Tag Archives: Oil
Driving through Signal Hill oil derricks, Long Beach, circa 1940s.
Signal Hill, Long Beach, circa 1940s. I wonder if all those oil derricks interfered with their cell phone reception. Or their ability to breathe. Either way, it can’t have been good.
Oil wells along Venice Beach, California in 1931
Oil wells along Venice Beach in 1931. I’m thinking there probably wasn’t a whole lot of sunbathing or picnics at the beach going on while these things were pumping away.
Night shot of the oil derricks at Signal Hill, near Long Beach.
A great night shot of the oil derricks at Signal Hill, near Long Beach. They almost look pretty, don’t they? But in reality, they probably smelled like hell.
Oil fields, Signal Hill, Long Beach, 1941.
Signal Hill, 1941. Signal Hill is an area of Long Beach where much oil was extracted. Even though I’ve seen a number of photos of this area, I’m always surprised there were still THIS many oil wells still around in … Continue reading
Los Angeles’ first oil field, Toluca Street, near downtown L.A.
Oil wells in L.A.’s first oil field located at Toluca Street which is just to the west of the northern end of downtown L.A. This photo was taken at around the turn of the century. There sure was oil in … Continue reading
1930 – Ariel shot looking west along Wilshire Blvd from about Sycamore.
1930 – Looking from the air going west along Wilshire Blvd from about Sycamore. The high rises we associate with Wilshire these days are all in its future, and those oil wells to the north (now Park La Brea) are, … Continue reading
Wilshire Blvd, looking west, 1930
1930 – Looking from the air going west along Wilshire Blvd from about Sycamore. The high rises we associate with Wilshire these days are all in its future, and those oil wells to the north are, thankfully, now in the … Continue reading
Beverly Hills oil fields, 1928
Wow, and I thought the land in Beverly Hills was valuable now – back in the 1920s it had oil fields. This shot is from 1928, with the oil wells at left, the Fox Studios at center, and Santa Monica … Continue reading
Oil derricks in Hollywood, 1936
I guess not everything was the height of glamor in Hollywood back in 1936. Imagine driving along some road and finding this in the middle of it!
Corner of Wilshire Blvd and Fairfax Ave, Los Angeles, 1929
Looking east from the corner of Wilshire and Fairfax in 1929. Hello…? Where is everyone??? They must be tending to all those oil wells in the distance…