Hello, Sorry, but that is not OKC. It is a photograph taken by Andreas Feininger/The LIFE Picture Collection. It is/was taken in the Signal Hill portion of Long Beach way back then. That giant hill was covered with oil derricks and when we were teens years later, still covered with derricks and pumping, everyday. After high school, one of our friends got a job with an oil company and he was now able to live in a fancy apartment with the views looking out to the ocean view of all coastal Long Beach from the Signal Hill apartments. It was an impressive apartment, but his clothes were new, almost everyday after work. He gave up trying to clean his Levis and work shirts. The oil stained everything and it was useless to spend time trying to clean it for the next day. Less expensive to have a stock pile of inexpensive long sleeve shirts for daily “oil” work. He had a paper trail in his apartment leading from the door to his kitchen linoleum flooring. From there, the steps to the trash can was easy and now he could have clean clothes to hang around in his “ocean view” apartment. View of light car traffic on highway next to advertising billboards and the oil well towers of the Signal Hill Oil Field... in Long Beach, CA or a portion of the city that encompasses Signal Hill. Forest of wells, rigs and derricks crowd the Signal Hill oil fields. (Photo by Andreas Feininger/The LIFE Picture Collection © Meredith Corporation) "Photograph of a view of Long Beach Boulevard passing through Signal Hill, showing the highway in an oil district. At center, a wide, unlined street cuts through the center of the image, several automobiles in the distance. To either side, oil derricks can be seen.” Jnaki Our teenage hot rod/cruising days were constantly driving through those oil derrick-laden areas. As a matter of fact, when my brother was in the local hospital during his burn recovery time period, that hospital was surrounded with tons of oil derricks. I remember going in the 1958 Impala for a visit. Upon spending several hours visiting, he asked me to open the window and his sight was oil derricks to the ocean and nearby. His request was for me to uncap the down tube exhaust outlets and do a full race acceleration power start down the street just below his window facing the ocean. When I was ready below, I beeped the horn to tell him I was about to start. So, he hobbled over to the window and watched me do a full open exhaust power start and acceleration through the oil derricks to the end of the street and then back down the same street. He waved on the second pass and I drove home. The next day, he had a smile on his face that said it all… It was his “baby” from new, worked into a daily driver, weekend racer and finally a tow vehicle for our 671 SBC 292 1940 Willys Coupe. He was happy in his “sight and sound experience” and said when he got out, that “we” could do it again. He could not drive for over a year. Oil derricks or not… YRMV So... Not OKC ... Nice catch...
A lot of folks don't realize that Southern California decades ago was nothing but oil fields. Signal Hill, Bolsa Chica (tin can beach), Huntington Beach, Norwalk, Santa Fe Springs, Brea Canyon, Grants Lease in Fullerton, and so many more. This is a panoramic view of Signal Hill (1923) that shows the density of the derricks.
The Jalopy Journal
