【皇氏古建築大全】【環遊尋美拾遺錄】【黃劍博客圖文集】

Jumbo Heritage List © Epic Adventure of Jumbo Huang

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第861回：玛丽王后号运兵船，灰色幽灵海上皇宫

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话说我拜访完朋友之后，就乘车来到了传说中的长滩市，以前我在马士基做物流时就知道这个地方，一直不明白它与洛杉矶是什么关系。我下车就开始往海边走，经过一个会展中心，看到很多人排队过安检准备进入建筑物内，似乎参观什么音乐会或文化展。

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长滩又叫长堤，华人也叫它朗比奇，是一座位于美国西岸加州南部的城市。按照人口排名，长堤是洛杉矶地区的第二大城（拥有大约50万人口），仅次于洛杉矶，是加州第五大城。

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长滩港是全世界十大吞吐量最高的港口。石油产业在此城亦很重要；长滩的石油主要在地底和离岸地区开发。长滩市境内大部分的公立学校都是隶属于长滩联合校区之下（Long Beach Unified School District, LBUSD），仅有小部分地区的学校是由派拉蒙联合校区（Paramount Unified School District, PUSD）与ABC联合学区（ABC Unified School District, ABCUSD）管理。

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在高等教育方面，加州州立大学系统在该市设有长滩校区（California State University, Long Beach, CSULB），是该系统的各校中规模第二大者。除此之外，该市范围内还可见到包括社区大学等级的长滩城市大学（Long Beach City College）与私立的德瑞大学（DeVry University）等高等教育单位。

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长滩市的国民生产总值接近一千亿美元，而人口却只有60万不到，可见想像它的平均收入是非常高的，只要能在当地找到一个体面的工作，一般收入不会差到哪里。

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长滩市是美国加利福尼亚州南部大城市、主要港口。临太平洋岸，在洛杉矶南40公里，是洛杉矶卫星城市群中最大的一个。1888年设市。1921年在附近锡格纳尔丘陵发现石油后，石油采掘和加工业很盛，还有飞机制造、化学、造船、鱼罐头等。人工港设备现代化，洛杉矶—长滩海军基地所在地。风景美丽，气候宜人，为著名海滨疗养地。

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我在长滩市海边散步，看到很多钓鱼的人，偶尔看到几个跑步的女人，我沿海走到了海滩和游船码头，商业区的松树大道 (Pine Avenue) 有购物和餐饮场所，长滩既有大城市的时尚，又有度假村的乐趣，大部分群众过来都是为了游览常泊此地的远洋班轮、极具传奇色彩的玛丽女王号，然后在班轮的平台酒吧品尝美酒，还可以入住班轮的客舱。

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太平洋水族馆也坐落在海边，水族馆内有着巨大的水族箱，并且展示着珊瑚礁、麦哲伦企鹅等海洋生物。若想领略滨海城镇的气息，可以前去贝尔蒙特海滨社区(Belmont Shore)。东村是拉丁美洲艺术博物馆 (Museum of Latin American Art) 所在地，透露出前卫时髦的气息。

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我站在海边欣赏着皇家邮轮玛丽王后号的雄姿，嘉年华集团的狂欢节想象大型邮轮就停泊在旁边，玛丽王后号隶属于英国的卡纳德轮船公司，是第二次世界大战前欧洲上流社会歌舞升平的奢华生活达到顶峰时的产物，是一座浮动的海上皇宫。高140英尺，长1000英尺，宽145英尺，吨位达81237吨。巡航速度是29节。最高速度可达34节。

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平时的搭载人数：头等舱776名乘客 , 二等舱784名乘客，三等舱579名乘客。

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实际上，按照命名的依据来看，因为玛丽王后号是用英王乔治五世的妻子——特克家族的玛丽王后来命名的，翻译成“玛丽王后”是比较准确。不过在新船下水之前，卡纳德公司还要为它取一个名字。

