ThrowbackThursday takes us to two historic Long Beach Unified School District treasures — the auditoriums at Long Beach Polytechnic High School and Woodrow Wilson High School.

Built in the early 1920s, both were heavily damaged in the 1933 Long Beach earthquake and later became part of LBUSD’s Facility Master Plan for modernization. MHP worked with the design team to preserve their historic character while meeting today’s accessibility and safety standards.

Upgrades included seismic retrofitting, new elevators and lifts, refurbished seating, updated restrooms, fresh finishes, modern stage lighting, audio and HVAC systems, and new mechanical, electrical, and plumbing infrastructure. At Poly, the balcony was removed to make way for stadium seating.

📍 Long Beach Poly High School: 1,400-seat auditorium (1929) + 1953 band room addition. Our scope included balcony reconfiguration, major seismic upgrades, and DSA rehabilitation approval.

📍 Long Beach Wilson High School: 1925 auditorium with unique features like a fly loft and clock tower. We tackled historic preservation, previous seismic work, and liquefaction hazards — securing funding through the Seismic Mitigation Program.

A huge thank you to our project leads — Daniel Fox, S.E. (Associate, Project Manager) and Patrick Calvario (Project Engineer/Construction Support).

As a local Long Beach firm, it’s been an honor to work with LBUSD for over 20 years — making schools safer while preserving their history.

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