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THE WESTSIDE INDUSTRIAL AREA 2 Long Beach Business Journal
August 13-26, 2013
A Westside Story: Community Involvement Shapes The Westside Industrial Area And Business Community ■ By SAMANTHA MEHLINGER Staff Writer WEST PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY
ong Beach is a city known for its neighborhoods, each with a signature personality, from Cambodia Town to Retro Row. In this quilt-like network of neighborhoods, the Westside has been regarded by some as a stepchild overlooked by the City of Long Beach. Even so, the rich history of the Westside is rooted in the origins of the International City, and its industries have supported the local economy for more than 100 years. When the Port of Long Beach was founded in 1911, it didn’t take long for businesses to crop up alongside it. The oil rush of greater Long Beach, immortalized in Upton Sinclair’s novel, Oil!, also contributed to the influx of industry to the area. Some of the original businesses are still there today – Phillips Steel, for example, was
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founded in 1915 and is still fully operational under the Phillips family. In the throes of World War II, the United States Navy purchased 100 acres of land on Terminal Island and
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founded a naval shipyard for the upkeep and repair of its war-worn fleet. Pat Cullen, owner of Westside business Dion & Sons, Inc., grew up on Caspian Avenue, just north of Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) and recalled the presence of the Navy as having defined the area for decades. Nancy McCrabb’s father founded Cowelco Steel Contractors in the Westside in 1947, shortly after World War II’s end. Apart from the metal work, machinery and oil-related businesses generated by the port, much of what she remembers from that time are barefooted children running through the dirt roads to and from their homes and “shanties” nestled among naval housing. By the 1970s, the Westside remained largely unchanged in appearance. Although the area running from Anaheim Street to PCH was full to the brim with industry, it was lacking the basic infrastructure needs that were at that point complete in most other parts of the city – features like street lights, pavement, sidewalks and gutters. The dusty roads McCrabb and Cullen remembered from childhood were still dusty. Septic tanks could be found throughout the alleyways, Cullen recalled, because of a lack of sewer service. Tony Rivera, chair of the Westside Project Area Council (formerly the Project Area Committee),
MAGNOLIA INDUSTRIAL GROUP
expressed a sentiment felt among the Westside business community at that time: “It was like a little piece of land forgotten to everybody.” In July 1975, the Westside Redevelopment Area and its community advisory committee, the Westside Project Area Committee (PAC) were formed to utilize state Redevelopment Agency funds to improve the area. The
Special Thanks A special thank you to the following companies whose advertisements made this section possible:
A.D.S. Paper The Berns Company City Foods Wholesale Coldwell Banker Commercial Blair Westmac/Jack Warshauer Crosby & Overton, Inc Hi-Standard Manufacturing INCO Commercial Lee & Associates LiNKS Sign Language & Interpreting Services Long Beach Rescue Mission Phillips Steel Company Sav-On-Signs Snugtop Spot Lighting Supplies Tell Steel
Photographs All photographs by the Business Journal’s Thomas McConville.
Cover The water tower at the Snug Top facilities stands out as a landmark for the city’s Westside industrial area.