In 1926, the Queen Mary was still on the drawing board, with construction starting in 1930. Ten years later, in 1936, the ship made its maiden voyage.
The crew on board the Queen Mary will re-create the 1936 vibe of the Starlight Club on May 27 to celebrate the anniversary of the ship’s maiden voyage 90 years ago.
The event will coincide with the exact date the iconic ocean liner first set sail in 1936 and is part of a broader, yearlong anniversary program honoring the ship’s legacy, according to organizers.
Festivities will begin at noon, when ship officers welcome guests near the vessel’s bell, followed by access to exhibits, art displays, anniversary tours and interactive activities throughout the ship.
This year, the Queen Mary is celebrating 90 years since her maiden voyage in 1936. A part of the year-long anniversary celebration includes a commemorative logo. (Photo courtesy of the Queen Mary)
Fireworks light the sky over the Long Beach harbor at the Queen Mary to ring in the new year on Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
A midnight fireworks show at the Queen Mary in Long Beach rings in the new year on Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
The Queen Mary is now partially reopened for one-hour guided tours on the ship’s Promenade Deck, in Long Beach on Thursday, December 15, 2022. The media was given a tour and historic information from The Queen Mary Commodore, Everette Hoard. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Commodore Everette Hoard talks about the history of the Queen Mary in Long Beach on Monday, Jan. 13, 2020. (Photo by Scott Varley, Daily Breeze/SCNG)
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This year, the Queen Mary is celebrating 90 years since her maiden voyage in 1936. A part of the year-long anniversary celebration includes a commemorative logo. (Photo courtesy of the Queen Mary)
An official program is scheduled for 2 p.m. in the Queen’s Salon, featuring remarks from ship leadership, a Long Beach city representative and other speakers, along with a performance and award presentation, organizers said.
A lecture by maritime historian Dik Barton is planned for 3:30 p.m., with daytime programming concluding at 5 p.m.
Following those event’s, the new Starlight Lounge will debut again with a one-night only, ticketed event, which will feature a cocktail reception and a three-course dinner — before live entertainment sweeps guests onto the floor to dance the night away.
Tickets for that event are $127.20 person and $47.70 for a private table. For more information, go to queenmary.com/anniversary.htm.
When the Queen Mary debuted all those years ago, first class passengers could pay extra to dine in the Veranda Grill and dance in the nightclub, dubbed the Starlight Lounge.
“It was the place to see and be seen on board,” I tell guests on board when I give my tour guide spiel. “Band members were instructed to keep playing as long as passengers were dancing — often until the wee hours of the morning.”
When Long Beach first purchased the ship in 1967, the Diner’s Club had a grandiose plan to make the Veranda Grill a five-star restaurant. Unfortunately, things changed and the Diner’s Club’s association ended before the ship opened to the public in 1971. In the mid-1970s, the area became a fast food area, serving hot dogs. In later years, the Veranda Grill was used as an employee cafeteria.
I’m thankful to the current management of this ship, which has the vision of what this area can truly be.
Rube Goldberg
Back in 1926, Rube Goldberg machines — contraptions designed to perform a simple task through a series of convoluted steps — were all the rage.
And apparently, they are making a comeback.
That’s because the historic Edison Theatre, 213 E. Broadway, will be one of several Long Beach sites hosting a special contest in May to see whop can design the best Rube Goldberg machine. (The theater was once the Nippon pool room and barber shop, which, like Joe Jost’s, was a combination barber shop, pool room and beer hall.)
The inaugural West Coast National Rube Goldberg Competition will bring together teams from Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, as well as elsewhere, to compete in this K-12 and adult competition. They will set up on May 2 and compete on May 3 at the Edison Theatre, the Underground at Broadway and Pine and other locations on or near the walkable downtown Long Beach Promenade.
The Rube Goldberg Machine Contest is expected to be the ultimate STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) learning environment and competition. Contestants will design and build a machine based on a theme that will be disclosed during the competition.
Zach Umperovitch, the Rube Goldberg Institute’s global contest director and co-host of Discovery’s “Contraption Masters,” is a professional Rube Goldberg machine builder, and will be present for this event.
“We’re thrilled to bring the energy of a national level Rube Goldberg Machine Contest (RGMC) to Long Beach,” he said in a statement. “I’m excited for the students to showcase their incredible mix of creativity, with teams from across the West Coast and even from parts around the world coming together to celebrate ingenuity, persistence and a little bit of wonderfully controlled chaos, all with the common goal of failing upwards.”
Jennifer George, the granddaughter of Rube Goldberg, is also expected to be present for the competition.
The competition is free and open to the public. To learn more, get involved and/or sponsor this and future Rube Goldberg events, contact Patricia Tsoiasue at 562-225-9589 or Patricia@makersvilleservices.org.
100th birthday
In non-business news, a thoughtful reader recently reached out to tell me about an important milestone that’s coming up — a 100th birthday.
On May 26, 1926, one of Long Beach Unified School District’s most popular elementary school teachers, Jane Williams, was born.
Williams, a longtime Belmont Shore resident, started teaching in 1964 at Horace Mann Elementary School and her career spanned four decades. To celebrate Williams’ milestone birthday, former student Melissa Magrath is collecting cards for the beloved educator.
You can send them to Melissa Magrath, 1097 Salvador St., Costa Mesa, CA 92626.
City News Service contributed to this report.