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NOVEMBER 8, 2013
Wrigley
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Jane Kelleher, owner of Sav-OnSigns, which has completed various monument and gateway signs throughout Long Beach, said communities are going to have to take similar, proactive steps to make any improvements now that redevelopment is gone. “We’re good friends with Wrigley and NAG,” she said. “Since the demise of the redevelopment agency, communities need to get creative to better their neighborhood, and I think the signs will be a big help.” Greenfeld said the area has been called the Wrigley Village since about the 1980s, when the Wrigley Village Business Association was formed. NAG, which was established in 2002, took over much of the efforts to improve the business district while hosting monthly meetings. The signs incorporate an outline of Pacific Avenue with an Art Deco look to reflect the architecture of the many storefronts along the street. The signs also feature black and gold tiles. “It really shows how much the people who live in Wrigley care about the area,” said Greenfeld, a 20-year Wrigley neighborhood resident. “There’s a sense of community in Wrigley I haven’t seen… The people really want to move Wrigley forward and bring it back to what it used to be.” According to a blog titled “Long Beach’s Past” by local author, historian and librarian Claudine Burnett, housing tracts in the extended “Wrigley District” neighborhood were first developed as early as 1906 to take advantage of the nearby Pacific Electric trolley junction. The trusted Wrigley name was used in marketing to homebuyers. In the 1920s, other housing developments followed on Long Beach Boulevard, Magnolia Hill and Silverado. Prior to becoming housing, a portion of Wrigley was once used as an airfield by famed Long Beach aviator Earl Daugherty, Burnett states. McDonald said what attracted her to
COMMUNITY
the neighborhood was the convenience of having a shopping district located within walking distance of her home. She said the retail corridor has a rich history and potential to become a thriving business community. “The size of the shops and their plentitude provides an ample retail environment structure that we can make attractive to businesses to make their home,” she said. “We already have a tremendous amount of vehicular traffic that travels along this piece of Pacific Avenue. As we continue to improve the structure of this business district, I am confident that the Wrigley Village will be successful.” McDonald said the two community groups have already submitted grant applications for even more beautification elements for the Wrigley
SIGNAL TRIBUNE
area and expect to find out later this month if the efforts were successful. The community is also looking into the possibility of creating a businessimprovement district, or BID, that would assess businesses there to pay for various improvements and amenities, similar to Bixby Knolls, she said. McDonald said a tree-planting event in Wrigley is scheduled for this Saturday, Nov. 9 from 9am to noon at Walgreens on Pacific Avenue and Willow Street. ß
Photos courtesy NAG
The new Wrigley Village monument signs, located at each end of the historic business district on Pacific Avenue at Willow Street and Pacific Coast Highway, cost $12,750 each, paid for through a combination of community volunteers, federal grants and donations from businesses and residents.
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