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Long Beach, California: Oldest Tattoo Parlor In The U.S.

Bert Grimm's Tattoo opened in 1927. Bert was the first inductee in the Tattoo Hall of Fame, and reportedly had Bonnie Parker and Pretty Boy Floyd as clients. He's been dead since 1985, but his shop lives on.

Address:
22 S. Chestnut Place, Long Beach, CA
Directions:
Just south of Ocean Blvd on S. Chestnut Place, a half-mile east of I-710.
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Tattoo Museum.

Oldest Tattoo Parlor In The U.S.

Very nice people. Shop minimum is $60 and rates are generally $150 per hour.

[Samantha, 02/23/2012]
Oldest Tattoo Parlor In The U.S.

My ex-boyfriend's grandma used to date the guy, Rick, who used to run/own this place back in the '80s. In the shop there were all of these fabulous old black and white photographs of U.S. Navy sailors who had gotten work done in the shop (most were dated from the 1930s and 1940s). The tattoos these guys had were amazing! Mermaids, sea serpents, tridents, King Neptune....the old "Sailor Jerry" type of tattoos that would cover a guys whole chest and extend from arm to arm, across their back, etc. The detail and caliber of work was amazing, especially considering that the work was done 40-50 years earlier.....

The shop was originally located near "The Pike" (an old Coney Island-type amusement park) in Long Beach, torn down long ago. The shop catered to and received much of its business from the sailors stationed nearby at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard, which was finally shut down in the early '90s. This shop and especially those photographs (perhaps still displayed) captured a piece of American history.

[Ivy Rerko, 07/10/2010]

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