Help the city design a new home for the historic VIP Records sign

The city is set to begin a series of workshops to get public input on the design for a space to display the historic sign of the legendary hip-hop music store and recording studio VIP Records.

During the workshops, city officials will ask residents how they want a new public space at Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway to "celebrate the cultural legacy and lasting impact of VIP Records," according to the Long Beach Public Works Department. The proposed space will include the famous VIP Records sign, which was removed in 2018 and placed into storage.

The first workshop is scheduled for Aug. 13 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Martin Luther King Jr. Park (1950 Lemon Ave.).

What to do with that sign has been a popular, but open, question in Long Beach ever since.

First opening in Long Beach in 1978, VIP Records quickly established itself as a critical player in shaping hip-hop music and culture in Long Beach. Names like G-Funk, Snoop Dogg, Daz Dillinger and Warren G have long been tied to the shop.

In 2018, not long after the city designated the sign a historical landmark and then placed it in storage, writer Nate Jackson vividly described the shop in OC Weekly.

"Subwoofers in front of the shop rattled the windows," Jackson wrote. "DJs spun bass-heavy jams in a booth fashioned after the bow of the Queen Mary, luring OGs and youngsters to flip through racks of vinyl, tapes and CDs. When the store wasn’t packed for in-store appearances from LL Cool J, Shaq and Too $hort, mounted TVs lit up with throwback music videos."

Not only did Snoop Dogg record his first demo at VIP, but the iconic Googie sign atop the building has appeared in a variety videos and productions, including Snoop's 1993 music video "Who Am I (What's My Name?)," Tha Eastsidaz's video"G'd," Jermaine Dupri's "Welcome to Atlanta Remix 2002" featuring Snoop Dogg, Snoop's "I'm from Long Beach" video, the Warren G Documentary "G Funk" and HBO's "The Defiant Ones," according to city documents.

For four decades, VIP Records wasn't just "a cool place to pass the time," Jackson wrote. "For those who needed it most, VIP was an open door."

As part of a near-decade-long restoration effort, the city's Public Works Department will place the VIP Records sign at a parcel at Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue and PCH, city officials said. There, it will "serve as the centerpiece of a new public space honoring VIP Records’ rich legacy and enduring impact in the Long Beach community," according to a July 21 statement.

But what that space looks like will be up to the community, city officials insist.

At a public meeting for Sixth District residents back in February 2025, city officials said that it would take years to build out a proper new home for the sign, and that has proven to be true.

At the Aug. 13 workshop, members of the public can share personal stories and memories of VIP Records and give their thoughts on what city officials call "early concept design elements for the site."

A second workshop, which is slated for the fall, will involve the public in evaluating more detailed designs for the space.

A finalized design of the proposed public space should be available sometime between this fall and spring 2027, according to the city.

Throughout the entire process, Public Works officials said community thoughts and feedback would be critical in designing the public space. To help, the city has contracted with the nonprofit community development firm Kounkuey Design Initiative, which will serve as a project consultant, according to city officials.

Based primarily in Nairobi, Kenya, but with offices in Los Angeles, Coachella and Stockholm, Kounkuey was founded in 2006 by six Harvard Graduate School of Design students, according to the company's website.

Since then, the company has completed more than 70 projects throughout Kenya (where one of the founders is from) and Southern California, the company says.

Most recently, Kounkuey worked with Westlake residents on a plan to reconnect their community with MacArthur Park, which was split by Wilshire Boulevard in the 1930s. After a couple years of public meetings and design workshops, Kounkuey recommended a variety of possibilities, the most popular by far was closing off Wilshire Boulevard and remaking MacArthur Park into a one contiguous space, the company said.

The VIP Records sign project is funded by $735,000 in General Fund and Measure A money, according to city officials. It's also part of the Elevate '28 Infrastructure Investment Plan, which includes more than $1 billion in funding for about 200 park and transportation projects throughout Long Beach, the city said.