Long Beach Pike | Visiting with Huell Howser | KCET 

Time marches on and the loss of great locations as the Pike are gone. Thank you Huell Howser. Rest in Peace.

The pike is now a corporate hellscape. I wish it was this cool now.

I wish Long Beach was still like this and we could go in the water.

I use to swim at the plung in 1957. Walking down the midway you could hear Art calling in customers, " Hot Dogs, Chillie Dogs, Ice Cold Lemonade, Peanuts, Pop Corn, Get em While There Hot ". Dropped alot of dimes in the skeyball game at Lou's arcade. Loved thoes bumber cars.

Long Beach blew it when they tore The Pike down, they should have maintained it just how it was, I’d definitely go back

Me my brother and cousin would take the rtd bus from cudahy to the pike back in the 70s once we got there we would smoke cigaretts and check out all of the bikers and sailors. Then look for trouble and we found it. Those times where so much fun. And i remember the rides and the sounds in the air and the sun on my face and the smell of the ocean. We felt so free i loved that place.

In 1968 when I returned home from Vietnam I had an apartment across the street from the old police station and we would go to the Pike every night...for some reason I always referred it as the Queen’s Pike. I wonder how many meals I ate there. That rickety old roller coaster was a great one on level with Ocean View that was destroyed in a movie.

My family went to the Pike a few times back in the 60's. It wasn't Disneyland, but it was still lots of fun. And I remember lots of sailors walking around.

Food, bars, dancing, rides, beaches, waves, sunshine, festivities replaced by chain restaurants and trinket shops.

I absolutely loved the Pike, I went on to paint funhouses and darkrides.I loved the ones they had at the Pike. I lived in Seal Beach at the time. Around 1966

Does anybody remember the "LAFF IN THE DARK" ride? with "Laughing Sal" who stood atop the entrance to the ride Laughing all the time? Ah, the memories!

I miss the America that I grew up in. In the 60"s, my mom used to take us there three or four times every summer. It was in Long Beach California. She would give us all $10 each, my sister, my brother and I. And it would last us from 10:00 in the morning to 8:00 at night. Some of the rides for 15 cents and, some of them were a quarter. The salt water taffy was amazing! The caramel apples were so delicious! Those were the days my friends we thought they'd never end... 💔

From '62 through '65 my high school buddies and I (all Jordan High class of '64) would begin a night out with a few circuits on the Cyclone. Our mutual competition was to see who could ride 10 times in a row without upchucking. Going off to college, or to war, in '65 broke us up, finally, and by the time I made it back to Long Beach in 1986, the Pike and the Cyclone were gone. We had a great time, though, and all of us are still around.

Great reminder of what the Pike really was. I had heard of this place when I was a kid. Nice update 👍

Living in Long Beach now is quite sad to see how far it’s fallen over the last fifty years

Why do cities tear down those historic places that hold the memories for so many people. I guess it always comes down to money. I remember going there when I was about 11. At that time you could pay one price and go on the roller coaster as many times as you want. I remember riding that about 20 times. My dad rode with me every time. What a wonderful dad, I love him and miss him.

So good someone came and documented this before it was gone. I've lived in Long Beach for 8 years and I don't even recognize that area, its now shopping center and apartments.

I miss Huell Howser. I always look forward to his shows showcasing cool places in Southern Cali. I looked forward to my road trips thinking about places he's introduced that i want to visit. Long Beach is still my fave city in southern cali and i'm privileged to have lived there. I still hope to maybe live there again. The pike is still there across the Shoreline Village but unfortunately Lite a Line closed in 2022, probably due to the pandemic. I'm surprised Huell never married cuz he was a handsome man. We miss him and all the cool places he's visited that's now closed.

My paternal grandmother from Norway owned an apt bldg near the pike in the 1950s she used to walk me down there.. 😄😄

I never knew of the Long Beach PIKE Amusement Park. Thank You Huell and KCET.

We had so much fun at the Pike!!! That roller coaster was great!! The games and rides were so awesome.

Loved the pike, beach in the morning rest of The day at the pike remember the mummified outlaw and i was there the last week it was open

I was 2 years old in 58. My Dad took me on the coaster. Mom couldn't go ,she was pregnant with my brother. I screamed the ride, the gentleman sitting in the seat in front of me turned around and talked to me the whole ride. I ran down to the bench Mom was on and told her I wanted to go again. My Dad just busted up laughing. Thanks for the memories.