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经过诸多的建议之后，“维多利亚号”的船名被确定了下来，船名涉及到19世纪那位成功的不列颠女王，这个船名还需要请示王室——这是个必须的礼节。

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卡纳德公司管理层的珀西·贝茨爵士和阿什利·斯帕克斯爵士被选中去向国王乔治五世通报这个决定。阿什利爵士是这么说的：“陛下，我们很高兴地通知您，卡纳德公司希望得到您的批准，

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我们最新最大的班轮将以英格兰最伟大的女王进行命名。”国王对这个请求产生了误解——也许并非出于故意，他回答道：“我的妻子会很高兴的。”卡纳德无法改变这个事实了，你不能在这么一件细小的事情上给国王进行纠正。当时的王后名叫玛丽，于是这艘船的新名字注定就成了玛丽王后号。

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20世纪20年代末波及全世界的那场大萧条结束之后，欧洲迎来了一个为期将近八年的黄金时代。萧条时期门庭冷落的大型豪华邮船，又迎来了黄金时期。第二次世界大战前的横渡大西洋航线，有很多轮船公司参与运营。但是最重要的几个竞争对手在英、法、美、德、意之间。它们的邮船之间展开了争夺横渡大西洋最快速度的蓝飘带奖争夺战。

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英国的卡纳德轮船公司，以拥有众多大型的快速邮船而著称。但在30年代早期，随着德国的不莱梅级、意大利的国王号、法国的法兰西岛号、美国的亚美利加号等邮船的投入运营，卡纳德公司原有的毛里塔尼亚号、阿奎坦尼亚号、伯伦加利亚号等旧船显得力不从心。

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1931年获悉法国人正在建造80000吨级的诺曼底号超级邮船，公司决定建造一艘吨位上破纪录的大船。1931年12月11日，玛丽王后号邮船开始动工，建造的代号“534”。在此期间，波及全世界的经济大萧条使卡纳德公司将其搁置了近三年。

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玛丽王后号在建成之前，一直是叫534号工程。卡纳德公司在为新船命名的时候，曾经向英王乔治五世征询意见，将这艘超级邮船用大英帝国最伟大的女皇——维多利亚的名字命名。乔治五世很干脆地向卡纳德公司建议，用自己妻子玛丽王后的名字为其命名。

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1934年9月26日，长1018英尺，排水量达80174吨的玛丽王后号在苏格兰克莱德班克的约翰布朗公司船厂下水。英王乔治五世的遗孀——玛丽王后亲自出席了这艘以她的名字命名的巨船的下水典礼，并用香槟为它祝福。如同法国的八万吨级巨轮诺曼底号一样，玛丽王后号也是一艘现代化的邮船。

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但是她的内部装修不象诺曼底号那样采用那么多现代派手法。传统的英式装潢使得她无论从外表上还是从内部看上去都显得豪华、舒适。总之排水量81000吨的玛丽王后号，很快就成为追求时髦的欧美贵族富商社会名流们趋之若鹜的目标。

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1936年5月25日，英王爱德华八世、玛丽王太后、约克公爵夫妇、伊丽莎白公主、肯特公爵夫妇和格洛斯特公爵夫人参观了玛丽王后号，卡纳德公司在迎接皇室成员访问的同时，对外宣布玛丽王后号的处女航日期定在该年七月。

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1936年7月1日，玛丽王后号在拖船的环绕下缓缓离开南安普敦港码头，开始了前往纽约的为期四天十二小时二十分钟的航程，尽管从纽约返航的玛丽王后号被南英格兰海岸的一场大雾耽误了时间，但玛丽王后号的船长胸有成竹，于1936年8月以30.14节的记录赢得西行蓝飘带。

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战前的黄金时代，玛丽王后号不断穿梭于南安普敦和纽约之间，船上的乘客名单，如同欧洲要人名录一样。排水量81000吨，功率达16万马力，航速30节的玛丽王后号，

