Graffiti covered many of the buildings in the final months before demolition.

Here we have a view of some of the same buildings as they looked in the 1940s.

Note the oil derricks visible in the distance. The coastal region between the Palos Verdes Peninsula and Huntington Beach yielded vast amounts of oil with the Signal Hill area being especially productive. By the end of 1938, the Long Beach Field had produced 614.5 million barrels of crude, 750 million barrels by 1950, and over 900 million barrels by 1980. This made Signal Hill one of the most productive fields per acre the world has ever known.

Historic photos are from the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles Photograph Collection.