The turret atop the roof of the Lite-A-Line building was still just lying on the ground by itself behind a construction fence for awhile after I moved to LB in 2007.

I vividly remember the Pike. There was an out-side roller skating rink at the west end of the Pike which I visited many times. The Cyclone Racer was scary but fun. Gone but not forgotten...

Loved going in the 50s lived in north long beach

It's sad the city had no shame and destroyed history and museum pieces and sold out, rather than preserve things that later generations will never be able to experience.. all they have are pictures and memories that will fade in time

Miss the Pike and Huell.

the pike! where my mother & father met. she with her girlfriends out for a fun time, and he with his army buddies on a 24 hour pass. summer, 1942.

My brother and l would go hang out on Rainbow Pier and feed the sea gulls. Our dad drove a motor cycle inside a steel sphere at the Pike.

Omg! My 2nd Mom and Neighbor spent hours in there! That was in the 70's. I was wondering where she gambled. ..and I opened this video. I saw the chairs and remembered. RiP Rosemary. 🙏 ❤️

I grew up going there young with my family. I can definitely can say the pike was great.. many memories. Miss that place. How time Flys by

huells fit is fire

I rode the coaster once and I too said...no mas!

I was born in Long Beach in 1941 when my parents rented an apartment on 7th St. When I was 2 they bought a house in Seal Beach where there was -- ocean -- sand -- boardwalk -- then our house. My bedroom was upstairs and when it stormed surf ran down my window after hitting the roof. The pike and the roller coaster became a familiar sight since my dad had his chiropractice office in what is now an historic building on Pine Ave a few blocks up from the beach. When I was 10 we moved to Anaheim in the middle of an orange grove so we kids could live in the country. My husband and I moved to Oregon in 1967 to get away from California traffic. I had ridden the roller coaster about 6 times up to high school. In my mind's eye I can still see parts of its wooden frame and the ocean below as it took that wide sweeping curve to the right. And even now, 70 years later, I'll have an occasional scene of a piece of Long Beach in a dream.

whats real sad is i wonder how many people in this program are still alive, time marches on,i dont know about progress but its sad to think all of the pike is gone, the people that where here years ago are gone too.

My grandparents lived in Long Beach, and I vaguely remember going to the Pike a few times. I rode a merry-go-round (that probably was NOT the Looff) and my uncle sent me over to look in the funny mirror where the air jet came out of the ground and blew up my skirt. I saw the Cyclone Racer, and I remember my grandmother telling stories about how sailors would fall off into the water. My older sister and our cousin rode it (I was far too scared to do so) and I remember them walking eagerly up the entrance ramp into the maw of the beast. I wondered if I'd ever see them again. Much later my sister told me it was so much fun our cousin dug some change out of his pocket so they could ride it again.

Bring back The Pike!!!!!! If it still existed, it probably would've been as good as Cedar Point.

I live here, but remember older brothers and sisters getting home to Paramount late and talking about the pike in the mid 70's, reminds me of that song, "Come Dancing" "The day they knocked down the Pali, my sister stood and cried."

I saw that Looff amusement building when I visited LB in 1983. It caught my attention because we had the last Charles I.D. Looff Carousel that Charles And Brother Arthur worked on. It operated at Playland at the Beach in San Francisco. There’s also a Looff Carousel at Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

