The owner of V.I.P. Records earned a nod of approval from the Cultural Heritage Commission Monday when its members voted to designate the “world famous” sign a Long Beach historic landmark.
The City Council still needs to vote on the recommendation for landmark status to become official, which is expected to happen in late December or early January, planning officials said.
But Monday’s hearing was still a big win for Kelvin Anderson, or “pops,” as he’s known around the Central Long Beach neighborhood he’s been a prominent figure in since the late 1970s, when he bought the record shop on Pacific Coast Highway from his older brother, Cletus, and built it into a brand known around the globe.
“There’s something about this brand, this logo, that when people see it they always light up,” Kelvin told the commission on Monday. “Whenever I ask people, ‘Can you name two places in Long Beach?’ It’s always the Queen Mary and V.I.P., always. That’s something I’m proud of.”
There is a dispute over whether the sign should be made a historic landmark in Long Beach.
Long Beach March 16, 2017. Photo by Brittany Murray, Press Telegram/SCNG
Speak On It!