1949 Map of Long Beach

About this map

Signal Hill stands as the topographic and industrial focal point of this coastal landscape, its slopes crowded with Oil Wells and Oil Tanks during a period of intense extraction. The urban expansion of Long Beach and its surrounding neighborhoods like Bixby Knolls and California Heights is evident, showing a dense grid of schools and parks such as Houghton Park and Recreation Park. Along the waterfront, the map documents a sophisticated maritime and recreational infrastructure, featuring the distinctive curve of Rainbow Pier and the Municipal Auditorium alongside the developing industrial harbor. The inland reaches transition from residential tracts to institutional landmarks like the Dominguez Ranch House and Del Amo Jr Seminary, while the Los Angeles River and Dominguez Channel define the drainage patterns of this subsiding coastal plain. This era captures the city's post-war maturity, balancing deep-water commerce at the Turning Basin with burgeoning suburban developments like Lakewood Village.