By Ofelia Saenz, Staff Writer
The Long Beach Historical Society is close to moving in to its new home. Remodeling on the 7000 square foot site, located at 4260 Atlantic Avenue in Bixby Knolls is well underway and a grand opening is expected by July, according to Julie Bartolotto, the Historical Society’s executive director.
“It’s great, we love the location,” Bartolotto said. “It’ll be really good to have street signage.”
The Historical Society’s current location, at 110 Pine Avenue in downtown Long Beach, has been a temporary location and is little more than office space, which does not have sufficient room to exhibit the Historical Society’s large collection of pictures and artifacts. According to Bartolotto, the office has functioned mainly as a meeting place for members to talk about Long Beach’s history. Also without any visible signage, few people would discover the location unless they knew where to look.
The new building will dedicate 2300 square feet to gallery space for the Historical Society’s expansive collection, and the rest of the 7000 square feet will be used for storage and office space. The location also gives the Historical Society a highly visible sign with which to attract new members.
According to its mission statement found on its Web site, the Long Beach Historical Society exists to promote, develop, exhibit and preserve Long Beach history through its facility and its programs.
Bartolotto said the gallery space would offer a chance to properly exhibit the historical material of the city.
“It will be really nice for people to come in and see what we do,” Bartolotto said of the Society’s expansive collection. “It’s the heart of what we do.”
