Summer of Architecture: Art Deco Walking Tour

Long Beach Heritage Presents Art Deco Walking Tour

Downtown Long Beach will host the Long Beach Heritage’s Art Deco walking tour on Saturday, August 8th, 2026. The event will showcase the wealth of buildings downtown that were built in the Art Deco and Streamline Modern Styles of the 1920s and 1930s.

Featured will be the Metropolitan Apartment Building, Rowen/Bradley Building, the US Post Building, and the WPA Mural. Participants will be able to view the inside of the Lafayette building, originally built in 1929. The facades of several of Long Beach’s buildings were replaced with these new styles following the earthquake of 1933.

Noted Art Deco Expert, Author, and past President of the Art Deco Society of Los Angeles, John Thomas, will lead the tour and share his expertise. Mr. Thomas will highlight significant events of Long Beach History and the Art Deco era. He will also discuss prominent architects of the time, Cecil Schilling, Horace Austin, Nate Piper and Hugh Davies, and their contributions to the architecture of Long Beach.