Hello, The last time we drove down Pine avenue in Long Beach, it was different than when we used to drive down the same street starting around 7th street and head toward the ocean. During the Christmas holidays, Pine Avenue used to be the only place that had decorations on each pole and overhead decorations that lit up the whole street. It was the centerpiece of all Long Beach. It was a wonderment moment when our dad drove down the lit up downtown avenue with all of the lights overhead and on poles. Many blocks of decorations and lights certainly gave us a bright winter season that has lasted to this day. My brother and I could not get over the long road of lights, as little as we were. Even into the teenage years, we all had the same feeling as we cruised down the avenue. This huge building was right in the middle of the downtown structures. But, over time, the surrounding structures have been torn down from lack of business and dilapidation to create a “New” downtown historic area. Pine Avenue still goes directly toward the ocean and is still considered the “Main” downtown city center for shopping and dining. The tall building on the far right is the Farmers and Merchant Building. The rest of the block back then has been torn down and rebuilt as the years have passed. The tall building still stands, today. Jnaki The Kress Building and Woolworth’s lunch counter (1950s), just down the avenue, were also historic buildings. The Kress Building is now a condominium complex
It looks like Californians were out in force doing their Christmas shopping on Pine Ave in Long Beach when this photo was taken.
A fashionable couple posing with a 1939 Mercury Eight Club Coupe near a suspension bridge on a bleak winter's day, circa 1939.
The Jalopy Journal
