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Changing Face of Southern California

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Home Changing Face of Southern California Signal Hill, Long Beach, Calif.

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Signal Hill, Long Beach, Calif.

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Werner von Boltenstern Postcard Collection

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Identifier	clloy_140
Title	Signal Hill, Long Beach, Calif.
Creator	Unknown
Date Published	circa 1926
Subject (Topic)	Oil fields--California--Signal Hill; Oil wells--California--Signal Hill; Dwellings--California--Signal Hill;
Subject (Place)	Signal Hill (Calif.); Long Beach (Calif.);
Type	image
Form/Genre	Postcards
Physical Description	1 postcard : Color ; 9 x 14 cm.
Institution	Department of Archives and Special Collections, Loyola Marymount University Library.
Collection Identifier	http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/kt9489r2nz
Country of Creation	US
Copyright Status	public domain
Copyright Statement	http://library.lmu.edu/dlp/copyright.htm
Publisher	M. Kashower Co.
Place of Publication	Los Angeles, Cal.
Language	eng
Description	A view looking out over Signal Hill, showing the many oil derricks that dot the landscape. In the foreground are several cottages, some with small gardens.
Historical Background	Signal Hill is a small city encompassing only 2.2 square miles, and completely surrounded on all sides by the City of Long Beach. The land rises 365 feet above sea level, and was used by native tribes to signal other tribes on Santa Catalina Island approximately 26 miles away. After the area's settlement by Europeans, the land was used for grazing and agriculture until the end of the 19th century, when expensive homes were built to take advantage of the panoramic view. In 1917, the Union Oil Company began drilling for oil, but was unsuccessful and abandoned the project. In 1921, the Royal Dutch Shell Oil Company resumed exploration, this time meeting with success. By 1923, 259,000 barrels of crude oil were being produced every day from nearly 300 wells. By the 1940s, the hill was studded with 20,000 oil derricks, earning it the nickname "Porcupine Hill." At that time, Signal Hill was an unincorporated territory within the City of Long Beach, but in order to avoid Long Beach's heavy per-barrel tax on oil, the city voted to incorporate. In the 1970s, falling oil prices reduced production, and the oil rigs began to be replaced once more with luxury homes.
Publisher's Identifier	Series number: 231; Written in lower right corner of photograph: "14287"
Additional Notes	Approximate date from postmark.
Metacollection Identifier	http://digitalcollections.lmu.edu
Source	Werner Von Boltenstern Postcard Collection