11 Secret Things in Long Beach You Didn’t Know Existed

1. This Long Beach Secret Is Anything But Dead And Buried

In the 1970s the film crew for “The Six Million Dollar Man” was filming inside the haunted house at Long Beach’s Nu-Pike Amusement Park. One poor bloke moved a “hanging man” prop for a shot, the crew soon discovered it wasn’t a prop after all. The man’s arm fell off and revealed REAL HUMAN BONE! *cue Twilight Zone music* The corpse was one Elmer McCurdy, an Oklahoma outlaw and train robber. When McCurdy died, the local undertaker who embalmed his body did a rather impressive job, and so began charging looky-loos a nickel to see the dead outlaw. After a few macabre years, carnival promoters purchased the body and displayed it on tours around the country. The undertaker must have done a bang up job, because by the time McCurdy reached Long Beach, someone assumed it was a well-made prop and hung it in the haunted house.

2. Long Beach Has Your Hangover Cure All Rolled Into One

The Attic in Long Beach is an American tavern that serves up the most intense Bloody Mary’s you’ve ever seen–for better or worse. If you’re looking to soothe that headache or upset stomach, why not try an entire slider for a garnish? How about a shrimp cocktail in your beverage? Maybe a side of BBQ rib with your tomato juice?

3. Explore The Depths Of Long Beach’s Long-Buried Tunnel

The Jergins Tunnel served as an underground pedestrian walkway from the late 1920s to sometime in the mid 1960s and then was completely sealed off with no sign of reopening. For years, mystery encircled the Jergins Tunnel and unsurprisingly it gained a few ghost stories. In 2007, the city reopened the Jergins Tunnel for Long Beach’s University by the Sea festival. The tunnel had beautiful Art Deco tiling throughout.

4. Sneak A Peek At The World’s Most Slender Abode

You can literally win a world record for anything. Long Beach also holds the world record for Most Couples Feeding Each Other Simultaneously, which is something absolutely no one cares about. Skinniest house on the other hand? That’s pretty fun. The house in Rose Park measures only 10-feet wide, but it makes up for its width by being extra long and three stories tall.

5. Breathtaking Views Await At This Hidden Vista

The aptly named Hilltop Park offers one of the best views of Long Beach, Signal Hill, and San Pedro. Technically, the park resides within the city limits of Signal Hill, but it’s a popular sunset picnic spot for Long Beachers too. It’s also an insanely cheap location for weddings.

6. You Can Feel Really Cool And Eccentric At The Art House Theatre

Long Beach is home to an exquisite art deco movie theatre called Art Theatre. Built in 1924, it’s the oldest, single-screen theatre in the city and feels more like a gallery than a movie theatre. That’s why it’s spelled theatRE and not theatER, don’t you know? They show a mixture of independent films, classics, and the occasional concert, but all are privy to the wine bar.

7. Long Beach Is Home To A Booming, Bustling, Supportive, And Oh So Fantastic Gay Community

You won’t find drag bars this good anywhere else in Southern California. Hamburger Mary’s is by far the craziest and most flamboyant; what looks like a small community theatre from the outside is actually a bar, restaurant, and drag queen haven. They have wild themed nights and a bottomless mimosa drag-queen brunch that’s not to be missed.

8. Take A Trip To Japan–For Free!

Since the 1980s, Cal State Long Beach has kept up a magnificent Japanese garden on campus. In between the concrete landscape, quaint bridges take you under cherry blossoms and over a lagoon streaked by koi fish. It’s a beautiful place to find solitude amongst the lily pads and bamboo trees.

9. You Can Have Your Own Little Plot Of Land For Veggie Growing

The green movement found a comfortable home in Long Beach and from that it sprouted various community gardens all over the city. For under $100 a year, residents can have their own plot, and when it comes time to harvest, there are potlucks and meetings to bring the group together. Looking for a place to garden in your neighborhood? Call Long Beach Organic.

10. Long Beach’s Biggest, Most Extravagant Haunted House Is On A Ship

An icon of Long Beach, the Queen Mary, hosts an event practically every weekend, but during Halloween the ship’s mysteries and hauntings come alive. No matter that walking around there at night isn’t already creepy enough, during Dark Harbor there are real ghouls waiting to scare you around every corner.

11. In The Darkest Hours, Gfunk Rides

Okay, it’s not as weird as it sounds. Plenty of cities have organized bike gangs–that’s bike as in bicycle. Gfunk, the group’s name, rides every week and prides themselves on challenging and strenuous rides–all at nighttime. Group sizes vary from eight to dozens of people but there’s no typical rider. Anyone is free to join the group so long as they want to push the pedal to… a few inches off the ground. Featured Image Source: Flickr user jurvetson What’s your favorite secret spot in Long Beach? Tell us in the comments below!