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很快就成为追求时髦的欧美贵族富商社会名流们趋之若鹜的目标。1938年，再次以西向30.99节, 东向31.69节的平均航速从法国诺曼底号邮船手中夺回了象征横渡大西洋航速度最快的蓝飘带奖。直到1952年被美国的合众国号邮船刷新。

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第二次世界大战的爆发打碎了欧洲上流社会纸醉金迷的生活。英联邦需要大量征召澳大利亚、新西兰、加拿大和南非的部队，参加保卫欧洲大陆盟国和英国本土的战斗。海军部的目光，投向了规模巨大、航速惊人的两艘皇后级邮船上：再理想不过的运兵船。

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1939年8月30日，玛丽王后号满载2332名旅客，从南安普敦出发，进行和平时期最后一次穿越大西洋的旅行。9月3日，接到英国向德国宣战的通知后，迅速采取了“之”形航线，以规避德国潜艇的伏击。

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英国人不想失去这艘大英帝国商船队的王冠。抵达纽约港后，玛丽王后号奉卡纳德公司总裁塞缪尔卡纳德爵士的命令，停泊在纽约港待命，等待晦暗不明的战争形势明朗起来。

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1940年3月7日，刚建成的伊丽莎白王后号为躲避德国空军轰炸也从英国秘密驶来，停泊玛丽王后的旁边——下水太晚，内部装潢都没完工。同它们一起在纽约静静等待的，还有因为法国船东的命令而滞留在纽约港的超级巨轮——诺曼底号。此时，两艘王后级的巨轮已经奉命更换成了大西洋灰色的战时涂装。

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法国的诺曼底号则没有更换和平时期白黑红的大型邮船标准色。纽约警察局在这三艘船周围设置了警戒线，以免苏联资助的左翼组织或者德国资助的右翼组织煽O动码头工人发动反英示O威，对这三艘船进行破坏活动。

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1940年3月1日，英国政府正式向卡纳德公司发出通知，征召玛丽王后号和伊丽莎白王后号邮船。3月20日，玛丽王后号接到通知，前往澳大利亚接一批部队登船。

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玛丽王后号在悉尼港接受了战时改装。所有的高级家具、护墙板、帷幔、油画、吊灯、地毯……全部拆除。船舱内的油漆也被打磨光。之后，5000名澳大利亚士兵登船，前往欧洲和北非战场参加战争。

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在这之后，玛丽王后号就不断地穿梭于悉尼港和苏格兰的古罗克港之间。1941年底，太平洋战争爆发后，玛丽王后号又运送了大量美国士兵到澳大利亚以抵抗日本可能的入侵。

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澳大利亚的战略安全保住之后，玛丽王后号前往大西洋，从美国向英国运送士兵和战争物资。丘吉尔也曾经化名“瓦尔登上校”搭乘这艘船前往美国。

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在战争期间因两者被漆为灰色，大部分时间它出海后无护行的舰艇，完全以高速前往目的地。因此获得了灰色幽灵的称号。为了安全起见，尽管这两艘船的速度远远超过了德国潜艇，在横越大西洋的航行中，还是坚持走“S”形航线，而且每次走的线路都不一样。

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希特嘞对德国潜艇抓不到的这两艘船很是恼火。他曾经开出了高额悬赏，能够击沉两艘女王中任意一艘的潜艇艇长，可以得到100万金马克的奖金和铁十字勋章。但是，没有哪个德国艇长有福消受这样的荣耀。

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1943年10月2日，从纽约返回英国途中，玛丽王后号在爱尔兰外海与英国的库拉索号轻巡洋舰相撞。库拉索号是英国1916年建造的“谷神”级轻巡洋舰，排水量5020吨。

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当时担任玛丽王后号的护航舰。为了规避德国潜艇，两艘船在洋面上走“S”形航线，象跳交际舞一样不断地变换位置，结果发生了碰撞。5000吨的巡洋舰与80000吨级的邮船相撞，结果可想而知。

