This punny street name was coined in 1964 for a 47 (maybe 49) acre industrial park that was eventually known as the Refrigeration and Energy Center. It was designed to provide up to a million feet of cold storage – hence “Arctic” – powered by a natural gas-fueled central plant. I don’t know who named Arctic Circle, but I’d put money on the site’s co-owner Martin A. Nishkian (1913-1973), a Long Beach engineering executive whose credits include designing the HVAC system for the L.A. Civic Center and constructing LB’s Queens Way bridge. A native of Fresno with a talent for the violin, Nishkian was remembered as friendly and generous – and was posthumously accused of having been too friendly and generous with the county officials who’d awarded him millions of dollars in contracts. But a probe turned up empty; Nishkian apparently just liked treating his powerful friends to lavish lunches.
Find it on the map:
