Effective February 10, 2022, Downtown Long Beach shines a bit brighter. The city officially reopened the brand new and completely redesigned Lincoln Park, located on the corner of Ocean Boulevard and Pacific Boulevard.
Today, many residents, including tourists, get to enjoy the improved park that accommodates a wide range of age groups, from toddlers to teenagers and grown adults. On the main side of the park there features a skate park, half basketball court, grounded workout equipment, benches, and a large play structure area.
In the center of the park is a synthetic turf field with two small soccer goals on either side. Located on the other side of the field is the Billie Jean King Main Library that opened in 2019, as well as a dog park, and clean, easily accessible restrooms.
Historically, Lincoln Park is the oldest park in Long Beach, CA, which was established in 1880. Prior to this renovation, the park was riddled with homeless activity, trash, and dying brush.
Mytishea Sinclair, a mom and local resident of a couple years said, “we didn’t even know there was a park here until we were coming over the bridge.”
The park has virtually metamorphosed into a tourist attraction! One of the many attractive features is that it accommodates sports equipment rentals to use while visiting the park at no cost.
“This is our second time coming here, and we chose to come back here because it’s close to the house and there’s a skate park,” Sinclair said.
The parking in the area can be somewhat difficult with most of it being paid parking. There are apartment buildings surrounding the park on most sides with most parking being taken by residents.
According to Sinclair, “the parking is pretty much the same as usual, but it would be nice if there could be designated parking.”
Overall the redesigned park has been a major hit with the local residents as well as people that are just passing through. The large and shiny Abraham Lincoln Memorial Penny Statue facing Ocean Boulevard makes the park hard to miss when driving by.
According to two local residents and first time Lincoln Park goers, the new and improved park has brought a, “sense of tranquility and breath of fresh air.”
Lincoln Park is open from dawn to 10 p.m., with significant overhead and ground lighting in all areas after dark.