Great video! I have so many fond memories of The Pike. I loved the little zoo with the monkeys on display. The small train that would go around the kiddie area and the many wild peacocks. The pony rides were always a treat. The ocean water plunge where you could rent bathing trunks for a nickel! The sea diving bell where you encountered sharks and manta rays. The colossal twin basket ride rose 200 feet in the air. The double Ferris wheel that spun around from top to bottom. It was one of the first sights you'd see as you and the family drove towards The Pike. It always brought such excitement in anticipation. The indoor dark rides where spooky characters lurked around every corner. The House of Glass where I broke my sunglasses as I inadvertently walked face-first into one of the glass doorways. I learned my lesson that day and from then on out kept my hands outstretched as opposed to my face! The rigged carney games, lol. The maze where you encountered sliding floors, spinning wheels, and shifting walkways while trying your best not to land flat on your rump. The shooting galleries. All of the wonderful arcade games. The penny pitching machines where you attempted to contact the electrode points and win more pennies as the entire enclosed table would lift up on one side and slide all the pennies into the collection area with a pay off of up to 5 pennies. A great reward for a kid at the time. I loved watching the Magruder's saltwater taffy machine work its magic every time I visited. In fact, they used the same visually stunning machine's operation in an early episode of the television show called "ARREST and TRIAL -- Isn't It a Lovely View?" My family enjoyed watching them film the episode on the beach. I met one of the stars, Barbara Nichols. I got her autograph but lost it somewhere at home over the years. We once operated a table tennis and pool hall next to the Virginia Bowling Alley at the foot of Chesnut Avenue. My Mom and I would stop at the little pink cafe with green booths across the street for a treat before opening the establishment in the mornings. Fun memories even though we only ran the place for a few weeks. The owners claimed it wasn't making any money. I think we spent enough on the soda machine ourselves! Haha! On another occasion, I noticed that they were filming an episode of "Charlie's Angels: To Kill an Angel". I snuck my way into the filming much to their chagrin. I'm sure they were cursing my visage as they were trying to match up shots in the editing room, lol. I eventually was found out, but I at least had a nice free meal. I loved the two competing "games of chance" located at The Pike on opposite ends, Clock-A-Line and Lite-A-Line. The first time I played Lite-A-Line in my 20s, I won $5. I quit while I was ahead. It was a nice return for a 25-cent investment. I was in good company, as an article released later in the Press-Telegram described how Jack Nicholson, while filming "Man Trouble" near The Pike, won during his first attempt at playing the game, too. Well, those are just a few of my many escapades and fond remembrances of The Pike. It is sad that the fun zone is no longer, but my wonderful memories will last a lifetime!

Someone should make a video of before & after , at the various locations

Good 👍 job Body. 👏.. I miss,long ⛱ Beach.!!!!saludos from the vegas nv.!!..

I got both my tattoos at the pike back in "74"!

Long Beach blew it when they got rid of the Pike. The only thing they have is the aquarium and that is not a lot to talk about . Disneyland wanted to open in Long Beach not that long ago and the city did not make it happen. Can you imagine the revenue? Instead they have no more roller coasters, just homeless everywhere.

I'm a native of long beach CA I grew up going to the pike they had the most exciting Rollercoaster on the west coast best rides hot dogs corn dogs cotton candy bumper cars the beach I remember the sailors having fun I remember when they began demolition of the pike I moved up north to turlock been to the Boardwalk in Santa Cruz it's much smaller but those redwoods up on the hills is something else been to Disneyland in Anaheim, Knott's Berry farm and majic mountain.

Travel around the world with Bertrand Smith’s Acres of Books. Now another crappy Long Beach Mall. Thank you. No bookstore.

I worked for a lady that was born in a tent on the beach...way back then and there!

I remember the Pike in the 70s! It's historical..They should have left it alone!😉

Fools tore down the original Pike, big mistake. breaks my heart.

Based on the interviews, this documentary looks to be filmed around mid-2001.

Thanks for the memory By Frank Sinatra Of things I can't forget, journeys on a jet Our wondrous week in Martinique and Vegas and roulette How lucky I was And thanks for the memory Of summers by the sea, dawn in Waikiki We had a pad in London but we didn't stop for tea How cozy it was Now since our breakup I wake up Alone on a gray morning-after I long for the sound of your laughter And then I see the laugh's on me But, thanks for the memory Of every touch a thrill, I've been through the mill I've lived a lot and learned a lot, you loved me not and still I miss you so much Thanks for the memory Of how we used to jog even in a fog That barbecue in Malibu, away from all the smog How rainy it was Thanks for the memory Of letters I destroyed, books that we enjoyed Tonight the way things look, I need a book by Sigmund Freud How brainy he was Gone are those evenings on Broadway Together we'd go to a great show But now I begin with the Late Show And wish that you were watching, too I know it's a fallacy That grown men never cry, baby, that's a lie We had our bed of roses, but forgot that roses die And thank you so much The lyrics are incredible. so many memories in Long Beach and then & now some happened ..Thanks so very much for posting this.

Although it survived 20+ more years after the move from the site of this episode, Lite-a-Line also seems to have closed as of June 2023. Will it rise again somewhere else or …?

