Strong Beach

Had client meetings in Long Beach, CA all last week. Long Beach is actually one of the larger cities in CA. During the 2nd half of 1900s, the city fell into disrepair, but now it has a renewed sense of vibrancy. Instead of knocking down all the older buildings, much is being done to redevelop existing properties. Case in point: one of my clients lives in downtown Long Beach in a former Masonic Temple that’s been converted into lofts. We went over there for drinks one night – cool space. When I rode around town, many of the apartment buildings appear to be refurbished (think Miami Beach).

Our hotel was on the water, with a view of the harbor. The original Queen Mary is permanently docked there. Long Beach is a hugely active port, so there were lots of cranes. To that end, the skyline almost looked like Dubai.

Hey, look! It’s the beach!


Crane central at sunset.

Other surprises: you can actually walk to some places downtown! And we had a decent dinner at neighborhood Italian joint Bono’s on 2nd Street. Was a long week, but I can’t really complain when the weather is 30+ degrees warmer than NY.