Long Beach, California

Long Beach Exchange

Retail & Dining Built Within
Long Beach’s Aviation Legacy

Project type

Environmental Graphic Design Wayfinding Signage Design

Project sector

Retail Environments & Graphic Design Streetscape Design
Exterior of 'LBX, The Hangar' retail building with a curved metal roof, glass storefront entrance, and storefront signage including Bottlecraft and Portola, as pedestrians cross a paved plaza dotted with olive trees and desert landscaping.

Project info

Client Burnham Ward Properties

Architect DRA Architects

Landscape Ridge Landscape Architects

Lighting Lighting Design Alliance

Other Snyder Langston

Where moments take flight

Located near Long Beach Airport, Long Beach Exchange (LBX) is more than just a retail and dining hub—it’s an immersive experience that celebrates the city’s deep aviation roots. RSM Design played a key role in shaping this destination, crafting a visual narrative through signage, wayfinding, and placemaking elements that transform the site into a vibrant and engaging environment. Inspired by vintage travel posters and the golden era of aviation, bold murals, oversized typographic signage, and airport-themed graphics seamlessly weave history into the guest experience.

At the heart of LBX is The Hangar, a repurposed 17,000-square-foot structure once used for military and commercial aircraft construction. RSM Design infused this space with elements that honor its past while fostering a lively, contemporary atmosphere. Whimsical touches like a flight-inspired tenant directory and suspended in-flight lettering create a sense of motion and excitement, while vibrant murals and wayfinding moments invite discovery. The result is a destination where history and innovation converge, offering visitors an experience that is as visually compelling as it is memorable.

Row of tall wood-slat pylon signs receding down a paved plaza, spelling out words like 'Feel' and 'Joy' in white letters, with 'LBX' visible on a farther pylon, framed by olive trees and agave landscaping at dusk.
Wood slat wall painted with 'Wanderlust' in white stenciled letters between two horizontal lines and a star, above two vintage United Air Lines travel posters for Los Angeles and Long Beach, with string lights strung from a black frame to the right.

Creating visual cues that echo flight and flow.

Vintage airline-ticket style banner reading 'Flight International, PAR, Paris, France, LBX' hanging from an ornate lamppost with a caged glass light fixture, in front of a wood-slat building and tree at dusk.
Modern retail building constructed from stacked blue shipping containers with a wood slat rooftop screen, painted with a large 'Be Epic' mural in shades of blue across the storefronts, young trees lining the sidewalk at golden hour.
Large line-art mural of a hand making the shaka 'hang loose' sign on a corrugated metal wall, with a black adirondack chair and wall sconces nearby, as a blurred woman walks past in motion.
Modern retail building constructed from stacked blue shipping containers with a wood slat rooftop screen, painted with a large 'Be Epic' mural in shades of blue across the storefronts, young trees lining the sidewalk at golden hour.

Murals that delight at each turn

Service

Public Art & Murals
Angled view of a building's exterior wall painted with a gray geometric triangle pattern, leading toward a control-tower-style structure labeled 'LBX' topped with an American flag, with wall-mounted lights and native grasses in the foreground.
Tall 'LBX' wayfinding sign reading 'Long Beach Exchange' with a color-coded site map and category directory for fashion, beauty, fitness, and dining, set on a tree-lined paved path as a woman walks past bicycles at sunset.
Close-up of a metal monument sign corner with perforated panels and an outlined 'LBX' logo, beside ornamental grasses and a red awning reading 'Fast Pizza & Salad' in the background.

LBX’s proximity to the airport inspires fun and colorful travel-inspired designs.

Large silver dimensional 'LBX' letters set in a round concrete planter filled with ornamental grasses, at the entrance to a shopping center with a pizza restaurant and tree-lined street in the background.
Industrial food hall interior with communal wood tables, historic black-and-white aviation photographs mounted overhead, food stalls including DönerG and Jay Bird's Nashville Hot Chicken, and a 'No Flying Machine' poster on the right, as diners sit and a blurred man walks through.

Try something new in a historic setting.

Split-flap departure board style directory reading 'Shops & Food' listing vendors like Plaid Sheep, DönerG Mediterranean, Jay Birds, and Bottlecraft, mounted above the Portola Coffee counter where baristas serve customers, as a blurred woman walks past.
Illuminated marquee letters spelling 'The Hangar' suspended diagonally from an industrial ceiling above the 'Bottlecraft' bar, where customers stand and sit at the counter beneath a taps wall and menu screens.
Two men walking along a sidewalk past large dimensional gray 'LBX' letters set among tall ornamental grasses, with buildings and palm trees visible in the background at golden hour.

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