I saw Fishbone play an in-store at Fingerprints Records earlier this week and it got me thinking about a few cool venues that used to be nearby. At 521 E. First Street, Fender’s Ballroom was just a couple of blocks away from the record shop and the Psychic Temple. It’s hard to believe that where […]
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, […]
More often than not, whenever I visit the Psychic Temple (later called the American Hotel) I also stop by DoLy’s Delectables because they have a great iced coffee for less than two bucks. Nice! But they also have excellent breakfasts and yummy sandwiches, not to mention amazing baked goods, pastries, and macarons. The proprietors Julie […]
The Long Beach Fencing Club’s winning concept for the Design a Fence contest is streetwise, inexpensive, and flexible. The use of wheat paste is also brilliant because it flips a medium that is best known for illegal advertising, revolutionary politics, and street art. What has become synonymous for rebellious expression on someone else’s wall is […]
Breaking news: This afternoon, the Long Beach Fencing Club won the Design a Fence contest with its streetwise, flexible, and budget-minded modular wheat paste concept (above). More details to come… Congratulations to the Long Beach Fencing Club and thanks to the judges!
We’ve been sharing a lot of information and images pertaining to the Psychic Temple’s past. Here are some recent plans for the building’s future. They aren’t finalized, but they hint at how the structure is being reimagined and repurposed as a creative space. Above: Basement, first floor. Below: Becond floor, third floor.
After the Psychic Temple, which was valued at $35,000, was purchased in the wake of scandal and via auction by Anna Sewell for $2,910.09. She renamed the American Hotel, and the narrow spaces where Dr. D.W. Price’s “psychic healing” took place became rooms for rent with shared bathrooms at the ends of each floor. Most […]
Although the Psychic Temple has been boarded up for roughly a decade, it has not been vacant. Plenty of evidence can be found in one of the second floor’s green rooms. “Last of a dieing [sic] breed.”
Before renovation began, the Psychic Temple looked rather bleak from the outside. However, the interior was once quite colorful. Even after the initial demolition, many of the remaining surfaces revealed a springlike palette.
Because the Psychic Temple’s first floor has been made over so many times over its 100+ years, it has lost its historical value. Nonetheless, we want to share how it looked before the renovation begins. Above: Low-budget American Hotel signage and entrance. On the far left was a shoe repair shop, complete with antiquated machinery. […]