Long Beach has always drawn attention to the boardwalk, the beach and the arts. In May, the city began a project combining all three — coordinating with the Long Beach Arts Council to invite local artists to paint murals on the beachfront ticket booths along the boardwalk.
After the first phase, the renovation of six booths, was completed in May, the project was expanded to an additional 10 booths. In early July, the work was finished, and the booths were officially unveiled. Now, every boardwalk access point to the oceanfront features at least one Long Beach-themed piece of art.
“This mural project gives Long Beach’s soul a visible heartbeat,” said mural artist and photographer Justine Stefanelli, a city resident. “Painting my second mural felt like leaving a piece of my heart on the boardwalk and adding to the story of a city that has always inspired me.”
Each booth was sponsored by a local business to offset the cost of materials, and the professional artists donated their time and talent. They were free to use their skills in any way they saw fit, with virtually no guidelines.
Headed into America’s 250th birthday last week, the city unveiled a particularly patriotic created by local artist Michele Dodd. The eye-catching depiction of an eagle clutching a veteran’s season beach pass was sponsored by the Waterfront Warriors, a nonprofit that offers free vacations to veterans who struggle after returning home from war.
At the booth’s public reveal, Max Marcus, a 102-year-old World War II veteran and a resident of Woodmere, was coincidentally enjoying a day on the boardwalk before he was spontaneously invited to take part in the event. “I think this bodes well for Long Beach,” City Council President Brendan Finn said. “It bodes well for the summer. And I think people, when they go past this booth, they’ll be grateful to all the veterans. I think that’s the idea of this.”
Other booths were more specifically connected to the Long Beach community. A memorial mural dedicated to the late Austin Gibbons, a local surfer and lifeguard, was revealed on the booth at Washington Boulevard, which was sponsored by the Long Beach Arts Council itself and designed and created by artists Eve Hammer and Liz Degen. Gibbons’s mother and grandparents attended the unveiling. “It’s touching to see something like this,” said his grandfather Doug Eidt. “It’s nice to see. It’s kind of special.”
Additional sponsors of the booth artwork include Active Life, the Michael Berube Foundation, Centerpoint Church, Jon Dab Electrical Contractors, Jonathan Gottesmann Douglas Elliman, LB Cleanup, and Toast Coffee and Kitchen.