| Belmont Shore | |
|---|---|
| — Community of Long Beach — | |
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Belmont Shore
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | County of Los Angeles |
| City | City of Long Beach |
Belmont Shore is a neighborhood in Long Beach, California. It is home to many shops, restaurants, salons and business offices.
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Belmont Shore spans 2nd Street and Ocean Avenue near the southernmost part of the city between Bluff Park on the west and Naples Island on the East. Second Street and the fifteen intersecting side streets make up the business district of Belmont Shore. The neighborhood features Spanish-style homes from the 1920s and 30's as well as beach bungalows. Each summer, Bayshore Avenue is closed to traffic and is converted into a pedestrian and bicycle-only zone.
Its eastern border includes Alamitos Bay Beach, an inland beach that faces Naples Island across a channel. The area offshore is popular with kitesurfers, swimmers, kayakers, and boaters.
At the southern end of Bay Shore and the southeastern corner of Belmont Shore lies the entrance to the Peninsula, a mile-long marina community. The southern coast of Belmont Shore is a south-facing Pacific Ocean beach that lies just inside the Long Beach breakwater. Due to the presence of the breakwater, this beach experiences very little surf, and is typically not as densely populated during the summer months as are the nearby beaches of Seal Beach or Huntington Beach, for example.
The northern end of Belmont Shore lies against the Long Beach Marine Stadium, built for the 1932 Olympic Games.
The main Southern California highways, such as Pacific Coast Highway (known as PCH or SR 1), the I-405, the I-605, the I-710, and the SR 22 Freeways are all within close proximity to Belmont Shore.[1]
The Leeway Sailing and Aquatics Center on Alamitos Bay in Belmont Shore is a youth sailing program founded in 1929 . The City of Long Beach claims it is one of the premier municipal instructional sailing programs in the country.[2]
The United States Sailing Center - Long Beach is located on the Alamitos Bay Peninsula in Long Beach. The Sailing Center offers a wide range of programs for High School, College, and Olympic sailors in addition to programs for Youth At-Risk through local help groups, Learn-to-Sail classes for all ages and disabled sailing opportunities through the Sailing Center's own Disabled Sailing Association.[3]
The Belmont Car Show is the largest one-day annual car show held on the west coast. The car show is typically held in September.[4]
The Long Beach Sea Festival has ocean- and beach-related events in Belmont Shore. The festival was first staged 50 years ago with a handful of events. Currently, the Sea Festival offers around 100 events, ranging from sand castle building to free Moonlight Movies on he Beach to boat racing.[5]
Since its inception in August 1964, the Congressional Cup has grown into one of the major international sailing events.[6] Now held in April, it is the only grade 1 match race regatta held in the United States.[6] The one-on-one race format is the same as the America's Cup, and many of the winners of the Congressional Cup have gone on to win the America's Cup as well. The event is held in the waters off Belmont Shore with spectator areas on the Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier.
In 1908 the citizens of Belmont Heights asked the City of Long Beach to build the neighborhood a pier—a request that was denied. Determined to build a pier, the neighborhood decided to break away from Long Beach and soon had formed the new City of Belmont Heights. After a year, the residents voted to rejoin the City Of Long Beach, which agreed to build the pier to regain the tax base. Construction of the pier started in 1911 and was completed four years later. On Christmas Eve of 1915, the pier opened to the public. Newspapers reported that 3,000 to 4,000 people visited the pier during the first two days it was open, and that 500 to 600 automobiles drove out to the end of the pier (on 39th Place, which extended directly out the pier).[7]
Its official name was the Grand Avenue Pier, but it was also called the Belmont Heights Pier by some and the Devil's Gate Pier by most; a name which referred to the geologic formation (a natural rock bridge) which in those days extended seaward from the low bluffs at 39th Place. The pier was constructed of wood, was 975 feet in length, 25 feet wide and the middle section of the pier was 110 feet wide. The pier was lit by ornamental lights and in the middle were two pergolas. The pier was renovated in 1951 and given a 300-foot extension. More than 50 years of salt water, sun, rain, and wind, took its toll on the wooden structure, and the city decided to build a new pier.[7]
Construction of the new pier started in 1966 just east of the old pier, about the width of 39th Place. The pier is built of concrete and is 1620 feet long. On Sunday, February 19, 1967, the pier officially opened and local newspaper reported, "Throngs Hail Opening of New Pier." [7]
Belmont Shore residents[8] are zoned to Long Beach Unified School District schools: