Art + Architecture Long Beach Getaway

The first stop on any art-lover’s tour is the Long Beach Museum of Art on Ocean Boulevard beside Bluff Park. Located within a historic home in Long Beach, the 1911 Elizabeth Milbank Anderson House, the museum is known for rotating exhibitions of its permanent collection, which features more than 3,200 works of American and European art. Visiting and special exhibitions are showcased in the adjacent Pavilion. A small but charming campus, you can walk through the whole thing in an hour or so, capping off your visit with a stop at its stunning ocean-view restaurant, Claire’s. There’s also a secondary LBMA location with dynamic installations at LBMA Downtown, which houses resident artists.

After working up an appetite for dinner, tantalize your five senses with a meal at Utopia Good Food and Fine Art. From its California-fresh cuisine to stimulating musical and visual arts performances, as well as an aromatic patio garden, the restaurant in the heart of the city’s East Village Arts District offers a little bit of everything. At the corner of First Street and Linden Avenue, the business is at the epicenter of one of the city’s hippest culinary and artistic scenes, surrounded by an eclectic mix of urban shops and eateries.

After grabbing breakfast at The Varden, bike, scoot, or drive over to the corner of 6th Street and Alamitos Avenue, where you will find two cultural art museums. The Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA) at 6th Street and Alamitos Avenue is the only museum in the country fully dedicated to modern and contemporary Latin American and Latinx art. The space features a sprawling sculpture garden and massive indoor gallery in what was formerly an early-1900s silent film studio. MOLAA, with its vaulted ceilings and uniquely beautiful wooden floors, is a work of art in itself. It’s also conveniently located across the street from the Pacific Island Ethnic Art Museum (PIEAM), the only museum in the contiguous United States to focus on transporting visitors to the Pacific Islands of Oceania in an artistic intercultural exchange.

After filling yourself up with pizza, walk off your lunch with a tour of one of the oldest and most majestic historic sites in Long Beach: The Bembridge House! Built in 1906 by Stephen and Josephine Green, this Queen Anne Victorian is resplendent and ornate, with intricate moldings adorning the exterior, 18 rooms with beautiful paneling and woodwork, a grand staircase, and much more. The site is operated by the nonprofit Long Beach Heritage, which provides guided tours.