There's a small, metered parking lot which hosted a food truck at the time of my visit.
A brief history of the port area.
USS Frank E. Evans and the Lost 74 - the ship collided with an Australian aircraft carrier (HMAS Melbourne) on June 3, 1969 in the South China Sea. 74 sailors were killed. Their names are dedicated on this plaque.
The massive anchor was from one of President T. Roosevelt's sixteen ships in his "Great White Fleet". The ships were sent around to demonstrate America's power as trading partners. The anchor was salvaged in 1908 by Al Larson
This flag mast was from the Long Beach Navy Hospital (c. 1942).
According to the plaque at the base, this signpost connected LBNSY (Long Beach Naval Shipyard) to NAVSTA (Naval Station) and was erected to commemorate the "Fighting Sullivan Brothers" who lost their lives aboard the USS Juneau CL-52. This ship was a light cruising ship that was torpedoed in the Soloman Islands in 1942. There were five Sullivan brothers on board that ship. Due to their loss, they enacted a "one-per-ship" rule for siblings! The connection to Long Beach was through one of the brothers who lived in the city.
This, my friends, is a Navysphere sculpture based on an Armillary Sphere (see the info plaque above) which was a model for navigation. Kids may think it's a giant jungle-gym to climb on so please be sure to discourage that tendancy. This sphere commemorates the History of the United States Navy in Long Beach and is dedicated to architect Paul Revere Williams who designed many of the Naval Station's buildings. It was donated on July 10, 2004.
A compass.
Inside this bench is a time capsule that was buried on May 1998.
The bathrooms (on the left side of this photo) are close to the aquarium building and were pleasantly clean. There was also a basketball court and vending machines.
If you have time, there is more to explore along the water and a walk up to Lion's Lighthouse or Lion's Lighthouse for Sight. Although the 65-foot lighthouse is not open to the public (it was built in 2000 as a decorative advertisement piece for the Lion's Club and was never used as an official lighthouse), the views on the hill are nice.
Hours: The park might be open 24 hours but the gate to the small parking lot is only open during daylight hours. During the day the park is safe. I wouldn't recommend visiting after hours.
Address: 200 Aquarium Way, Long Beach, CA 90802
More information on the memorial's history can be found at USS Frank E Evans Association
More information on the park can be found at Shoreline Aquatic Park
More information on Lions Lighthouse
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