Ocean Avenue, Long Beach
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Sometimes bad luck can turn to gold…or something just as valuable. KPCC’s Kitty Felde tells the tale of a real estate deal that took a long time to pay off. It’s another Street Story.
Kitty Felde: In 1881, John and Susan Bixby bought 26 thousand acres of Rancho Los Alamitos for 125 thousand dollars. The property was shaped like a giant triangle. Theresa Barbee, Docent Coordinator at Rancho Los Alamitos, says the Bixbys started subdividing.
Theresa Barbee: The first lots along Ocean Avenue were sold for 300 dollars as residential lots
Felde: The land near the top of the triangle was narrow and less desirable. It didn’t sell. Pam Seager, Executive Director of the Rancho Los Alamitos Foundation, says we call the area Signal Hill.
Pam Seager: And of course the story of Signal Hill is there was the largest oil strike in southern California and still owned then by the family.
Felde: But it almost didn’t happen. Shell’s chief geologist tried to stop the drilling before it began. He wasn’t convinced it was worth the effort. Fortunately for Shell – and the Bixby’s, he was too late. The 1921 gusher turned into one of the most productive oil fields in history.
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