Building the Islands

The four oil islands in Long Beach Harbor do not look like oil islands. That was entirely intentional. Under the terms of the partnership between THUMS Long Beach Company, the City of Long Beach, and the State of California, every visible element of the oil operation was required to be concealed or beautified. Drilling rigs are screened and soundproofed. Wellheads and pipelines run below ground. And hundreds of palms (Mexican fan palms, Canary Island date palms, and Washington palms that tower above the island surfaces) grow in an elaborate irrigation system built into the harbor fill soil.

The islands themselves are feats of construction, built from enormous quantities of boulders and vast amounts of sand dredged from the harbor bottom. Each island spans several acres, and all four were named for astronauts who died in the line of duty during the early years of the American space program (Grissom, White, Chaffee, and Freeman).

The result has won THUMS dozens of design and engineering awards from local, state, and national organizations for environmental protection, community beautification, and outstanding design. It remains one of the most unusual pieces of infrastructure in California.