Long Beach Heritage

Last year, you helped us preserve the past. This year, help us share it with the future.

For more than 45 years, Long Beach Heritage has worked to protect the historic places, architecture, and stories that make Long Beach unlike anywhere else. Long Beach Heritage proudly owns and operates the historic Bembridge House, and last year, our Long Beach Gives supporters helped us take on one of the property’s biggest preservation projects: protecting and repainting the exterior of this nearly 120-year-old landmark.

You helped us preserve the past. And we can't thank you enough. Now we want to share it.

This year, we're focusing on kids.

Think about the everyday things you grew up with. Dialing a rotary phone. Kneading the dough. Typing a letter on a typewriter. Looking something up in a book instead of asking a phone.

For many children today, these aren't memories. They're mysteries.

Our goal for Long Beach Gives 2026 is to bring more children and families into the Bembridge House and create a hands-on library of vintage technology where young people can actually experience pieces of the past. As well as bringing on more books for our Story Time.

We want them to touch things, try things, laugh, ask questions and wonder:

"Is this really how you used to do it?"

Because sometimes the best way to understand history is to get your hands on it.

What your support makes possible

Your Long Beach Gives donation will help us remove some of the barriers that keep young people from experiencing local history firsthand.

Funds raised this year will help us rent transportation to bring children and student groups to the Bembridge House, expand our hands-on library of vintage technology, develop engaging educational experiences, and continue caring for the historic home where all of this happens.

Beyond the Bembridge House, Long Beach Heritage continues the work we've been doing since 1980: advocating for historic buildings, helping property owners, supporting preservation incentives, recognizing outstanding preservation projects, leading architectural tours, and bringing neighbors together to celebrate the history found throughout Long Beach.

Preservation isn't only about saving an old building.

It's about understanding where we came from, sharing the stories of the people who came before us, and giving the people who come next a reason to care.

Last year, you helped us preserve the past.

This year, help us share it with the future.

Please support Long Beach Heritage and the Bembridge House during Long Beach Gives 2026.

Who is Long Beach Heritage?

Long Beach Heritage has been the loudest voice and most accomplished resource for historic architectural preservation, advocacy and education in Long Beach since 1980.

Many of our strongest supporters found their passion for saving historic architecture in Long Beach after taking a Bembridge House tour or LB architectural walking tour where they first saw the layers of history come alive through its architecture. 

• We organize advocacy efforts to keep older buildings in active use and promote the use of historic preservation incentives, such as the Mills Act Program and Adaptive Reuse Incentive Program
• We bring neighbors together to build communities that celebrate architecture in all Long Beach neighborhoods.
• We provide technical assistance to property owners looking to invest in older buildings and historic landmarks
• We recognize and promote leadership in historic preservation at our annual Preservation Awards
• We offer monthly walking tours of neighborhoods throughout Long Beach that highlights the city’s unique history and character
• We own and operate the historic Bembridge House as a community center and museum, which is an incubator for architectural preservation.

LBHeritage.org