As early as the 1950s, the building at 5101 East Ocean Boulevard has housed a bar that functioned as a gathering place for the LGBTQ community. A long-running gay bar named Oceania operated from the building until 1968.

In the late 1960s, John Agar (Shirley Temple's first husband) purchased the establishment with the intent of removing its associations with the queer community. Agar's attempt was unsuccessful, and in 1972 a collective of gay men purchased the building, turning it into Long Beach's first gay dance club Club Ripples.