Long Beach Municipal Auditorium Mural, Long Beach

Standing 38 feet tall and 22 feet wide, the massive glazed mosaic known as Typical Activities of a Beach and Harbor City is basically Long Beach鈥檚 ultimate throwback postcard鈥攐nly in tile. Finished in 1938, it splashed across the arched fa莽ade of the old Municipal Auditorium, showing everything from beach fun to harbor hustle. At the time, it wasn鈥檛 just big鈥攊t was the largest mosaic mural ever completed under the New Deal鈥檚 Works Progress Administration. Talk about making a civic statement.

Let's jump to 1979: the auditorium comes down to make way for the Terrace Theater, and locals refuse to let the mural go quietly. In a community effort worthy of its own sequel, the entire work was carefully preserved and reinstalled in 1982 as a freestanding landmark. Today, you鈥檒l find it standing proud at the juncture of the Promenade and Long Beach Plaza鈥攐nce a parking lot, now part of the City Place Shopping Center.

Look closely, and you鈥檒l even spot the signatures of the artists鈥擲tanton MacDonald-Wright, Henry Nord, and Albert Henry King鈥攚oven discreetly into the border like a secret handshake. And in 2013, the site gained an extra layer of meaning when it was dedicated as Harvey Milk Promenade Park, turning this masterpiece into not just a celebration of Long Beach life, but a reminder of resilience, identity, and community pride.

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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Create Your Own Self-Guided Walk to Visit This Sight

Sight Name: Long Beach Municipal Auditorium Mural
Sight Location: Long Beach, USA (See walking tours in Long Beach)
Sight Type: Attraction/Landmark
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:

Long Beach Murals Walking Tour

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 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

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

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

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