Quote:
Originally Posted by CaliNative
I have a request....as many pics of the grand old Richfield Oil Co. tower (built in the 1920s) in DTLA as can be posted. Loved that old building from my youth. Torn down in 1968/69 to make way for the construction of ARCO twin towers. I still remember the grand spire shaped like an oil derrick lit up at night. Something to behold. Would love to see some nightime pics with the spire lit up. The only building almost as grand is the blue Eastern Columbia, which fortunately is still there.
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I run a Facebook group called Richfield Beacons, about the beacon towers they put up along the west coast in 1928-29-30. Since the Richfield Building was one of the beacons, I have numerous photos.
If any of you have interest in the Richfield beacons, I am still looking for any information or photos I can find of the LA-area beacons:
Castaic Junction - I have aerials of the site and of the Beacon Coffee Shop across the street, but none of the service station and tower from ground level. The tower was purchased by LA County and moved to what is now LA County Fire Station 82 in La Cañada Flintridge, for use as a transmission tower until the 1960s. It's disposition after that is unknown.
Alhambra: supposedly located at what became the site of the Alhambra airport, I have no photos - aerial or otherwise. It was listed as new in the federal government's Air Commerce Bulletin in October 1929, and again as discontinued in the July 1930 issue.
You can go here for the Historic American Building Survey photos in the Library of Congress:
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/hh/item/ca0250/
Here are some photos of the Richfield Building I've collected - some were posted here, others on Facebook, still others found online in various places.
circa 1931
1930s? judging by the cars
Herman Schultheis, ca. 1937, from LAPL
Penthouse, 1950, from the Julius Shulman archive
1950s
From Life archives
A fire at the Richfield Building, 3/1/54. From martinturnbull.com
Atomic dawn over Los Angeles, 3/7/55
1955, a slide from eBay
South Flower Street, August 1955, from a set on the wrecking of old buildings for the Superior Oil Building
A slide from I don't know where
Crop from Julius Shulman photo 7K of Job #4161, Los Angeles Twilight, 1967, from Getty Research Institute
Another mystery source
April 1968
Last day open, 11/15/1968
Last day open, 11/15/1968