Hello, Every year, this photo of Pine Avenue in downtown Long Beach always pops up. It is/was the first set of full street light decorating being done by the association of businesses in Long Beach. The decorations have run for several blocks from around 6-7th street down to Ocean Boulevard, just before Pine Avenue extension drops down to the lower beach area and runs to Shoreline drive. In the timeline photo, there was no Shoreline Avenue. There was still the famous Rainbow Pier and the Pike. Much has changed in downtown Long Beach. Some of the old buildings have been converted to modern condominiums on the inside, but still retain their 40s look on the outside. But, for us locals that grew up in Long Beach and have come to the downtown area to shop and see the sights, Pine Avenue is the most cut off disappearing street all the way inland to the ocean area. For some reason, if one said, " I live on Pine Avenue in North Long Beach." Good luck in following it North from downtown to find the location. One would get stuck about a half mile before having to zig zag across several other streets to pick up Pine avenue farther North. Now, you would be in an residential area laden with oil derricks and still get stuck again at a dead end street. Jnaki Ever since our dad took us down the main downtown street for its holiday decorations, it has always been a drawing point past high school cruising days. But, with the access to our hot rods and sedans, teens come up with ideas that are a little cuckoo for starters, but eventually allow us to know our city and its oddball streets. Pine Avenue in downtown is such a big time deal of an area and street. But, we also knew of it in the Bixby Knolls area where some of our friends lived in old homes along the oddball street. The street starts at the water and ocean boulevard at the old Pike area. Then as one heads North through the downtown area, it is fairly straight, until the street stops and disappears to go around a park, a shopping center, and when it comes to a huge central park, disappears for about 10 blocks to go around the perimeter. Now we are in a oil field pumping area interspersed between homes. Just before the 405 freeway, it disappears, again. But, starts on the other side of the freeway. Now in Bixby Knolls, it disappears again for another 10 blocks to go around a private golf course. Then it miraculously re-appears in North Long Beach, where is comes to a dead end “T” intersection to once again disappear forever going North. We did a mild rally/cross course up Pine Avenue to zig zag back and forth on surface streets from the ocean to its final “T” intersection, including other streets to make a one time long (almost 9 miles) road trip to actually see where the oddball street goes. Note: Every teenage car had a paper street map… remember those? These days the lady in the navigation system of modern cars will guide anyone through the same course with its zig zags + empty detours on the screen and verbal commands, as accurately as possible. Take Pine Avenue North for two miles. Turn left at Willow Street. Turn right at Pacific Ave. Turn right on 27th Street to Pine Avenue. Turn left on Pine Avenue North. Turn left on 28th Street… and you have gone three blocks, but still miles away as far as a navigation system direction would say on the speakers. It would be crazy to listen to the voice telling you to go back and forth staying and finding ‘Pine Avenue.” We prefer the street maps if they were still around. Luckily, we learned the roads around our cruising grounds as almost a daily/weekly exercise. YRMV
The Jalopy Journal