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库拉索号被拦腰撞断，在几分钟内便迅速沉没了，364人只有少数人生还。英国的调查法庭最后判定，发生碰撞事故的主要责任在库拉索号巡洋舰。但是玛丽王后号的瞭望员也受到了指责和处分。这也是整个战争期间，玛丽王后号发生的唯一事故。在苏格兰的港口检查之后，决定让玛丽王后号带伤到美国修理。在波士顿船厂，玛丽王后号船头的损伤很快就修复了。

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两艘邮船在战争期间因为快速、运兵量大成为所有英国船舰中对战争贡献最突出的船。伊丽莎白王后号一共运送了75万名乘客，航行50万海里。玛丽王后号运送了差不多同样多的士兵来到英国，航行约60万海里。

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总计运送超过160万以上部队到达世界各地，其中搭载乘客最多的一次是从美国运来了15988名士兵。它们也是所有英国船舰在1939-1946间所航行里程最多的。

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由于两艘王后号邮船的卓越表现，运送了大量的人力和物力资源到欧洲战场，因此使得战争得以提前一年结束。除去“更大”、“更快”、“更豪华”的那些富丽辞藻，这恐怕也是对一艘邮船最高的评价了。

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在第二次世界大战期间玛丽王后号创下了几项记录：

1942年8月2日到7日期间首次搭载一个整师的人员同船(美陆军第1步兵师，15125士兵，863船员)；

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1942年10月2日下午2时许，“玛丽女王”号行驶到爱尔兰北部沿海大约32公里海域时，由于十分担心纳淬德军的袭击，以大约30节的高速行驶着“之”形航线，匆忙之中忽然快速改变航向，驶进了护航战舰的航道。这时护航舰“库拉克”号也正以26节的最大航速渐渐靠近“玛丽女王”号，由于其速度慢，躲闪不及，与“玛丽女王”号发生了猛烈的撞击。

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这是力量极为悬殊的相撞。“玛丽女王”号如同一把巨犁直冲巡洋舰的左舷。 4000多吨的巡洋舰虽然有150毫米厚的装甲防护，但在8万吨运兵船的巨力冲击下，当即被切成两半。巡洋舰的舰长发现情况危急，立即下令官兵弃舰逃生。然而，这是十月的大西洋北部海域，滚滚海水冰冷刺骨，严重威胁逃生士兵的生命。

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大约五分钟的时间，巡洋舰两大部分相继沉没。而“玛丽女王”号运兵船虽然吃水线以下受损，但只是小伤而已，根本就不影响行驶。

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这个时候，“玛丽女王”号运兵船并没有停下来对巡洋舰落水官兵进行打捞救援，相反，自顾自地一直往前快速驶去。其实，“玛丽女王”号也很想停下来营救为自己护航的巡洋舰，也完全有能力营救落水的巡洋舰官兵。然而，这里是非同一般的危险水域，纳淬潜艇和战机随时可能出现。

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船长知道，一旦运兵船遭到空袭或潜艇袭击，后果不堪设想，船上的1.5万人将面临死亡威胁。到那时，盟军的损失将更为惨重。因此，在这个时候，巡洋舰400多条人命相比运兵船1.5万条人命，谁轻谁重，一目了然。船长毅然选择了“弃小保大”的策略。

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运兵船由于无法停驶，投放的救生设备有限。巡洋舰落水官兵主要靠自救求生。这时，另外两艘护航的驱逐舰从远处赶过来，试图营救落难的士兵。但一切都晚了，许多落水官兵被无情的海水卷走。结果，全舰440名官兵中只有102人幸存下来，其余338多名官兵不幸遇难。运兵船在其他战舰护航下，最后安全地行驶到英国西部沿海的格里诺克港，将美军官兵送上岸。

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玛丽王后号经过修理后，继续在大西洋运送作战人员和物资。1945年5月欧洲战场结束后，该船开始为美军向亚太地区运送作战人员和物资。在整个二战期间，该船为盟军反法西斯作战作出了巨大的贡献，总共行驶100多万公里，运送大约 80万名官兵。

