History of Long Beach

Before the war, Long Beach had a sizable Japanese-American population, who worked in the fish canneries on Terminal Island and owned small truck (produce) farms in the area. Due to exaggerated fears on the coast and racial prejudice, state officials persuaded the national government to remove Japanese nationals and Japanese Americans for internment in 1942 to inland facilities. Most did not return to the city after their release from the camps. Due to this and other factors, Japanese Americans now make up less than 1% of the population of Long Beach, but the Japanese Community Center and a Japanese Buddhist Church survive. The Japanese-American Cultural Center is located over the Gerald Desmond Bridge and the Vincent Thomas Bridge in San Pedro.

In 1970, the Census Bureau reported Long Beach's population as 6% Hispanic, 5.4% Black, and 86.2% non-Hispanic White.

The nonprofit Aquarium of the Pacific, located in downtown Long Beach, opened to the public in 1998. It has become a major attraction visited by more than 13 million people since its opening. Kajima International was the developer of the Aquarium of the Pacific and architects included the Los Angeles office of Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum and Esherick Homsey Dodge and Davis of San Francisco