It hits you the moment you’re driving down Bellflower Boulevard or cruising along the 405. Suddenly, there it is. A massive, shimmering blue triangle that looks like it was dropped into Southern California by an advanced civilization with a penchant for college basketball. This is the Long Beach State University pyramid, or as locals and students call it, the Walter Pyramid.
It’s weird. It’s huge. It’s iconic.
Honestly, the first time you see it up close, the scale is what gets you. We aren’t talking about a small gym with a fancy roof. This thing stands 18 stories tall. Each side of the perimeter measures 345 feet. It’s one of only three true pyramid-style buildings in the United States, alongside the Luxor in Las Vegas and the Memphis Pyramid. But while those are for gambling and selling fishing tackle, this one is about pure, unadulterated sports.
Architecture That Shouldn't Really Work
Don Gibbs was the architect behind this madness. When it opened in 1994, people weren't sure if it was a stroke of genius or a colossal waste of space. Pyramids are notoriously difficult for indoor sports because you lose so much vertical clearance toward the edges. But Gibbs and the engineering team solved this using a massive space-frame system.
Basically, the interior is a maze of 18,000 steel struts and 4,000 connection joints. If you look up during a volleyball match, the ceiling looks like a geometric spiderweb. It’s beautiful and slightly intimidating. The exterior is covered in 475,000 cobalt blue powder-coated corrugated aluminum panels. That specific shade of blue isn’t an accident; it’s designed to pop against the hazy SoCal sky.
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The construction cost roughly $22 million back in the early 90s. In today's money, that’s a massive investment for a mid-major university. But it put "The Beach" on the map. Before the Long Beach State University pyramid, the basketball and volleyball teams were bouncing around between local high schools and the Gold Mine gym, which was essentially a glorified shed compared to this.
More Than Just a Basketball Court
If you think the Pyramid is only for the Long Beach State Beach (yes, that’s the nickname), you’d be wrong. It’s a multi-tool of a building.
The floor is actually a "floating" maple wood surface, which is much easier on the knees of athletes compared to traditional floors laid directly on concrete. But the real magic is the seating. The lower tiers of seats are on a hydraulic system. They can be retracted to create enough open floor space for five volleyball courts or three basketball courts running simultaneously.
That’s why the Walter Pyramid has become the de facto home for championship volleyball. The acoustics in there are wild. When the crowd gets going during a Long Beach State Men’s Volleyball match—a program that has won multiple NCAA titles—the sound bounces off those angled walls and creates a literal wall of noise. It’s arguably one of the most difficult places for an opposing team to play in the entire country.
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The Trivia Nobody Tells You
Most people know it’s a gym. Fewer people know what’s actually happening in the corners. Because it’s a pyramid, the "dead space" in the four corners houses some pretty specific stuff. We're talking about weight rooms, the educational resource center, and even a hall of fame.
- The Height: It’s exactly 182 feet tall.
- The Name: It was renamed the Walter Pyramid in 2005 to honor Dr. Richard and Karen Walter, longtime supporters of the university.
- The Capacity: It holds about 4,000 people for most events, though it can be squeezed to 5,000 if they really try.
- The Film Star: You’ve probably seen it on screen. It’s been in movies like Starship Troopers (as a futuristic training facility) and various commercials because it looks like it belongs in the year 2099.
There was a rumor for years that the building was sinking. You’ll hear students talk about it every semester. They say the architects forgot to account for the weight of the water in the soil. It’s a total myth. The building is perfectly stable. It sits on a massive concrete pad and isn't going anywhere.
Why It Matters for the Long Beach Identity
Long Beach is a city that often gets overshadowed by Los Angeles to the north and Orange County to the south. It has an identity crisis sometimes. Is it a port town? A beach town? An urban center?
The Long Beach State University pyramid gave the city a permanent, unmissable landmark. It’s the visual anchor for the east side of town. When you’re an athlete at LB State, you aren't just playing in a gym; you’re playing in "The House that Blue Built." There’s a psychological edge to that.
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The venue has hosted the Special Olympics Southern California Summer Games for years. It’s hosted NASA events and huge community rallies. It functions as a town square that happens to have a very pointy roof.
The Logistics of Visiting
If you’re actually planning to head down there, don’t just show up and expect to wander in. It’s a functioning athletic facility.
The best way to see it is to buy a ticket for a Men's or Women's Volleyball game. The Men's team is a perennial powerhouse, often ranked #1 in the nation. Seeing them play in the Pyramid is a bucket-list item for any sports fan. The ticket prices are usually affordable—sorta like a hidden gem compared to the prices you'd pay at the Crypto.com Arena or the Rose Bowl.
Parking can be a bit of a nightmare. The lots right next to the Pyramid fill up fast. Use the G3 or G4 lots on the North end of campus. Also, keep in mind that the interior temperature can be a bit finicky. Even though it has a massive HVAC system, those aluminum panels soak up the sun, so it can get a little warm during afternoon events in September.
Actionable Takeaways for Your Visit:
- Check the schedule: Visit the official Long Beach State Athletics website to see when the next home game is. Volleyball offers the best "vibe" for the architecture.
- Bring a camera: The best photo angle is from the northeast corner of the parking lot during "golden hour" right before sunset. The blue panels catch the light in a way that looks like CGI.
- Tour the Hall of Fame: Enter through the main doors and check out the displays. Long Beach has a deeper athletic history than most people realize, including dozens of Olympians.
- Respect the campus: It’s a dry campus, so no tailgating with alcohol in the parking lots. Security is pretty tight about that.
- Explore the neighborhood: Afterward, head down to 2nd Street in Belmont Shore. It’s only a few miles away and has the best food and bar scene in the city.
The Long Beach State University pyramid isn't just a building. It's a statement. In a world of cookie-cutter stadiums and boring concrete arenas, Long Beach decided to build something that required a little bit of imagination. Whether you're a sports nut or an architecture geek, it's a spot that demands at least one visit.