Yes, Virginia, there was a Virginia City…just north of Los Cerritos neighborhood in Long Beach

This photograph of the Mormon Sunday School in Virginia City on March 24, 1924 is a testament to the fact that the area which is today’s North Long Beach was a thriving independent community prior to its being annexed into the City of Long Beach.   The 1925 Polk City Directory for Long Beach lists only two LDS affiliated churches in the Long Beach area, one at 1200 Atlantic Avenue in downtown Long Beach and one at 5379 Elm Avenue.  The Elm Street site is in the heart of what was Virginia City, the corner of Elm and Market Street.  Since its time as Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints, the site continues to be used for religious purposes.  Today, 5379 Elm is the pastor’s residence attached to a pro-life church and social service non-profit agency called The Nesting Place, a complex of buildings that has become one of the largest extended pregnancy care facilities in Greater Los Angeles.   

The oil boom of the 1920’s was responsible for the growth of Virginia City as residential developments replaced dairies and farms to provide housing for people working in the oil fields.  With a growing residential population, the community petitioned for its own post office under the name of Virginia City.

Although the area, which was north of Del Amo Boulevard, was incorporated into Long Beach in 1924, it continued to be referred to as Virginia City for some time.  By the early 1930’s the area was home to 30,000 residents.  It proximity to the Los Angeles River meant that it was subject to flooding. In 1925, the Long Beach City Council approved diverting rock that had been destined for Long Beach Harbor to Virginia City to temporarily fortify the river banks to protect the neighborhood. 

The source of the name, Virginia City, is not clear, some attribute it to the closeness to the Virginia County Club in the Los Cerritos neighborhood of Long Beach.  In recognition of its link to the past, businesses in what was once the downtown area of Virginia City, formed a group called the Virginia Village Association.