A group of Downtown business leaders have been working for over a year to bring the community together and breathe new creative life into the urban center of the Long Beach, which has struggled to fill storefronts and draw visitors.
The idea of establishing a Downtown Long Beach Design District has been percolating for some time in the area between Lincoln Park at Pacific Avenue and Broadway, Studio One Eleven (an architecture and urban design firm) and the Long Beach Museum of Art Downtown, both on Third Street, and Intertrend Communications (an international marketing firm) on Broadway near Long Beach Boulevard. Other businesses nearby include the Designory, DreamKreator Studio, Next Architecture and the Design Studio.
The private sector has largely driven the effort to create this new hub, which they envision to be distinct but complementary to the nearby Arts District. Organizers plan to host events — including block parties, open studios, panel discussions and more — and spark visual design ideas for the area to develop a sense of place and culture that would attract visitors, residents and like-minded businesses.
The effort has been formally underway since 2023, when Studio One Eleven was invited to the Los Angeles Design Festival. Since then, the business helped form a DTLB Design District Council, which, in addition to Studio One Eleven, includes Intertrend, the Downtown Long Beach Alliance, the Institute for Innovation & Entrepreneurship at CSULB and the Long Beach Community Design Center.
Art + Design Walk
You can meet the group — along with local artists and creators — at their next event on Saturday, April 5. The Downtown Long Beach Art + Design Walk, produced by the DTLB, includes a showcase of installations and workshops from 2 to 7 p.m., in the Mosaic Promenade, 200 N. Waite Court.
The theme of the event is, “What do you make in Long Beach?”, inviting artists of all kinds to step out of their shops and into the streets. Participants will show their skills in hopes of sparking creativity and deeper connections (the Post, Business Journal and Long Beach Public Radio will be there, too).
The event will also serve as a pre-launch of the CSULB Immersive Design Research Lab (from 3 to 6 p.m.), which is planning to expand its presence to Downtown. The lab investigates and seeks to initiate more “participatory” environments between people and the places where they live and congregate.
Other highlights of the April 5 include:
- Studio One Eleven will present: “Community” — A multi-sensory reflection on the people, places and experiences that have shaped the Design District’s journey.
- Creative Class Collective will present, “Music to My Eyes” at the Edison Theater on Broadway, highlighting more than two dozen LBUSD students who engaged with music tracks and historical speeches to create art.
The Design District’s activations will run alongside the DTLB Alliance’s signature Celebrate Downtown event, held at Acres of Books.