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为了隐蔽自己，该船在运送兵员和物资行动中特地把全身涂成灰色，于是，该船又有“灰色幽灵”之称。“玛丽女王”号速度极快，并经常进行以之字形规避，从而使速度较慢的纳淬德国海军潜艇难以追杀，虽然多次出没纳淬潜艇活动海域，但从来没有遭到袭击。

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1943年7月23日到30日，玛丽王后号搭载了15740士兵和 943船员，创造了有史以来最多人同船，记录至今未被打破！

战争结束后，塞缪尔卡纳德爵士因为他的公司所提供的邮船对战争的突出贡献，被授予骑士头衔。战时征用大型邮船和其它民船的经验，成了大英帝国克敌的法宝。在战后的若干冲突中，也屡试不爽。

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随着德国的投降，欧洲战事的结束，从1945年5月开始，两艘王后号邮船又开始送欧洲战场上的美国大兵回家。这是历史上最大的一次士兵复员工作。随后，玛丽女王号在英国开始重新装修，恢复邮船的身份。整套的高级家具、地毯、硬木护墙板、吊灯、黄铜装饰、壁画、雕塑、游泳池、酒吧……又都回到了船上。由于战争期间的卓越表现和非凡经历，战后搭载这两艘船横渡大西洋的乘客更多了。

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1947年7月31日，玛丽王后号进行了战后首次横渡大西洋的客运航行。但是，这样的日子终究是好景有限。从60年代开始，随着波音707和747、道格拉斯DC8、洛克希德L1011等大型喷气式客机的投入运营，它们逐渐地夺走了大型邮船们绝大部分的旅客。玛丽王后号开始出现高额的亏损，最后终于被报界评价为“喝醉了酒、大把胡乱花钱的老贵妇人”。

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1967年，饱受亏损之苦的卡纳德公司决定让王后退役。玛丽王后号被美国人用350万美元的价格（不幸或万幸的是比一个日本拆船商多出50万美元）购买，永久停靠在加利福尼亚州长滩，改建为“玛丽王后号旅馆”。

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并于1979年参加了记录片“拯救泰坦尼克号”的拍摄。一直到今天，这个旅馆都是南加州最著名的旅游景点之一。长堤市将玛丽王后号改造成博物馆、饭店和餐厅等。夏季周六夜晚有烟火活动。

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Jumbo Huang citation resources: Long Beach is a city in the US state of California located within the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It is the 39th most populous city in the United States with a population of 462,257 in 2010, A charter city, Long Beach is the 7th most populous city in California.Incorporated in 1897, Long Beach lies in Southern California in the southeastern corner of Los Angeles County. Downtown Long Beach is approximately 22 miles south of downtown Los Angeles, though the two cities also share a border for several miles along western Long Beach. The Port of Long Beach is the second busiest container port in the United States and is among the world's largest shipping ports.

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While overall regional pollution in the Los Angeles metropolitan area has declined in the last decade, pollution levels remain dangerously high in much of Long Beach due to the port pollution, with diesel exhaust from ships, trains, and trucks as the largest sources.[3The economic base has changed over the years. Oil extraction created a boom and Long Beach was a Navy town for many years before the base closed. The aerospace industry played an important role. Douglas Aircraft Company (later McDonnell Douglas and now part of Boeing) had plants at the Long Beach Airport where they built aircraft for World War II, and later built DC-8s, DC-9s, DC-10s, and MD-11s. Boeing built the Boeing 717 until 2006 and the C-17 Globemaster III strategic airlifter plant is scheduled to close. Even after greatly reducing the number of local employees in recent years, Boeing is still the largest private employer in the city. Polar Air Cargo, an international cargo airline, was formerly based in Long Beach. TABC, Inc., a part of Toyota, makes a variety of car parts, including steering columns and catalytic converters, in Long Beach. Epson America, Inc. the U.S. affiliate of Japan-based Seiko Epson Corporation, is headquartered in Long Beach. Pioneer Electronics, the U.S. affiliate of Japan-based Pioneer Corporation, is also headquartered in Long Beach along with SCAN Health Plan, a non-profit "Medicare Advantage" HMO for seniors. Molina Healthcare, Inc., a Medicaid management healthcare program, is headquartered in Long Beach. The real estate company HCP is based in Long Beach. Jesse James' West Coast Choppers custom motorcycle shop was in Long Beach, and much of the Monster Garage cable TV show was shot in Long Beach. Long Beach Green Business Association is an organization working to create economic growth through the promotion of green business and promoting a buy local program for Long Beach.

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Long Beach's newest museum is The Pacific Island Ethnic Art Museum (PieAM). This museum was a project of Robert Gumbiner at the time of his death. The museum opened October 15, 2010.

In 1965, Long Beach State hosted the first International Sculpture Symposium to be held in the United States and the first at a college or university. Six sculptors from around the world and two from the United States created many of the monumental sculptures seen on the campus. There are now over 20 sculptures on the campus.

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Long Beach is known for its street art. Some of the murals were created in conjunction with the city's Mural and Cultural Arts Program, but many others were not. On the exterior of the Long Beach Sports Arena is one of the artist Wyland's Whaling Walls. At 116,000 square feet (11,000 m²), it is the world's largest mural (according to the Guinness Book of Records).Shops and galleries in the East Village Arts District, in downtown Long Beach hold their monthly art openings and artists exhibit in street galleries on the second Saturday of the month during the Artwalk.Long Beach has a percent for art program administered through the Arts Council of Long Beach and the Redevelopment Agency which ensures new private developments contribute to the arts fund or commission artworks for their new projects.

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The "Naples Island Christmas Parade" has been held since 1946, and passes through the canals of Naples and around Alamitos Bay past Belmont Shore. The "Parade of A Thousand Lights" is in the Shoreline Village area (near downtown Long Beach and the RMS Queen Mary). There is also a Christmas boat parade in the nearby Port of Los Angeles/San Pedro area, and another in the Huntington Harbour community of nearby Huntington Beach.The RMS Queen Mary is a 1936 Art Deco ocean liner permanently docked at Long Beach. Roughly 200 ft (61 m) longer than the RMS Titanic, the former Cunard Liner is famous for being the fastest in the world from 1936 to 1952, for its distinctive art deco design and for its use during World War II as a troop transport. It was purchased by the City of Long Beach in 1967 for conversion to a hotel and maritime museum.

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The nonprofit Aquarium of the Pacific is on a 5-acre (20,000 m2) site on Rainbow Harbor in Long Beach, across the water from the Long Beach Convention Center, Shoreline Village, and the Queen Mary Hotel and Attraction.The Long Beach Department of Parks, Recreation and Marine received a Gold Medal award from the National Recreation and Park Association in 2002, 2003, and 2004, recognizing the Department's "outstanding management practices and programs." The Department manages 92 parks covering over 3,100 acres (13 km2) throughout the city, including the 815 acres (3.30 km2) El Dorado Regional Park, which features fishing lakes, an archery range, youth campground, bike trails, and picnic areas. The Department also operates four public swimming pools, and four launch ramps for boaters to access the Pacific Ocean.

The RMS Queen Mary is a retired British ocean liner that sailed primarily on the North Atlantic Ocean from 1936 to 1967 for the Cunard Line – known as Cunard-White Star Line when the vessel entered service. She was the flagship of the Cunard and White Star Lines, built by John Brown & Company in Clydebank, Scotland. Queen Mary, along with RMS Queen Elizabeth, were built as part of Cunard's planned two-ship weekly express service between Southampton, Cherbourg and New York. The two ships were a British response to the express superliners built by German, Italian and French companies in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Queen Mary was the flagship of the Cunard Line from May 1936 until October 1946 when she was replaced in that role by Queen Elizabeth.

