The Orange County/Long Beach Chapter of Great Outdoors presents:
OCLB - Downtown Long Beach Building Art Walk at the WPA Mural at 185 E. 3rd Street
Sunday, June 28, 2026 starting at 10:00 AM
Contact: Frederick Brown E-mail: [email protected] Phone: 562-754-1838
Bring comfortable walking shoes, sunscreen, sunglasses and a liter of water.
(This writeup was adapted from GPSmyCity.com)
Where are we headed?
Downtown Long Beach at the Promenade and 3rd Street.
Quickly, what can I expect?
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Route conditions: Flat
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Difficulty: 1 on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the hardest
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Distance: 1-2 miles
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Dog friendly: Yes
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Costs/Parking: 51 E. 3rd Street, just past the meet up point. at 131 E. 3rd Street. Hourly 2h Free, 3h $3.50, 4h $5, 5h $8,6h $11, 24h $12. Click here for map.
OK, Let's Get Started
Long Beach's creative side can come from more unusual places, like its... walls. Think of it as one giant, sun-soaked art book you can walk through-except instead of turning pages, you’re sliding into more secluded alleyways.
The granddaddy among the murals has the priority: the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium Mural, a 1938 ceramic wonder now hanging out at Harvey Milk Promenade Park. It’s a tiled time capsule of beach life, harbor hustle, and good old-fashioned community vibes, all rendered in vivid color that refuses to fade into history.
Once the murals get younger, things get a little louder-enter The American Way by Tristan Eaton. It’s a pop-art punch in the face, layering patriotism with critique, and icons with irony. Based on a 1937 photograph, it shouts, questions, and side-eyes the American dream, all in Eaton’s trademark comic-book-meets-spray-paint style.
Feeling overwhelmed? Bumblebeelovesyou’s Deuces dials it back. It’s a scene that feels like a lazy Sunday: a kid, a dog, a skateboard, and a gentle reminder to slow your roll.
Then Felipe Pantone does the exact opposite-his mural looks like it crash-landed from the future. With neon gradients, optical tricks, and digital static, it’s part glitch, part rave, and all mesmerizing.
Behind Hotel Royal, Dave Van Patten lets loose with his quirky cast of walruses in ties and three-headed thinkers. It’s surreal, weirdly lovable, and feels like the pages of a comic strip came to life after a strong cup of coffee.
And for something with depth and drama, Dragon76 brings bold brushstrokes and fantasy flair straight from the Long Beach Walls festival-his mural dances between realism and dreamscape, all grounded in stories of strength and identity.
This will mark the end of the official walk. But there are many, many more murals in downtown Long Beach for those who would like to explore further.
Trip Leader: Frederick Brown. Email: [email protected]. Phone: 562-754-1838
