(Jan. 1, 2009) -- "It was unbelievable, one of those truly great evenings," Pine Ave. pioneer John Morris said the morning after...on New Year's Day.

Photo credit: Evan Kelly

Hours earlier, Mr. Morris, who owns Smooth's Sports Grille (144 Pine), defied conventional wisdom by pulling off the revival of New Years Eve celebrations on downtown Pine Ave...despite a recession. "The street was packed. The restaurants were overflowing. It was awesome!" he said.

Photo credit: Evan Kelly

[Disclosure: Smooth's is an LBReport.com advertiser although this story is independently newsworthy.]

During the 1990s, Mr. Morris (who then operated Mum's at the same Pine Ave. address) produced annual New Years Eve events that drew crowds until they disappeared amid Y2K and 9/11/01 concerns.

So how many people showed up? "They were shoulder to shoulder on Pine between Broadway and 1st St," said Mr. Morris, describing what he saw. Event producer/coordinator/photographer Evan Kelly (who provided the photos on this page) told us he estimates at least 4,000 people attended.

How was the crowd? "Beautiful, young and old," said Mr. Morris. "It was Long Beach, very diverse, lots of people having a good time."

Photo credit: Evan Kelly

Artists included Dusty Rhodes & The River Band (below)...

Photo credit: Evan Kelly

...and Delta Nove (below)...

Photo credit: Evan Kelly

Photo credit: Evan Kelly

...and Samba La (below).

Photo credit: Evan Kelly

2nd district Councilwoman Suja Lowenthal did the midnight countdown (seen in photo with Mr. Morris).

Photo credit: Evan Kelly

"I think downtown residents loved the venue, they came out in force. The music was phenomenal and the people loved it," Mr. Morris said.

What about parking? "We had a parking plan with a centralized valet, the way it should be," Mr. Morris said, and added "the valet system worked...and I told you it would."

Mr. Morris credits multiple people and sponsoring groups (LB Convention and Visitors Bureau, Downtown LB Associates, Arts Council for LB, City Light & Power, Union Pacific RR, City of LB, Port of Long Beach, Catalina Express, Shoreline Village with LB's Redevelopment Agency), but some of them credit Morris for kick-starting this year's event.

What about those new colored lights (including energy efficient LEDs) splashing colors on the buildings? "They were great...and as the fog rolled in, it gave the lighting an entirely different feel."

And what about the fireworks (moved closer to shore to be more visible downtown? Mr. Morris chuckled, "We couldn't see 'em with the fog, but no one complained. People were just having a blast."

Mr. Morris commented: "This is the start, in my view, of similar events throughout the year. What this shows is that people will come downtown on a regular basis for events they like...and they showed it last night."

Jimmy Loizides, owner of George's Greek Cafe (135 Pine), told LBReport.com: "It was great to see Pine Ave. vibrant again" and credited Morris. "John did a lot of hard work on this. He really deserves the credit for what he did for us and for the whole street."

Weren't you hurt by the sour economy? Mr. Loizides replied, "You know, we were sold out. I think it shows that sometimes people just need to get out of the house and forget about bad the economy is."

Mr. Morris, who's been a thorn in the side of previous City Hall administrations, credited current management with doing a fine job. "Max Kulagura [for the City's Special Events Office] was awesome. LBPD was terrific, positive PR to the max. And the CVB under Steve Goodling is the best."

Was Mr. Morris surprised by all this? "I have to tell you, I believed this would work even when others doubted it," he said. He added that he phoned his wife on New Years Eve to tell her about the crowds, she paused and said, "Well John, it looks like you did it again."