The launch went smoothly, perhaps better than expected as the 73-ton vessel slid stern-first down its slipway at John Brown & Co. Shipbuilding into the water, sending giant waves up and down the River Clyde.
The hotel’s main draw in those early days when Long Beach was a dry town, was its license to sell alcohol, and the mostly vacant hostelry stayed afloat on booze as well as food from its dining room.
Ford built the Long Beach Assembly Plant to expand the production of its Model A, which replaced the Model T in 1927. The first car to roll off the new assembly line, a four-door sedan with a list price of $768.50, was given to the city.
Springing up in the middle of the peninsula, at the foot of what’s now 62nd Place, was the magnificent (for the time) Alamitos Bay Pavilion, which would stand for a couple of decades as the jewel of the Peninsula and Belmont Shore.
North Long Beach: The final frontier for first-time home buyers • Long Beach Post News lbpost.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from lbpost.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.