MohamedBilal

If Long Beach Boulevard is the heart of the city, then Pine Avenue south is definitely the nerve center. Clubs, restaurants and retail options abound in the city's ever evolving vacation and night life hot spot! Private and public gyms, a Wal-mart, two cinema multiplexes, new condo estates, countless gourmet and mid level dining options all together on a relatively small street make for tight traffic most nights... but that just adds to the 'strip' atmosphere. Major banks and deluxe hotels (Hyatt, Hilton etc.) dot the intersection of Ocean Blvd. and the surrounding streets, while the end of the road culminates in a multitude of attractions including even more nightclubs, dinner cruises, the Long beach Convention center, Shoreline Village, Light House Park, a ferris wheel and the Aquarium of the Pacific. Pine Ave South IS the quintessential center of downtown Long Beach.

Ximeno is simply a cool place to be! One half quiet residential district, the other half bustling retail economic zone, this street represents some of the beauty, and laid back attitude that Long Beach is famous for. Parks, golf courses, a beach and distinguished schools and colleges surround this midsized avenue, whose northern Traffic Circle area boasts banks, restaurants, condominiums and a local police department. Ximeno is safe and inviting for all.

This is it folks, the most major thoroughfare inLong Beach... this is where it all happens! Beginning at the Long Beach Convention Center and extending northward into parts unknown, Long Beach boulevard is the premier commercial connection. Distinguished by the fact that the MTA Metro Blueline runs the length of it (south of Willow St.) and that it is lined by numerous California palm trees, auto dealerships, office buildings, hotels, restaurants and PEOPLE, it is rivaled in size only by the famous Pacific Coast Highway which it intersects. Long Beach Blvd. provides a major entrance to both Memorial and St. Mary's hospital's, and crosses the 405 and 91 (both major california freeways). Constantly undergoing improvements, LB Blvd. looks to be a major source of revenue and interest well into the 21st century.

Considered by some to be a 'doorway' to the most eastern and affluent (excepting bixby knolls) areas of Long Beach, Redondo Ave. is a pretty clean and relatively busy street. Not known for its schools or parks, the relatively wide Redondo is lined with familiar commercial entities, convienence stores and places to get gas as one heads toward the 605 or 405 freeways. Other notable locations are Redondo's wholistic health places, pet care facilities and real estate agencies. The street has an hourly bus transit which provides direct connection with the city of Seal Beach at one end and the Metro Blue Line light rail at the other. All in all, Redondo is an upbeat, safe and clean street surrounded by somewhat quiet residential neighborhoods. I like it.

Without question, one of our top 4 major arteries, Atlantic Avenue is an essential component of city life here in Long Beach. Extending the entire length of the city and beyond, traffic seems to naturally gravitate toward its wide expanse and attractions. Atlantic is predominantly clean and uncluttered and boasts a variety of community districts and zones. As you would expect from such a major roadway, Atlantic is the home of countless commercial offices and apartment complexes as well as numerous strip malls, schools, libraries, restaurants, hotels gas stations and a cheif entrance to Memorial and Miller's Children's Hospitals. The Feel and atmosphere is utterly Long Beach and representative of many aspects of the city, also public transportation is ample. My pick for best kept secret on Atlantic would be the little burger shack in the gas station parking lot (corner of wardlow) ...probably the biggest burgers in town!

Originating at Ocean Boulevard in beautiful downtown Long Beach and providing access to the beach's bike path, the dominant fixture at this intersection is the historic Villa Riviera hotel constructed in 1929, the site of famous motion pictures such as 'Lethal Weapon'. As for the street itself, part of its uniqueness comes from the fact that rather than running north and south from downtown and through Long Beach's East Village arts district, Alamitos runs diagonally NE/SW, until it merges with nearby Orange Avenue at a point just north of Anaheim St. Traffic flows relatively easy on Alamitos but can get congested a bit at the height of rush hour, and there are only small 'runabout' busses that makes stops on this ave (no major transit). To be such a short street, Alamitos has a good amount of gas stations, motels, retail outlets, a small hospital and even hosts the world famous Molaa Museum. Numerous eateries abound, and one can have his or her choice of a variety of delicacies ranging from Mexican, Mandarin to the eclectic mix of chicken and waffles provided by the well known Roscoe's restaurant located near the intersection of Alamitos and Broadway.

Junipero (pronounced wah-nee-peh-row) is another of the city's larger small streets, Almost completely residential except where it intersects with major streets, Junipero is ideal for quiet city living. Having its origin in the dowtown area, it (like Cherry Ave.) begins at Cherry Beach / Bixby Park and runs northward. There are a few corner stores which dot the length of this street, and although there are a few traffic signals along it, there is no public transportation on Junipero.

Walnut is one of the larger small streets in the city of Long Beach. Nestled between the throughfares of Cherry and Orange, it consists of mostly residential locations with a few businesses interspersed. In the southern Long Beach area there are a few convalescent homes, corner stores, churches and a daycare. Traveling north, you'll encounter an old baseball field and access to the side entrance of the local city college. Walnut is relatively quiet and seems to provide great amount of shade, and while there are some less than desirable patches along this Aenue, all and all Walnut ok.

Cherry Ave is unmistakably Long Beach in essence! Running the full length of the city beginning at Cherry Beach / Bixby Park right near the Long Beach Museum, it runs north / south covering residential, commercial, and industrial zones. There are plenty of restaurants on this Street and even a major auto center in the Signal Hill area. Several transits lines, parks, cemetaries, grocerie stores and gas stations all make for very convienient living for anyone close to this major artery of the beach city!

Orange Ave in Long Beach is a very likable throughfare, Extending the length of the entire city and beyond, it can be a great way to get from point A to point B without having to brave the rush hour antics of the more major boulevards while still providing the traffic capicity and ease of flow of one! Orange provides access to alot of differing districts and their amenities, from the small town atmosphere of north long beach with its houses, elementary schools, churches and neighborhood library, to the artsy climate of downtown's East Village Arts District. Additionally, at it's midpoint on the famous Pacific Coast Hwy, Orange intersects with a major Long Beach Park (King) and Long Beach City College. Orange Ave. also boasts Long Beach's only Mosque and a bus route that extends from downtown all the way to the Compton / Paramount city borders.