TITLE
Recommendation to authorize City Manager to submit a grant application for $38,544 to the Long Beach Navy Memorial Heritage Association for the restoration of the Long Beach Navy Memorial in Shoreline Park. (District 2)
DISCUSSION
For most of the 20th Century, the U.S. Navy had a compelling presence in Long Beach. From 1919, when the City of Long Beach was named homeport for the Navy’s very first Pacific Fleet, to 1940, with a full-scale naval base, including a shipyard, naval hospital, and a naval air station, Long Beach was the focal point for the Navy in the southwestern United States. In 1997, a void was created when naval facilities closed and naval activities ceased in Long Beach.
Created in 1998, the Long Beach Navy Memorial Heritage Association (Association) provides funding to preserve the heritage and historic sites of Long Beach, recognizes the contributions of the Long Beach Naval Station and shipyard to the City of Long Beach, and honors the work of architect Paul Revere Williams. A key purpose of the Association is to “foster and support the identification, evaluation, preservation, rehabilitation, restoration and interpretation of historical resources, sites and archival sources within the municipal boundaries of the City of Long Beach.” Historical resources include buildings, public landscapes, and contributing structures in historic neighborhoods.
In 2000, through grant funding provided by the Association, local artist Terry Braunstein was commissioned to design a memorial to commemorate the U.S. Navy’s presence in Long Beach. In July 2004, the Long Beach Navy Memorial (Memorial) was dedicated at Shoreline Park. The Memorial includes an armillary sphere with images conveying the story of the Navy in Long Beach, a ship mast, a ship anchor, and a walkway containing a compass rose and dedicated brick pavers.
Over the years, the salt air, normal wear and tear, and some vandalism to the Memorial have necessitated the refurbishmen...
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