Lafayette Complex, Long Beach
Downtown Long Beach gets a full architectural lineup with the Lafayette Complex鈥攖hree connected buildings, each with its own sense of style. From bold Art Deco lines to ornate Spanish touches and sleek mid-century updates, it鈥檚 a visual mixtape of 20th-century flair. Originally built in 1928, this landmark ensemble has mastered the art of reinvention while keeping its vintage charm intact.
The first act, the Campbell Apartments, brings Spanish Baroque to the party. Expect terra-cotta flourishes, iron balconies, and a flair that predates the Deco wave by just a hair. Next up: the Lafayette Hotel, built in 1929 and designed by the Schilling brothers. This is where things get bold鈥攚ith winged ram鈥檚 heads, neon signage, and Italianate figures adorning a classic Art Deco fa莽ade that knows how to hold a gaze. Eventually, an International Style addition that adds a sleek, modern note to the architectural medley, tying it all together.
In the 1950s, the Lafayette was reborn as a Hilton Hotel, playing host to none other than the Miss Universe Beauty Contest鈥攂ecause of course it did. By 1969, it had traded in its hotel keys for mailboxes, becoming a residential condominium complex with views that stretch from the L.A. basin to the harbor, best admired from the eleventh-floor solarium.
Today, the ground floor is alive with retail shops, galleries, and local businesses, giving the building a steady rhythm that echoes its glamorous past while staying firmly planted in the now.
Looking for Art Deco with a side of personality? The Lafayette Complex delivers鈥攁nd doesn鈥檛 mind showing off a little while it鈥檚 at it.
The first act, the Campbell Apartments, brings Spanish Baroque to the party. Expect terra-cotta flourishes, iron balconies, and a flair that predates the Deco wave by just a hair. Next up: the Lafayette Hotel, built in 1929 and designed by the Schilling brothers. This is where things get bold鈥攚ith winged ram鈥檚 heads, neon signage, and Italianate figures adorning a classic Art Deco fa莽ade that knows how to hold a gaze. Eventually, an International Style addition that adds a sleek, modern note to the architectural medley, tying it all together.
In the 1950s, the Lafayette was reborn as a Hilton Hotel, playing host to none other than the Miss Universe Beauty Contest鈥攂ecause of course it did. By 1969, it had traded in its hotel keys for mailboxes, becoming a residential condominium complex with views that stretch from the L.A. basin to the harbor, best admired from the eleventh-floor solarium.
Today, the ground floor is alive with retail shops, galleries, and local businesses, giving the building a steady rhythm that echoes its glamorous past while staying firmly planted in the now.
Looking for Art Deco with a side of personality? The Lafayette Complex delivers鈥攁nd doesn鈥檛 mind showing off a little while it鈥檚 at it.
Want to visit this sight? Check out these Self-Guided Walking Tours in Long Beach. Alternatively, you can download the mobile app "黑料吃瓜网: Walks in 1K+ Cities" from Apple App Store or Google Play Store. The app turns your mobile device to a personal tour guide and it works offline, so no data plan is needed when traveling abroad.
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Lafayette Complex on Map
Sight Name: Lafayette Complex
Sight Location: Long Beach, USA (See walking tours in Long Beach)
Sight Type: Attraction/Landmark
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:
Sight Location: Long Beach, USA (See walking tours in Long Beach)
Sight Type: Attraction/Landmark
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:
Walking Tours in Long Beach, California
Create Your Own Walk in Long Beach
Creating your own self-guided walk in Long Beach is easy and fun. Choose the city attractions that you want to see and a walk route map will be created just for you. You can even set your hotel as the start point of the walk.
Long Beach Introduction Walking Tour
Sprawling comfortably along the sunny coast of Southern California, Long Beach is the kind of place where beachwear and business suits peacefully coexist鈥攁nd where a morning stroll can lead you from seaside boardwalks to Art Deco facades without missing a beat. It's a city with sand between its toes and history in its bones.
Before it became all sunshine and beachside charm, Long Beach... view more
Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.6 Km or 1.6 Miles
Before it became all sunshine and beachside charm, Long Beach... view more
Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.6 Km or 1.6 Miles
Long Beach Historical Buildings Tour
Long Beach isn鈥檛 just about sun, surf, and sand, it can put its suit on as well to impress anyone. Behind the palm trees and breezy boardwalks, downtown Long Beach struts out a surprising collection of architectural gems that span styles and centuries.
Starting in no particular order, the Breakers Hotel is a 1920s oceanfront darling that once rolled out the red carpet for Hollywood royalty.... view more
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.8 Km or 1.7 Miles
Starting in no particular order, the Breakers Hotel is a 1920s oceanfront darling that once rolled out the red carpet for Hollywood royalty.... view more
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.8 Km or 1.7 Miles
Long Beach Murals Walking Tour
Long Beach's creative side can come from more unusual places, like its... walls. Think of it as one giant, sun-soaked art book you can walk through鈥攅xcept instead of turning pages, you鈥檙e sliding into more secluded alleyways.
The granddaddy among the murals has the priority: the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium Mural, a 1938 ceramic wonder now hanging out at Harvey Milk Promenade Park.... view more
Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 1.8 Km or 1.1 Miles
The granddaddy among the murals has the priority: the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium Mural, a 1938 ceramic wonder now hanging out at Harvey Milk Promenade Park.... view more
Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 1.8 Km or 1.1 Miles