El Dorado Park, Long Beach, California

 The El Dorado Park neighborhood of Long Beach, California, is on the east side of the city adjacent to the large El Dorado Regional Park. Lakewood is north of El Dorado Park, while Hawaiian Gardens is northeast, and Los Alamitos is east of El Dorado Park. The park is bounded on the east by the 605 Freeway, on the north by the Long Beach Towne Center shopping mall, and on the south by Stearns Street. Because of the barrier of the freeway and park between the neighborhood and the rest of Long Beach, as well as the barrier created by near Norwalk Blvd and the Coyote Creek and the neighboring cities, the El Dorado Park neighborhood feels quite separate.

The regional park sits in a flood zone, and it protects residences from spillover from the neighboring San Gabriel River. Additional undeveloped land south of Willow street near the confluence of Coyote Creek and the San Gabriel River is held by Southern California Edison, and some designated to become part of the park's Nature Center.

With a median household income of $130,959, El Dorado Park is reportedly the wealthiest neighborhood in Long Beach.

El Dorado Park Estates was developed by S&S Construction, now known as Shapell Industries, beginning in 1963. The company was co-founded by David Shapell, Nathan Shapell, and Max Webb in 1955. It was the first large neighborhood to be developed by the company.

Douglas A. Newcomb Academy opened to 300 students in September, 1963.

The park was developed in 1968 after the land was sold to the City of Long Beach by members of the Bixby family and was financed using bond money floated in the 1950s and '60s, and the varied topography comes from soil removed to construct the San Gabriel Freeway.

70 acres at the north end of the park was sold by the City of Long Beach to the Navy for $1 in 1965 to build a new naval hospital, replacing its World War II-era facilities located on Pacific Coast Highway on the facilities later used by the (closed) Brooks College and now as student housing at Cal State Long Beach. It became known for its alcoholism treatment program which launched in 1967 and became known as the hub of the military's dependency program. Perhaps its most famous patient was Betty Ford, who was admitted for drug and alcohol dependence in 1978. Another famous patient was Nazi war criminal Andrija Artukovic. This hospital closed in 1994 along with the closing of the Long Beach Naval Shipyard and Naval Station and disbanding of the Long Beach Naval Fleet. Rather than returning the land to park use, the city proposed a shopping mall. After years of legal battles by neighboring cities, who were concerned with the loss of sales tax revenue as well as competition with their own shopping malls, the center opened in 2000.

 

Here is a local business that supports the community

 

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Gorilla Junk Services

5916 Rose Ave, Long Beach, CA 90805

 

 

Be sure to check out this attraction too!