Our small single family lived in the Mariner apts for the first 4 years of my life. I still have vivid memories of that time and the prople who bonded together to make the best family safe neighborhood possible. My Moms nic name was Dot. She worked for Jimmie and Mary the Greeks who owned a walk in burger/diner inside the Pike. Any one who knew Dot can reply here on youtube

LongBeach had the best amusement park, best surfing, beautiful Auditorium, etc.. Idea!!!!!!! Let's tear it down and put up a break wall and put up lots of boat parking, shopping, restaurants, and let the trash from LA River drift on in. Great!!! Who made this choice!;2022 and there's nothing really to talk about in the erea. Oh yeah, LongBeach Gran Prix is 1 day a year.

Never understood the bathhouses. They had them at Venice beach for a while too I read.

Does anyone know if a midcentury modern building called Sea Winds was there? Maybe a hotel? Mid sixties.

Has this lady been sitting here since 1941? 😆 Miss HH

after it was all mostly gone, they still had a freak show next door to the giant indoor pool, and I saw some pretty cool stuff waiting for my mom to pick me up from the pool, as they pitched the show, with a small preview of what you could see on the inside, which you could attend for maybe twenty five cents. I'm surprised I remembered, because my mom only gave me money to use the pool. The lady sward swallower was better than anyone I have seen on TV. Most shows she just swallowed swards and knives, but once in a while she would swallow a three foot neon lightbulb, electrified and glowing to prove it was real and just how dangerous the act was. one thing I do remember clearly was frog girl, who cost an additional ten cents to see, payable on the inside , the woman who breathed through her skin underwater. . She was rarely a part of the show, I only saw her pitched once. For a frog girl, she looked pretty nice to me, like a model or something. naturally , putting any clothes on a woman who breathes through her skin underwater would be like putting a wet washcloth on your own face and trying to breathe, , and you can see her underwater on the inside for an extra ten cents. Man I really wished I had the price of admission, plus a dime, as I waited there to return to the care of my mom, and away from the carnival's edge.

A buddy of mine were there for the last night of the Cyclone Racer, we rode it 8 times trying to ride the very last run, ( we didn’t make it )

Wonder “ where “ that location is , in case we want to go see it. In fact I was living in Long Beach when they filmed this

What year was this filmed? Line a Light moved locations a few decades ago right?

My parents remembered Rainbow Pier.... so sad.

wonder how this place looks now,is lite a line still around.

What year was this filmed? Looked like the early 90s.

anyone know the year this was filmed?

What year was this filmed?

Well that sucks. So they said they were going to use part of the old building as a visitors center. Doesn't look like they did, and can't find any info. What happened?

Think not to long after Disneyland opened in 1955, that might have taken business away from the Pike to a certain extent

I'll tell it like it really was, The Pike, during the 60's. As a young seaman stationed on a Destroyer in Long Beach I was warned by my Shipmates to stay away fm the Pike, it was a Cess-pool of Pimps, women of ill repute, druggies and all trying to take advantage of young Sailors. Sadly there was a Bar there Named "George's Roundup" with a Big Gold Harley MC in the window. All the Unfaithfull Sailors Wives would flock to once a Destroyer Division got underway overseas. The Pike was a Cesspool of Evil Corruption. Period.

What year did he go there ?

I'd really like to know the 1st idiot who came up with the idea to tear the Pike down, put up a break wall and get rid of the waves, Just imagine if a Amusement Park was still there. .

They bulldozed The Pike?! Man that SUCKS. I thought SoCal had finally learned their lesson about tearing down their history. Guess not 😢

Gentrification

24:39,two older gentlemen,wasnt one a woman?

Y'all know what everyone called Ken Larkey's mother, don't ya? Ma Larkey!

Sadly it would be so unsafe and trashy now if they would bring it back. It isn't as safe as it use to be

They paved paradise then put up a parking lot 🇺🇲. Thanks for nothing.

Way to destroy your city culture Long Beach.

who cares?

I would be a dream to be alive and living in Long Beach during the best years of the pike! When was this video made?

In mid 60s I was one of the sailors who came to the Pike and enjoyed relatively cheap and enjoyable fun. At the time I was stationed on a ship at Pier 9 Long Beach on Terminal Island. Base is gone but the pier is still here. Fond memories playing Skeeball and a few times in 66 when I walked into a bar and listened to Tommy Cash (John's brother). Good wholesome fun.