17 comments

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  Beachcombover

  1 year ago

  While we're at it, let's also mandate that Marshall's venerate Roberts nostalgia by carrying a full line of Boy Scout wear, Bass Weejuns, 8-Track Players and bell-bottoms, and using the streamline modern pneumatic tube system to process transactions instead of those tacky, nouveau scanners. Bixby Knolls has waited too long for some shopping and for something, anything, to enliven and replace that incredible hulk on Atlantic. Besides, we better act fast before the Commission reverts full time to its favorite pastime, ginning up new redevelopment schemes for downtown.
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  Theo Douglas

  1 year ago

  Mr. Combover, I am really torn on this one, especially as someone once forced to wear a pair of Bass Weejuns--without pennies! (Also, I'm a big fan of the pneumatic tube system, and whenever I visit Home Depot it reminds me of the old Press-Telegram building, which also had one.)
  Generally, I love almost all old buildings--but I do also see the point-of-view of those who'd like to see a real, live, functioning business there.
  It's a tough question: do we make our cities into museums or do we make them work for the people who live here, drive safe, and pay their taxes on time?
  (Also: thanks for using the word "ginning." That's a good one.)
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  khigginbotham

  1 year ago

  Ultimately, what we are talking about is the loss of aesthetics and character for the city. If the council is set on building a new structure, why in God's name is it so hard to just mandate that it reflect the historical character (or just any small sliver of character) of Long Beach as opposed to the strip mall aesthetics of, say, Orange County. It would not seem too difficult to ask an architect to design a new building in the mid-century modern style, or in the streamline moderne style, or any other style that the city wants. But, please, take the opportunity and think outside the (big) box. As a community, shouldn't Long Beach stand out instead of trying (or is it buying) to look like everyone else. I would rather have a hundred simple deco or mid-century facades than a similar amount of pastel stucco slab-fronts or demented re-interpretive schlock like the Pike.
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  Theo Douglas

  1 year ago

  Keith,
  On a personal level, I agree with you: more midcentury modern--and more aesthetics and character--please!
  On the other hand, if my last name were Gaska, I probably wouldn't want an armchair architect telling me what to do on my land.
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  Dennis

  1 year ago

  As a resident of the neighborhood south of the Gaska property I could care less about the mid-century architecture style of the Roberts, it is a blight and an empty blight and the Gaska folks have seem hell bent on preventing any updating of the center for seemingly decades. Roberts is an ugly box surrounded by other ugly boxes--that is aesthetic? Get rid of it, get a deal inked and start developing the center so that it can become useful for the residents and produce tax revenue for the city. Gaska is a horrible neighbor and we need to take advantage of them finally opening the door to redeveloping any part of the site. If they back down let's pull out the eminent domain ordinances.
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  drnoe

  1 year ago

  I still think that a Laemmle Theater would be the perfect solution for the Roberts location, and it would certainly attract upscale patrons and new upscale businesses.
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  Dave in Alamitos Beach

  1 year ago

  Where and what is the "Expo Furniture Building?"
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  Dennis

  1 year ago

  Dave: It is one of the big ugly "mid-century" boxes on Atlantic south of San Antonio on the west side; if it were to be taken down and replaced I don't think anyone would mind. Unless of course it is replaced with anything that looks like anything you can find in Irvine or Mission Viejo then there might be opposition, evidently. I agree with the Doctor and the theater concept, I just do not know if the area would support "upscale" despite the affluence in the area with Los Cerritos and other neighborhoods south. Currently upscale and Uptown do not seem to mesh; but hey we got our Trader Joes!
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  RKJ

  1 year ago

  I will say, it's nice to see we are raising hell, not allowing "just anything" in our fine neighborhood. Some architecture is absolutely worth keeping and we should fight to keep the dozers away. Neither the Gaska center nor Expo Furniture falls into this category. I would classify them as Potash Provincial (save the entry way tile to Roberts). However the Marshals proposal just feels like we are settling, both architecturally and business wise. The renderings are typical of Marshalls everywhere. And if it does open, it will become the Nordstrom’s of NLBch... ROCA Wear, FUBU, BabyPhat, Nike... and other special high end lines of apparel. It will not add to what many of us would like to see in da Knolls, nor will it bring other preferred retailers/restaurants. But hey, if that’s all we deserve, (according to our city leaders) well. “Uptown” was a destination place for all of LB. People who not only lived here enjoyed what it had to offer, but LB’rs from all over came (ie…destination). Until we give the rest of LB a reason to come “uptown” why should they. I think we all agree that a Marshalls is not the attraction that will cause Nancy and Bob and their shore friends to travel our way. I don’t even think they know how to get here. If they did decide to venture up, we would however have to inform them not to take the Atlantic exit off the 405N… it’s been closed for over 6 months now, due to some dirt that washed down on it last year. Maybe BK should stop spending our money in the shores and downtown, since they won't spend their or they city's money up here.
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  Dennis

