It’s a Bird. It’s a Plane. It’s a Fountain!

The City of Long Beach has a rich history in aviation.

Balloonists parachuted onto the city’s beaches in 1905. Stunt pilots took off and landed in Long Beach in 1908. And the great Amelia Earhart learned to fly here, after local aviator Earl Daugherty opened a 20-acre flying training school in 1919.

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It’s only fitting that when developing a dynamic experiential retail and dining destination in today’s City of Long Beach, the theme of aviation would be at its core.
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Project architect DRA Architects and landscape architect Ridge Landscape Architects (RLA) designed Long Beach Exchange with this vision in mind. The retail attraction features hangar-themed shops and runway-themed walkways.

This project presented the perfect opportunity for OTL’s artisans to spread their wings, so to speak.

Inspired by historical McDonald Douglas airplane sculptures, which had been commissioned by the City of Long Beach 10 years ago, the OTL team designed geometric fountains with intricate stainless steel structures topped with the aircraft sculptures which appear to glide in midair.

OTL’s design delivered what City officials had been waiting for for over a decade – the perfect opportunity to showcase this important part of the City’s history.

Further, OTL brought its precise engineering expertise to the project, delivering a fountain that matched the development team’s vision, while adhering closely to the project budget.

Read more about Long Beach Exchange.