most racially and ethnically
diverse in the nation. The City has its own health, police, and fire departments along with municipal water, sewage, gas,
sanitation, and animal care services. Its port is one of the busiest container ports in the country and one of the largest
shipping ports in the world.
Scope and Content of Collection
The City Hall and Navy Base Records collection contains materials from the City and Port of Long Beach from 1927-2010, with
significant emphasis on the Navy Base, Shipyard, and Hospital closure and reuse. The materials include documents, correspondence,
newspaper and journal articles, ledgers, photographs, 35mm slides, maps, and a few objects.
The City Hall & Navy Base Records Collection is arranged in six series and collated into a single index list.
Series 1: 2019.033 Letter size documents from the City of Long Beach Clerk’s Office. Includes materials related to: Alameda
Corridor and transportation, Long Beach Naval Complex closure/reuse, Naval Hospital, Boeing, Los Altos Shopping Center, Ice
Dogs professional hockey team, Omar H. Hubbard building, Roosevelt Base Historic American Building Survey materials, Los Angeles
River, Solid Waste Management, Grand Prix, Public Health, Public Works, Subsidence, municipal infrastructure, and more. 22
Boxes.
Series 2: 2019.033 Legal size documents from the City of Long Beach Clerk’s Office. Includes materials related to: Dominguez
Water Corporation, Southern California Water Company, Western Union Telegraph, Public Utilities Commission, Union Pacific
Railroad Company, Planning Division, Grand Prix, Police Pistol Range, Lawsuits, Cabrillo Savannah, North Long Beach Redevelopment,
Legislative Strategy Committee, Leased Housing Program, Ordinances, Transportation Companies, and more. 9 Boxes.
Series 3: 2019.033 Includes oversized items, photographic images related to Redevelopment, Mitigation, Environmental Management,
aerial maps, Planning Division, Spruce Goose, Harbor Operations, and more. 4 Boxes.
Series 4: 2019.029 from the City of Long Beach Development Services, Planning Bureau. Includes: Interior Floor Plan of City
Hall, zoning map, elevation plan of Anaheim and Linden, Victory Park blueprint, circulation element map, blueprints of Meeker
Baker Building. Various Containers.
Series 5: 2019.023 from the City of Long Beach Office of the City Auditor. Includes: 5 books and a report related to municipal
operations. 1 Box.
Series 6: 2019.022 From the City of Long Beach Department of Public Works. Includes: Aerial photographs of Long Beach during
the 1960s and early 1970s, downtown street view photographs. 1 Box.
35mm Slides
Aerial Photographs
Aerial Views
Air Quality
Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority
Beach Erosion
BRAC Closures
Budget
California House of Representatives
California State Senate
City of Hawaiian Gardens
City of Lakewood
City of Long Beach
City of Los Angeles
City of Signal Hill
City Planning
Construction
Demolition
Department of Urban Affairs
Development
Dominguez Water Corporation
Energy Production, Conservation, and Management
Entertainment Facilities and Groups (Ie Dogs, Grand Prix, Civic Light Opera, etc.)
Harbor
Highway Infrastructure
Highways
Housing
Independent Cities Association
Lawsuits
League of Cities
Long Beach Airport
Long Beach General Hospital
Long Beach Redevelopment Agency
Long Beach, Calif.
Los Angeles County Development Authority
Los Angeles County Flood Control District
Los Angeles River
Los Angeles, Calif.
Maps
McDonnell Douglas
National League of Cities
Naval Base
Naval Hospital Property
Naval Shipyard
Oil Subsidence
Photography
Port of Long Beach
Public and Private Transportation Networks
Public Health
Public Works
Redevelopment, Urban
Roosevelt Navy Base
Solid Waste Management
Southern California Association of Governors
Southern California Water Company
Spruce Goose
Streets
Tax Reform
United States Navy
Urban Planning
Water/River Management
Western Union