oil

#276: Standard Oil Building (Whittier)

#276: Standard Oil Building (Whittier)

January 10, 2026
Architecture
The Standard Oil Building is one of Whittier's oldest office buildings, dating from an era when the hills just east of Whittier were covered in oil derricks. Since Standard left in 1930, it's had a second and third life as a college dorm and a restaurant/retail complex. But it's still got many of the charms of its original mission revival design.
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#138: Greystone Mansion/Doheny Estate (Beverly Hills)

#138: Greystone Mansion/Doheny Estate (Beverly Hills)

February 16, 2023
Architecture
This 55-room mansion in Beverly Hills was designed by Gordon Kaufmann for oil heir Ned Doheny and his family. Over the years it has been a residence and a public park; a popular place to get married or hold a fashion shoot; the site of a still-controversial murder-suicide case; a film school where David Lynch and Paul Schrader honed their chops; and the location of Beverly Hills' largest reservoir.
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#99: Pioneer Oil Refinery (Newhall)

#99: Pioneer Oil Refinery (Newhall)

May 27, 2022
Commerce
From 1877 - 1888, the Pioneer Oil Refinery processed oil from Pico No. 4, the first commercially successful oil well in California. The refinery had a brief heyday, but it was an important part of the birth of the oil industry in California. Today it stands as the earliest extant refinery in California (some say the entire world).
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