| Naples | |
|---|---|
| — Community of Long Beach — | |
| Alamitos Bay, with Naples island on the top left | |
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Naples
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | County of Los Angeles |
| City | City of Long Beach |
Naples is a neighborhood of Long Beach, California, United States, built on a series of islands located in Alamitos Bay. Naples consists of three separate islands, divided by canals which open into the bay. Most of the streets on the island have Italianate names. The center of Naples features a large fountain which serves as a popular meeting spot.
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In 1903 Arthur Parson built the islands of Naples in the marshy Bixby Slough of the artificial Alamitos Bay, in the mouth of the San Gabriel River. The design was by the firm Mayberry & Parker.[1] The concept of canals and gondolas was similar to the "Venice of America" developed by Abbot Kinney up the coast. Parson's Naples Land Company called its plans the "Dreamland of Southern California", and projected that "through the canals and under the high arching bridges gay gondoliers will propel their crafts like those in the waters of the Adriatic under the blue skies of Italy."[2] The project was completed in the 1920s, then rebuilt after the 1933 Long Beach earthquake.[3]
Long Beach offers gondola trips through the romantic canals of Naples.[4][5] Gondola Getaway has been offering rides through Naples since 1982. Long Beach is only one of eight places in the Western United States where tourists may ride in a gondola.[6]
One very popular Christmas-time event in Naples is the "Naples Island Christmas Boat Parade", with groups of decorated boats going through the canals of Naples and around Alamitos Bay past Belmont Shore. The parade has been held since 1946.
Naples residents[7][8] are zoned to Long Beach Unified School District schools:
