More about Signal Hill California

Signal Hill is a small city which is an enclaved city, meaning it is completely surrounded by the city of Long Beach. The city is located within Los Angeles County and is home to an estimated 10,951 residents as of 2005. The city shared three different postal codes with Long beach at one point, but as of mid-2002, they received their own ZIP code. The hill in which the city is named for stands 365 feet above the surrounding area of Long Beach, and because of its height, its original inhabitants, the Tongva Indians, used it for signal fires that could be seen throughout the area, even out to Catalina Island, which sits a full 26 miles away. Between 1913 and 1923, the city was used by an early movie studio, Balboa Amusement Producing Company. Movies staring Fatty Arbuckle and Buster Keaton shot films located on Signal Hill. Oil was discovered in the area in June 1921 when the Alamitos #1, owned by the Shell Oil Company, erupted. The pressure was so great that the gusher of oil rose as high as 114 feet into the air. The area was soon covered with over 100 oil derricks, helping to give it the nick-name “Porcupine Hill” and making part of the Lon Beach Oil field, one of the ost productive oil fields in the entire world. The city was officially incorporated into Los Angeles County in April 1924 to avoid annexation by Long Beach and its per-barrel oil tax. The city’s first mayor was Jessie Nelson who was also the first female mayor in California. The most famous resident to ever live in the city was boxer Kid Mexico whose real name was Tod Faulkner. Kid Mexico was California’s bantanweight champion in 1914 when he was just 14 years old; he had lied about his age to be able to fight. He was also the state’s welterweight champion in 1925. Although it is small, the city is home to four large parks and six pocket parks. The most popular of the parks is Hilltop Park, known for its great views, the park houses several telescopes. The pocket parks in the city are .5 acres or less and include Calbrisas Park, Hillbrook Park, Temple View Park, Raymond Arbor Park, Panorama Promenade and Sunset View Park.