East Village, Long Beach, California
| East Village | |||
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| Neighborhood of Long Beach | |||
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The East Village district of Long Beach, California, is in the right three-quarters of the foreground of this southwest-facing photo (the Alamitos Beach neighborhood makes up the left quarter of the foreground, on the east side of Alamitos Avenue, the diagonal street on the left). Downtown Long Beach is to the right. Queensway Bay/San Pedro Bay are visible, with the Queen Mary and part of the Port of Long Beach in the distance. Catalina Island is faintly visible on the horizon. | |||
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| Country | United States | ||
| State | California | ||
| County | County of Los Angeles | ||
| City | City of Long Beach | ||
The East Village, sometimes called the "East Village Arts District," is the name of a neighborhood in Long Beach, California, within eastern Downtown Long Beach. The borders of the East Village are not strictly defined, but the area is centered in the southeast portion of downtown, roughly between Long Beach Boulevard on the west and Alamitos Avenue on the east, and Ocean Boulevard on the south to 3rd Street on the north.
The East Village is a mix of many different housing types, including high-rise condos, artist lofts and small craftsman cottages, as well as people many different cultures, income levels, and professions. The neighborhood has many independent stores selling everything from designer denim and specialty sneakers to used books and mid-century furniture. There are coffee shops which serve food, and restaurants featuring everything from crepes and sushi to chicken n' waffles. The East Village is also the city's arts district, with most of the independent shops, restaurants and galleries exhibiting work by Long Beach and Southern Californian artists.
Besides the regular bus services going to other parts of Long Beach, Long Beach Transit has a free Village Tour D'art going through the East Village that stops at the Long Beach Performing Arts Center and the Long Beach Sports Arena (which has one of Wyland's Whaling Walls), the 1926 Art Deco Breakers Hotel, the Museum of Latin American Art, the Oceanic Art Museum and gallery, several local historical churches, the City Place and Long Beach Promenade shopping centers, and the restaurants and shops on Pine Avenue in the West Village.
The East Village Arts District is home to the Second Saturday Art Walk every month, featuring art receptions and special events in the shop and galleries of the District. The District is home to Tour des Artistes, an annual street festival event in June which features visual artists in every discipline, as well as performing artists ranging from singer-songwriters to Shakespeare.
The East Village Arts District is also home to Soundwalk , a unique sound art festival, which began in 2004. Soundwalk is a series of site-specific sound installations and sound art performances and attracts renowned sound artists from around the world.