An audio guide to the world’s strange, incredible, and wondrous places. Co-founder Dylan Thuras and a neighborhood of Atlas Obscura reporters explore a new wonder every day, Monday through Thursday. In under 15 minutes, they’ll take you to an incredible place, and along the way, you’ll meet some fascinating people and hear their stories. Our theme and end credit music is composed by Sam Tyndall.
America’s Oldest Tattoo Shop
Today we’re diving into the illustrious history of tattooing in Long Beach, California. Once the headquarters of the US Navy’s Pacific fleet, Long Beach (and its infamous entertainment zone, The Pike) became home to a veritable renaissance of tattoo art between the 1920s-1970s. We’ll visit Outer Limits, a spot that’s been home to an active tattoo parlor since the ‘20s and is likely the oldest tattoo shop in the US. Owner and legendary tattoo artist Kari Barba tells us the story of the shop, which will be celebrating its 100th anniversary in April 2027.
For more info, check out:
- Outer Limits Tattoo
- The Tattoo Heritage Project in Long Beach (Kari tells us they hope to open an exhibit in time for the LA Olympics)
- Want more stories of the old Pike? Check out our old episode on Elmer McCurdy, the funhouse mannequin who turned out not to be a mannequin at all
- Outer Limits has a strong claim on being the oldest tattoo shop in the US – we’ve also done an episode on the oldest tattoo shop in the world, Razzouk Ink in Jerusalem!
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