Signal Hill, California
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Signal Hill is a city Template:Convert in area in Los Angeles County, California. Partially high on an eponymous hill, the city is an enclave completely surrounded by the city of Long Beach. Signal Hill was incorporated on April 22, 1924, roughly three years after oil was discovered there. As of the 2020 census, the population was 11,848, up from 11,016 at the 2010 census.
Etymology
Signal Hill was originally known as Los Cerritos ("The Little Hills") but got its current name when it became the signal point of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey in 1889.<ref>Capace, Nancy (1999). Encyclopedia of California. North American Book Dist LLC. Page 435. Template:ISBN.</ref>
History
The hill that the city is named after is Template:Convert above the surrounding city of Long Beach. Because of this height, it was used by the local Tongva Indians for signal fires that could be seen throughout the surrounding area and even out to Catalina Island, Template:Convert away.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
After the Spanish claimed Alta California ("Upper California," or what is now the state of California), Signal Hill eventually became part of the first large rancho grant to be allotted under Spanish rule in Alta California. The Rancho San Pedro (Dominguez Rancho) land grant exceeded Template:Convert as granted to a soldier, Juan Jose Dominguez, who accompanied Junipero Serra, by Governor Fages through authority of King Carlos III of Spain in 1784.
Between 1913 and 1923 an early California movie studio, Balboa Amusement Producing Company (also known as Balboa Studios), was located in Long Beach and used 11 acres (45,000 m2) on Signal Hill for outdoor locations. Buster Keaton and Fatty Arbuckle were two of the Balboa Studios actors who had films shot on Signal Hill.
Before oil was discovered in Signal Hill, there were large homes built on the hill itself, and in the lower elevations there were agricultural fields where fruits, vegetables, and flowers were grown.
Discovery of oil
Signal Hill changed forever when oil was discovered. The hill would soon become part of the Long Beach Oil Field, one of the most productive oil fields in the world.<ref name="MMS">Schmitt, R. J., Dugan, J. E., and M. R. Adamson. "Industrial Activity and Its Socioeconomic Impacts: Oil and Three Coastal California Counties." MMS OCS Study 2002-049. Coastal Research Center, Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, California. MMS Cooperative Agreement Number 14-35-01-00-CA-31603. 244 pages; p. 47.</ref> On June 23, 1921, Royal Dutch Shell's Alamitos #1 well <ref>Alamitos Well 1 Location: NE corner of Temple Ave and Hill St, Signal Hill. California Historic Landmark #580.</ref> erupted. The gas pressure was so great the gusher rose Template:Convert in the air. Soon Signal Hill was covered with over 100 oil derricks, and because of its prickly appearance at a distance became known as "Porcupine Hill". Today, many of the original oil wells and pumpjacks are gone, although Signal Hill is still a productive oil field and several wells and derricks remain. Signal Hill is now a mix of residential and commercial areas.
The city was incorporated on April 22, 1924. Among the reasons for incorporation was avoiding annexation by Long Beach with its zoning restrictions and per-barrel oil tax. Proving to be a progressive city, Signal Hill elected as its first mayor, Mrs. Jessie Nelson. She was California's first female mayor.
Gallery
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Government
Signal Hill has a council-manager form of government. The city council has five members who are elected to four-year, staggered terms; council members elect the mayor from among their ranks.
On the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, Signal Hill is represented by 4th District Supervisor Janice Hahn.<ref>"Fourth Supervisorial District Map Template:Webarchive." Retrieved on February 10, 2015</ref>
In the United States House of Representatives, Signal Hill is in Template:Representative.<ref>Template:Cite GovTrack</ref>
In the California State Legislature, Signal Hill is in Template:Representative, and in Template:Representative.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Emergency services
The Signal Hill Police Department provides local law enforcement.<ref>"Signal Hill Police Department." Retrieved on February 9, 2015</ref> In 2018, it budgeted for 38 police officers to enforce the law in the 2 square mile municipality.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Basic life support and ambulance transport is provided by Care Ambulance Service<ref>"Care Ambulance Coverage Map, Zone 3 Template:Webarchive." Retrieved on February 10, 2015</ref>
The Long Beach Memorial Medical Center provides medical services to the City and LACFD Station 60.
The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services operates the Whittier Health Center in Whittier, serving Signal Hill.<ref>"Service Planning Area 7." Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. Retrieved on March 18, 2010.</ref>
Fire
The Los Angeles County Fire Department provides fire protection services for the city of Signal Hill.
Economy
Prior to its dissolution, the airline Jet America Airlines was headquartered in Signal Hill.<ref>"World Airline Directory." Flight International. March 30, 1985. 88." Retrieved on July 23, 2009.</ref><ref>"upper_rightc4.jpgTemplate:Dead link." City of Signal Hill. Retrieved on July 23, 2009.</ref><ref>"SEC News Digest Issue 84-34." Securities and Exchange Commission. February 17, 1984. 2/4. Retrieved on July 23, 2009.</ref> The diner chain Hof's Hut is headquartered in Signal Hill.
Top employers
According to the city's 2017 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
| # | Employer | # of Employees |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Office Depot | 428 |
| 2 | The Home Depot | 343 |
| 3 | Costco | 301 |
| 4 | Target | 265 |
| 5 | Edge Systems LLC | 191 |
| 6 | Warren Distributing | 163 |
| 7 | Long Beach BMW Auto | 143 |
| 8 | Accountable Healthcare IPA | 136 |
| 9 | Allied Refrigeration | 130 |
| 10 | Mercedes-Benz of Long Beach | 127 |
Education
Primary and secondary school
Public schools
Signal Hill is served by Long Beach Unified School District.<ref name=LACountycensusSDmap2020>Template:Cite web</ref>
There are two operating elementary schools within the city limits: Signal Hill Elementary School and Juan Bautista Alvarado Elementary School. The former Burroughs Elementary School and adjacent Teacher Resource Center now serves as office space for the Head Start Program. Juan Bautista Alvarado Elementary School is located on the site of the former all male boarding school, the Southern California Military Academy. There is one middle school within the city limits: Jessie Elwin Nelson Academy. High school students usually attend Long Beach Polytechnic High School (usually referred to as Long Beach Poly), although some students choose to attend Long Beach Wilson Classical High School. Signal Hill Elementary School has earned the California Achieving Schools Award, and the National Achieving Schools Award. Signal Hill and Alvarado are both California Distinguished Schools.
Colleges and universities
Community college students attend one of the two nearby campuses for Long Beach City College.
California State University, Long Beach and DeVry University are located less than Template:Convert away.
American University of Health Sciences (AUHS) is located within the city of Signal Hill. The university offers an education in Allied Healthcare, offering degrees such as a Bachelor and Master of Science in Nursing (BSN; MSN), Master of Science in Clinical Research (MSCR), Bachelor of Science in Pharmaceutical Science (BSPS), and a Doctorate of Pharmacy (PharmD) program.
City parks
Although a small town, Signal Hill has several parks. The largest is Signal Hill Park at Template:Convert. It is adjacent to City Hall, the Community Center and the Library. The park has picnic tables, a playground, basketball courts, a softball field, and restrooms. There is also an amphitheater where there are weekly outdoor concerts during the summer.
Hilltop Park Template:Convert is at the top of Signal Hill and is very popular for its scenic views. There are several telescopes in the park. There is also some public artwork in the park and a mist tower. This park is a popular location for geocaching. On a clear day you can see as far as the Santa Monica Mountains, Downtown Los Angeles, the San Gabriel Mountains, and Santa Catalina Island.
Reservoir Park Template:Convert near the California Heights neighborhood of Long Beach is a large grassy area with picnic tables next to a 4.7 million gallon water reservoir.
Discovery Well Park Template:Convert, Template:Convert flat is near the original well on Signal Hill.
There are also six pocket parks of roughly Template:Convert or less, including Calbrisas Park, Hillbrook Park, Panorama Promenade, Raymond Arbor Park, Sunset View Park, and Temple View Park.
Near the Panorama Promenade, there is the Unity Sculpture, a 12' height sculpture atop a 4' pedestal with a seating courtyard that is dedicated in memory of the victims of September 11.
There are also several pedestrian-only trails that travel between various parks and roadways. Hiking along these trails, as well as on the sidewalks in Signal Hill is very popular. Some sections can be found that are between a 15% and 25% grade.
Proposed nature preserve
On the north slope of Signal Hill is a large area that is currently used for oil operations. This area has been proposed as a nature preserve.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of Template:Convert, virtually all land. The city is surrounded on all sides by the city of Long Beach, California.
Signal Hill lies in the 562 area code. The city once shared three different postal ZIP codes with the city of Long Beach but in July 2002, the city of Signal Hill received its own ZIP code, 90755.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Climate
According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Signal Hill has a semi-arid climate, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Demographics
| Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) | Pop 2000<ref name=2000CensusP004>Template:Cite web</ref> | Pop 2010<ref name=2010CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref> | Template:Partial<ref name=2020CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref> | % 2000 | % 2010 | Template:Partial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White alone (NH) | 3,340 | 3,340 | 2,831 | 35.79% | 30.32% | 23.89% |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 1,167 | 1,427 | 1,550 | 12.50% | 12.95% | 13.08% |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) | 23 | 27 | 33 | 0.25% | 0.25% | 0.28% |
| Asian alone (NH) | 1,515 | 2,211 | 2,586 | 16.23% | 20.07% | 21.83% |
| Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH) | 186 | 112 | 80 | 1.99% | 1.02% | 0.68% |
| Other race alone (NH) | 31 | 36 | 48 | 0.33% | 0.33% | 0.41% |
| Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) | 364 | 391 | 512 | 3.90% | 3.55% | 4.32% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2,707 | 3,472 | 4,208 | 29.00% | 31.52% | 35.52% |
| Total | 9,333 | 11,016 | 11,848 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
2020
The 2020 United States census reported that Signal Hill had a population of 11,848. The population density was Template:Convert. The racial makeup of Signal Hill was 29.1% White, 13.7% African American, 1.6% Native American, 22.3% Asian, 0.8% Pacific Islander, 20.0% from other races, and 12.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 35.5% of the population.<ref name=DP1>Template:Cite web</ref>
The census reported that 98.9% of the population lived in households, 0.6% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0.5% were institutionalized.<ref name=DP1/>
There were 4,561 households, out of which 31.8% included children under the age of 18, 38.2% were married-couple households, 9.4% were cohabiting couple households, 31.7% had a female householder with no partner present, and 20.6% had a male householder with no partner present. 26.6% of households were one person, and 8.0% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.57.<ref name=DP1/> There were 2,910 families (63.8% of all households).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The age distribution was 20.3% under the age of 18, 8.1% aged 18 to 24, 31.6% aged 25 to 44, 27.1% aged 45 to 64, and 13.0% who were 65Template:Nbspyears of age or older. The median age was 38.3Template:Nbspyears. For every 100 females, there were 96.0 males.<ref name=DP1/>
There were 4,749 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert, of which 4,561 (96.0%) were occupied. Of these, 51.7% were owner-occupied, and 48.3% were occupied by renters.<ref name=DP1/>
In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $102,303, and the per capita income was $52,980. About 8.0% of families and 9.1% of the population were below the poverty line.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2010
The 2010 United States census<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> reported that Signal Hill had a population of 11,016. The population density was Template:Convert. The racial makeup of Signal Hill was 4,650 (42.2%) White (30.3% Non-Hispanic White),<ref name="quickfacts.census.gov">Template:Cite web</ref> 1,502 (13.6%) African American, 83 (0.8%) Native American, 2,245 (20.4%) Asian, 135 (1.2%) Pacific Islander, 1,778 (16.1%) from other races, and 623 (5.7%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3,472 persons (31.5%).
The Census reported that 10,970 people (99.6% of the population) lived in households, 2 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 44 (0.4%) were institutionalized.
There were 4,157 households, out of which 1,419 (34.1%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 1,580 (38.0%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 660 (15.9%) had a female householder with no husband present, 258 (6.2%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 302 (7.3%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 156 (3.8%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 1,128 households (27.1%) were made up of individuals, and 245 (5.9%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64. There were 2,498 families (60.1% of all households); the average family size was 3.33.
The population was spread out, with 2,624 people (23.8%) under the age of 18, 1,034 people (9.4%) aged 18 to 24, 3,476 people (31.6%) aged 25 to 44, 2,970 people (27.0%) aged 45 to 64, and 912 people (8.3%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.9 males.
There were 4,389 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert, of which 2,141 (51.5%) were owner-occupied, and 2,016 (48.5%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.9%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.7%. 5,253 people (47.7% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 5,717 people (51.9%) lived in rental housing units.
According to the 2010 United States census, Signal Hill had a median household income of $70,442, with 14.1% of the population living below the federal poverty line.<ref name="quickfacts.census.gov"/>
Mapping L.A.
Mexican (20.9%) and Cambodian (8.4%) were the most common ancestries. Mexico (28.5%) and Cambodia (19.9%) were the most common foreign places of birth.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
See also
- Long Beach Oil Field has more details on the giant oilfield that includes Signal Hill
- Long Beach Municipal Cemetery
- Signal Hill (disambiguation) for other Signal Hills
References
Bibliography
External links
- Template:Official website
- Chamber of Commerce
- The Story of Oil in California - Signal Hill at The Paleontological Research Institution
- The Geology of Signal Hill, CA at Museum of the Earth
- - Discover Well ALAMITOS NO. 1 June 25, 1921. California Registered Landmark NO. 580
- The Balboa Amusement Producing Company: The Unforgotten Studio of Long Beach
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