  1 year ago

  Amen RKJ, amen.
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  MOVE ON .org

  1 year ago

  Just put something in there ASAP cuz I'm sick and tired of getting KFC while I shop for hip hop fashion while on by break from the comedy diving school just before I get an infection from getting my nails done eating orange chicken and getting held-up for 10th time at Wells Fargo. But we have our farmers market!!!
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  Monique Johnson

  1 year ago

  My name is Monique Johnson and I am the owner of Sweet Treasures and Sweet Treasures Home on Atlantic Ave. I am not in support of Marshalls or tearing down the roberts building. It is unfortunate that there is no clear vision of how the Bixby Knolls area should look and feel. We are being directed by politicians and not by the people who live here. I moved to this area 10 years ago and opened my business because of the character of the homes and Long Beach in general. Bixby was something special once where people from all over came and I think that it will be again but not if we don't demand it. We can be the shore, Pasadena, and Sant Monica and can be upscale but we have to look it and our leaders have to want it. I put a lot of time and effort into my businesses and I wish other shops would do the same. My landlord pushed me out of the building after I put a lot of effort designing and remodeling it to bring something to the area, yet there are so many other business that could care less. It is time to demand that the city council representative take our wants into consideration and do her job.
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  Sarcastic Douch

  1 year ago

  I have an Idea why don't we put in a bad theater, Wal-Mart then a Hooters, then a 7-11 and why not throw a sex shop in mix along with an over priced sports bar, put cameras on every corner. Get a bunch of blowhards who do nothing to meet once a month and call it the Up-town Business Association.
  
  We can call it Pine Ave II
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  Andreas

  1 year ago

  FYI to khigginbotham after reading through this. On one hand you ask the city to build new developments that reflect the historical of Long Beach but then bag on what you call reinterpretive schlock. I would keep in mind that those two things are pretty much the same thing. Reflecting the historical style of the city usually means that you get get pasted on faux architecture, such as city place in downtown or the Aqua condos, perhaps our worst example of architecture for the city.
  
  good contemporary architecture should not mean that we'll look like Irvine. adaptive reuse projects celebrate our past so i love those where there is merit, but new designs take us forward and help to celebrate a future. just make sure the architect on the project isn't one of the usual suspects being hired from irvine that thinks rough stucco is really neato.
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  Joseph Blough

  1 year ago

  Why not pay Trader Joes to go away and open a new Vault350 in the Roberts store for starters. We shouldn't concern ourselves with the utter waste of raw materials as we tear down perfectly good buildings to create new "sets" on which to play out the absurdist melodramas that have become our civic lives.
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  Dennis

  1 year ago

  I went to the Vons about 6:30 this morning to get milk, is there a trashier looking parking lot in Long Beach than this one? It's horrible, it pretty much looks like the gutters on Atlantic and LB Blvd north of Del Amo with the trash. Joseph, your "perfectly good buildings" like Roberts are archaic and would cost as much to retrofit to be of use as it would cost to build a new building. And why do we always have to "capture the history and charm?" Why not something new and dramatic, architecture that looks appealing, is unique and is functional? To me recreating any attempt at "historic" usually ends up cheesy and is a cop out for the architect. Show me something new, different and functional. Oh, and Vons and other tenants in that center, clean your damn parking lot every day.
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  Joseph B.

  1 year ago

  The fact that whatever is built to replace the building will be "archaic" in thirty or forty years and have to be demolished is what puzzles me. How is it that some buildings service populations for centuries while matters of taste and style dictate the squandering of resources elsewhere in a couple of decades? Why build a downtown mall and tear it down just a few years later? Maybe developers should be forced to post bonds insuring they don't build crap or maybe the citizenry should be forced to make do with what their elected, corrupt leaders institute and allow. There are millions around the world who have no basic housing at all while here we destroy what doesn't draw traffic away from what is destined to become the next blighted area. Whatever.
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