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Queen Mary sailed on her maiden voyage on 27 May 1936 and won the Blue Riband that August; she lost the title to SS Normandie in 1937 and recaptured it in 1938, holding it until 1952 when she was beaten by the new SS United States. With the outbreak of the Second World War, she was converted into a troopship and ferried Allied soldiers during the war.Following the war, Queen Mary was refitted for passenger service and along with Queen Elizabeth commenced the two-ship transatlantic passenger service for which the two ships were initially built. The two ships dominated the transatlantic passenger transportation market until the dawn of the jet age in the late 1950s. By the mid-1960s, Queen Mary was ageing and, though still among the most popular transatlantic liners, was operating at a loss.

After several years of decreased profits for Cunard Line, Queen Mary was officially retired from service in 1967. She left Southampton for the last time on 31 October 1967 and sailed to the port of Long Beach, California, United States, where she remains permanently moored. Much of the machinery, including one of the two engine rooms, three of the four propellers, and all of the boilers, were removed. The ship serves as a tourist attraction featuring restaurants, a museum and a hotel. The ship is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The National Trust for Historic Preservation has accepted the Queen Mary as part of the Historic Hotels of America.[5]In late August 1939, Queen Mary was on a return run from New York to Southampton. The international situation led to her being escorted by the battlecruiser HMS Hood. She arrived safely, and set out again for New York on 1 September. By the time she arrived, the Second World War had started and she was ordered to remain in port alongside Normandie until further notice.

In March 1940, Queen Mary and Normandie were joined in New York by Queen Mary's new sister ship Queen Elizabeth, fresh from her secret dash from Clydebank. The three largest liners in the world sat idle for some time until the Allied commanders decided that all three ships could be used as troopships. Normandie was destroyed by fire during her troopship conversion. Queen Mary left New York for Sydney, Australia, where she, along with several other liners, was converted into a troopship to carry Australian and New Zealand soldiers to the United Kingdom.

Queen Mary's forward superstructure, shown here in Long Beach. When she came to Long Beach, the Sun Deck windows were enlarged and an anti-aircraft gun was placed on display astride the foremast to represent the Second World War days of the liner.

In the Second World War conversion, the ship's hull, superstructure, and funnels were painted navy grey. As a result of her new colour, and in combination with her great speed, she became known as the "Grey Ghost". To protect against magnetic mines, a degaussing coil was fitted around the outside of the hull. Inside, stateroom furniture and decoration were removed and replaced with triple-tiered (fixed) wooden bunks, which were later replaced by "standee" (fold-up) bunks. After delivering a load of war brides to Canada, Queen Mary made her fastest ever crossing, returning to Southampton in only three days, 22 hours and 42 minutes at an average speed of just under 32 knots (59 km/h). From September 1946 to July 1947, Queen Mary was refitted for passenger service, adding air conditioning and upgrading her berth configuration to 711 first class (formerly called cabin class), 707 cabin class (formerly tourist class) and 577 tourist class (formerly third class) passengers.[34] Following refit, Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth dominated the transatlantic passenger trade as Cunard White Star's two-ship weekly express service through the latter half of the 1940s and well into the 1950s. They proved highly profitable for Cunard (as the company was renamed in 1947).On 1 January 1949, Queen Mary ran aground off Cherbourg, France. She was refloated the next day and returned to service.Queen Mary is permanently moored as a tourist attraction, hotel, museum and event facility in Long Beach. From 1983 to 1993, Howard Hughes' plane H-4 Hercules was located in a large dome nearby. The dome was later repurposed as a soundstage for film and television. The structure is now used by Carnival Cruise Lines as a ship terminal, as a venue for the Long Beach Derby Gals roller derby team and as an event venue. Since drilling for oil had started in Long Beach Harbor, some of the revenue had been set aside in the "Tidelands Oil Fund." Some of this money was allocated in 1958 for the future purchase of a maritime museum for Long Beach.