Photos courtesy Long Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau

Welcome from the Conference Hosts

As members of the local host committee, we cannot wait to welcome everyone to Southern California. 

While only local host Madeleine Liseblad, of Cal State University, Long Beach, works in our host city, local host Noah Arceneaux, of San Diego State University, and Christina Littlefield, of Pepperdine University, in Malibu, are delighted to welcome you to the greater Los Angeles area. 

There is so much to see and do in Southern California. Below, hosts have curated their top lists in Long Beach, Los Angeles and beyond. 

Things to do in Long Beach and nearby

Don't Miss the International Printing Museum

For the print publication aficionados in our group, the International Printing Museum in nearby Carson – a 15–20-minute drive from our conference hotel – is an absolute delight. It was started in 1988 to house the Lindner Collection of Antique Printing Machinery. Since then, it has grown substantially. It is focused on bringing the history of printing to life and has one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive collections of antique printing machinery and graphic arts equipment. They regularly demonstrate their printing machines with hands-on workshops and historic re-enactments. 

If you want to visit this museum, you do have to plan ahead. It is only open to the public on Saturdays, but reservations can be made for a Tuesday through Friday visit too.

https://www.printmuseum.org

Art Theater – catch a movie at the Art Theater. This cool art deco venue has been open since 1924. Back then it was a single screen silent movie theater with a pipe organ and orchestra pit. It is the only remaining independent movie theater in Long Beach. 

https://arttheatrelongbeach.org

Aquarium of the Pacific – learn all about the creatures that make the Pacific Ocean home and the ecosystems. The Aquarium of the Pacific is the fourth most-attended in the U.S. and it displays about 12,000 animals in its more than 100 exhibits. 

https://www.aquariumofpacific.org

Beach – visit one of the city’s beaches such as Bayshore Beach (most well attended), Mother’s Beach (for kids), Granada Beach, Peninsula Beach, Alamitos Beach (closest to our hotel), Long Beach City Beach, or Rosie’s Dog Beach.

Cal State University, Long Beach – you can visit the big blue Walter Pyramid, walk around in the tranquil Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden, or go cosmic bowling in the student union.

https://longbeachstate.com/facilities/walter-pyramid/2

https://www.csulb.edu/earl-burns-miller-japanese-garden

https://www.asicsulb.org/corporate/enjoy/games-center

Gondola Getaway – Feeling romantic? You can cruise the Naples Canals in Long Beach in a gondola! Do a traditional gondola ride or try their pizza gondola cruise. Or why not grab 14 of your best historian friends and do their Grand Venetian Experience?

https://gondolagetawayinc.com

Long Beach Museum of Art – This museum’s collection includes over 4,000 artifacts. It was founded as a municipal art center for the city in 1950.

https://www.lbma.org

Long Beach Waterbikes – Why not rent a waterbike and cruise Alamitos Bay? Choose a day, sunset, or an evening LED-glow ride. 

https://lbwaterbikes.com

Museum of Latin American Art – Visit this museum dedicated to modern and contemporary Latin American and Latino art. In addition to a permanent collection with over 1,300 works of art, the museum also has a 15,000 sq. ft. sculpture park. 

https://molaa.org

Pike Outlets – Shop at the outlets in downtown Long Beach. You can also take a ride on the Ferris wheel and the historical carousel. Originally, The Pike was founded in 1902 as an amusement park and arcade. It lasted till 1979. In 2014, it was remodeled and turned into what it is today.

https://thepikeoutlets.com

Rainbow Lagoon Swan Boats – Rent a swan pedal boat and cruise downtown’s Rainbow Lagoon. Enjoy it while soaking up the sunshine or as an evening LED-illuminated adventure.

https://wheelfunrentals.com/ca/long-beach/rainbow-lagoon/

Rancho Los Alamitos – stroll this 7.5-acre site and visit its 1800s Adobe ranch house. This site has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places twice - for its Tongva village of Povuu’ngna and for its adobe core ranch house c.1800, four acres of lush historic gardens, and the restored barns area. They have a working blacksmith shop and ranch animals such as chickens, rabbits, ducks and horses.

https://www.rancholosalamitos.org

Rancho Los Cerritos – Visit this historic home and gardens. It is located on the ancestral land of the Gabrielino/Tongva people. It was a cattle ranch, sheep ranch, an apartment building and a private family residence beginning in the mid-19^th century. Now it’s a Historic Landmark with a non-profit museum.

