Jergins Tunnel in Long Beach CA 7-8-16
The Jergins Tunnel aka Jergins Pedestrian Subway, named after pioneer oil baron Andrew T. Jergins, was built to create safe passage to the beach. It also lead to The Pike, which until 1979, was a prominent amusement park. At the time there were no stop signs or traffic signals on the corner of Pine and Ocean. A survey done at the time showed that there were more than 2000 people per hour crossing Ocean at Pine Avenue and more than 4000 on weekends. The work was begun in 1927 when Ocean Boulevard was already torn up to realign the Pacific Electric tracks, thus no tunnel was dug which cut the costs in half. Originally it was to cost $80,000, with the city and Jergins each paying half, but Jergins, wanting a fancier subway, put up a hundred thousand dollars to get beautiful tile work and a huge skylight. There were two entrances on the north side of Ocean and one in front of the State Theater. The tunnel ran under Ocean Boulevard and connected up with the Jergins Arcade. The Jergins Arcade was also a walk through with a series of shops along the way which opened at the far end onto the Pike. This area was sometimes called The Village. The Jergins Subway had no shops except during the 1930’s in the depression when people were allowed to open booths along the walls. These were taken out in 1940. The expensive tile that Jergins ordered has held up very well. The floor tile in a kind of mosaic that looks like carpet. There is beautiful wall tile going up 10 feet with a decorative cap. Most of the ceiling is also tiled though the skylight has long since been filled in. The tunnel is very long, more than 180 feet. The original steps are still there but there is a concrete wall blocking off that north end. At the south end where we entered, there is a good deal of damage to those stairs and entryway tile.
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