Bertran Smith Acres of Books, 240 South Long Beach Blvd.

Long Beach isn’t known for its architecture, but perhaps it should be. With waves of development following the 1933 earthquake and the completion of the 710 freeway, there are plenty of eye-pleasing examples of Art Deco (Bertrand Smith Acres of Books, above) and Modernist (International Tower, below) design–and then some. Here are some interesting edifices, none more than a few blocks from the Psychic Temple.

International Tower, 660 East Ocean Blvd.

Many of the older buildings had throwback styles to begin with. The Lafayette Complex juxtaposes vintage Spanish Renaissance (Campbell Apartments, right) and French Moderne (Lafayette Hotel, center) with newer, International (Lafayette expansion, left) aesthetics.

Lafayette Complex, 130-140 Linden Ave.

The Farmers & Merchants Bank and Tower were built with Italian Renaissance Revival details in 1923 and 1925, respectively. (The bank is on the other side of the tower.)

Farmers & Merchants Bank and Tower, 302-320 Pine Ave.

There are fantastic new structures, too. Bikestation Long Beach was designed and has been expanded twice over by modern architect Fernando Vazquez over to accommodate and facilitate the growing numbers of cyclists in Long Beach.

Bikestation, 105 The Promenade North

More to come…