https://www.rancholoscerritos.org

Shoreline Village – The village is walking distance from the Aquarium of the Pacific. Enjoy the shops and the scenery. Rent a bike and cruise the boardwalk.

https://shorelinevillage.com

Queen Mary – The Queen Mary is this year’s history tour, but if you can’t get enough, you can visit it more than once. This originally British luxurious passenger ship, a part of the Cunard line, made 1,001 crossings between England and New York from 1936 to 1967. Today it is permanently docked in Long Beach and serves as a floating museum and hotel. 

https://www.queenmary.com

These are just a handful of all the fun things you can do in Long Beach. More here: https://www.visitlongbeach.com

Beyond Long Beach: 

Easy day trip if you don’t have a vehicle:

Catalina Island – Here’s a day trip that doesn’t require renting a car! Instead, enjoy a short, scenic boat ride (about an hour) from the Port of Long Beach to the quaint town on Avalon on Catalina Island. Stay for the day or overnight. Enjoy the picturesque little town of Avalon, take a tour and see the free roaming bison, hike, golf, shop, dine, or just relax.

https://www.lovecatalina.com

https://catalinaexpress.com/schedule-fares/

Walk Los Angeles 

While Los Angeles is a driving city, you can take a ride share to downtown and explore quite a bit of the city on foot, where there is a lot of history and culinary treats to be had. Christina and her family started one quest at Union Station, had lunch at Olvera Street, walked to China Town, back over to the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, walked past Walt Disney Music Hall and hit the Los Angeles Public Library, then went down Angel’s Flight Funicular to see the Bradbury building and eat dinner at Grand Central Market. You can easily add on the historic building that used to house the Los Angeles Times or the former Herald Examiner building that now houses Arizona State’s California Center. AJHA attendees may also enjoy the Last Bookstore. To plan your urban walk, find a map of downtown here and check out this LA Times guide. 

Other fun urban walks include strolling the Hollywood Walk of Fame, particularly in front of the historic Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, checking out Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade down to the pier, walking the boardwalk on Venice Beach, or window shopping on Rodeo Drive.

Area Museums 

Los Angeles has many world-class museums: 

Getty Museum: Massive collection of art 

Getty Villa: Greek and Roman history and antiquities 

La Brea Tar Pits 

Exposition Mark: Natural History Museum, California Science Center,California African American Museum 

Grammy Museum 

Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Autry Museum of the American West

Holocaust Museum LA

Museum of Tolerance 

Skirball Cultural Center 

Japanese American Cultural Museum 

Petersen Automotive Museum 

Farther afield but worth the trek: 

Reagan Presidential Library and Museum, Simi Valley

Huntington Library, Art Museum and Gardens, Pasadena 

Area Amusement Parks 

If you are more of a thrill seeker, Southern California is home to many amusement parks. For wholesome fun, Disneyland and California Adventure are in Anaheim, California, about 35 miles away from the conference hotel. 

Knott’s Berry Farm is also in Anaheim, near Disney. 

Universal Studios Hollywood offers a backlot tour, a trip to Hogwarts and many movie-themed thrill rides. It is in Universal City, about 35 miles away from the conference hotel. 

Six Flags Magic Mountain, which boasts the scariest roller coasters, is 60 miles away in Santa Clarita. 

For movie and television fans: 

There’s many Hollywood tours available to see either where the stars live or to see where shows were filmed. The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures has its own museum to showcase movie history. 

Beyond the backlot tour at Universal, movie and television fans may also enjoy the Warner Bros Backlot Tour in Burbank, about 35 miles away from the conference hotel. It's where "Gilmore Girls" and "Friends" filmed.

For those interested in attending the live taping of a TV show, there are many options. "American Idol," "Wheel of Fortune," "America’s Got Talent," "Dancing with the Stars," and "Jimmy Kimmel Live" are some of the shows taping in the LA area. Here are tips on how to attend a taping.

Those renting a vehicle might also want to take a detour to Malibu Creek State Park, which has an easy hike showcasing where "Planet of the Apes" and "Mash" were filmed, or up the coast to Malibu to Point Dume and Zuma Beach, where shows like "Baywatch" and films like "The Notebook" were shot. Read more here. Zuma and Point Dume happen to be among the most beautiful beaches in Southern California.