Back to the Future: Long Beach City Hall + Civic Plaza

Experiment 1 : Long Beach City Hall Buildings

As a child of the 1980's Marty McFly was my ultimate god. With the help of Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown he weaves through time: 1955, 2015 (which is less than 2-years away), and 1885.  It left me fantasizing about travelling in the Delorean and exploring the world / going "Back to the Future."  For myself the character that stood out the most was seeing the town of Hill Valley, California evolving through the trilogy. The symbolism of that Court House and the clock tower experienced throughout the various "periods" is a refreshing example of how a building can stand the test of time and continue to evolve. Perhaps that municipal building can be an example to the debate surrounding the City Hall and Civic Plaza in my own home town of Long Beach, California. Spend $170 million to start over and create a new place?  Preserve the building and retrofit / modernize the building?

This summer the City of Long Beach took submissions for an RFP (Request for Qualifications).  I'm excited to see the proposals by short listed group of Developer Teams and wish them luck.  The current City Hall Building and Civic Plaza were constructed in 1975, roughly 38-years old.  That's only 5-years older than I am.  It's unfortunate that the culture of the people running this City has been to continuously raze and re-build a City Hall every 30 - 40 years.  I challenge this administration and those answering the proposal to think critically before using our money to create their illustrious, "world-class" designs.  Word to the wise, Currently I stay in a home built in 1957, the home I grew up in was first built in 1944.  Long Beach is a City where a majority of her residents live in buildings built prior to 1975.

In Long Beach, as of the 2010 census there are 170,032 housing units. We can give back $999.81 to every home owner in Long Beach which they can use for home improvements or whatever else they like. Residents can refuse the money and let if go toward Civic Plaza facility improvements.  In that same census, there were 426,892 people living here. With this $170,000 million the powers that be are asking us to contribute a one-time $363.33 fee which will last maintain the new place for 30-years. So that's $12.11/Long Beach resident for 30-years. Personally, I would like my $363.33 to go to the facility maintenance of the current City Hall for the next 30-years.  I dream to go "Back to the Future" where our own Long Beach City Hall and Civic Plaza will be as iconic as Paris's Hotel de Ville, which has housed their City's municipality since 1357.

12:20 Dr. Suja Lowenthal, District 2 Councilmember shares City Hall building seismic retrofit costs (78 million) vs building a newly constructed City Hall Building, Library, and Park (150 million), estimates from 2005 Downtown Envisioning Process which she sponsored.

19:20 Maureen Neely, Housestories, Historian and Librarian shares Civic Center's History through her research findings of old photos and old newspaper stories.

44:50 Alan Pullman, AIA founder of Studio 111 shares the architectural historical context of what is happening to influence the design of the 1976 City Hall Building.

59:05 Donald Gibbs, FAIA - Part of the 1976 Civic Center Design Team - Allied Architects:  Gibbs & Gibbs, Wing & Wing, Killingsworth, Brady & Associates,and Aoka & Associates. Shares first hand experience of being on the 1976 Civic Center design team, comprised of ALL LONG BEACH ARCHITECTS.  @1:00:47 Gibbs shares the concept of the Civic Center Design, to create a plaza / "City Living Room" around City Hall. The lower buildings were intended to contrast with the City Hall and emphasize its verticality. @1:01:27 Gibbs points out there is an Amphitheater (for concerts,speeches, and meeting there) built at Civic Plaza but the Council at the time didn't want seat installed because people would gather there voicing their opinion.  Then he shares opportunity for expansion and accessibility improvements.  The colonnade around the plaza can be used for commercial ventures like shops and restaurants. The 175,000 sq ft library was over designed and suggests moving the library function off site to a more suitable location and move City services functions there.  

Long Beach Civic Center, interweb coverage...
2013 10 28 How to rebuild Long Beach’s Civic Center: Readers respond, Long Beach Press-Telegram
2013 10 25 Council Approves Moving into RFP Process for Complete Civic Center Rebuild, Brian Addison - Long Beach Post
2013 10 24 EDITORIAL: Show Creativity In Civic Center Design, Editorial Board, Gazettes
2013 10 23 Speakout: Tell us your ideas for Long Beach Civic Center, Long Beach Press-Telegram
2013 10 22 Civic Center Rebuild Moves Forward At City Council, Harry Saltzgaver, Gazettes
2013 10 22 Council votes to send out proposal to developers for 16-acre site that includes City Hall and library,  Eric Bradley, Long Beach Press-Telegram
2013 07 12 Council votes to send out proposal to developers for 16-acre site that includes City Hall and library,  Blowhard Esq., uncouthreflections.wordpress.com
2012 09 12 Part II: Architects Propose Their Vision for the Civic Center,  Brian Addison - LA.StreetsBlog.org
2012 09 12 Part I: Architects, Advocates, Ponder Future of Long Beach Civic Center,  Brian Addison - LA.StreetsBlog.org