Long Beach library to unveil rotating exhibit of photographs celebrating city's past
The Long Beach Public Library in February plans to unveil a rotating exhibit of photographs celebrating the city’s historical past.
The photo exhibit comes as library officials plan for a renovation of the library that will feature a history room on the first floor permanently dedicated to showcasing the city’s history.
Long Beach Public Library director Tara Lannen-Stanton and Long Beach resident Harvey Weisenberg pose Wednesday in front of the exhibit in honor of Weisenberg, who has devoted his life to public service. Credit: Newsday / Alejandra Villa Loarca
"This is just a taste of what’s to come," library director Tara Lannen-Stanton said. "We anticipate having exhibits with both historical photographs as well as contemporary photographs; really just celebrating Long Beach as it was, as it is and in the future."
The idea for the history room is an outgrowth of a popular exhibit last summer that featured memorabilia and artifacts from the life of one of the city’s favorite sons, former Assemb. Harvey Weisenberg.
Lannen-Stanton said the Weisenberg exhibit and a virtual weekly programming on Long Beach local history during the pandemic were such a success that discussions with Weisenberg to do something permanent began to develop.
While the library renovation is just in the planning stage, there was a desire to do something now to help uncover the early roots of Long Beach and how it became what it is today.
"Long Beach is my life," Weisenberg, 88, said. "It’s a wonderful place, filled with love and positivity. These exhibits are about making people aware what the small city of Long Beach is all about."
Photos of Harvey Weisenberg's time as a Long Beach lifeguard, including a photo of him and his wife, Ellen Laufer, are part of the Weisenberg exhibit at the Long Beach Public Library. Credit: Newsday / Alejandra Villa Loarca
Once it opens, the room will offer programs, audio recordings, photographic collections, video clips on Long Beach history. Lannen-Stanton said the artifacts have been collected from newspapers, historical resources, and donations from residents. The Weisenberg exhibit will remain as a permanent exhibit.
Eileen Pollis, the library’s local history librarian, said there are many notable items in the collection including maps, postcards and yearbooks. She notes a letter from the secretary of Calvin Coolidge’s wife, Grace Goodhue Coolidge, to the wife of the president of the Long Beach Board of Education, Mrs. Froehlich from 1925 and a scan of a Harper’s Bazaar publication dated Aug. 14, 1880, featuring a sketch the original Long Beach Hotel.
"It’s a resemblance of our community," Pollis said. "Both recent items and more historical photographs."
She notes many of the photographs are copies but still tell a story.
A favorite photograph from 1965 features the construction of the current City Hall as the original, built in the early 1900s, sits in the background, Pollis said. The collection does include some original photographs, including those printed on cloth.
Exhibit
The public is invited to see the first local history installment along with the permanent Weisenberg exhibit during an opening reception on Feb. 5 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Registration is encouraged. The library is located at 111 West Park Ave.
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'No one wants to pay more taxes than they need to' Nearly 20,000 Long Islanders work in town and city government. A Newsday investigation found a growing number of them are making more than $200,000 a year. NewsdayTV's Andrew Ehinger reports.
