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RICHFIELD AIRWAY BEACONS

The Richfield Oil Company of California erected five of the three sided, 125 foot, steel towers along the route of the Pacific Highway in Oregon. They where located at the summit of the Siskiyou Mountains, Grants Pass, Roseburg, Eugene, and Salem. A massive neon sign on the hills overlooking Portland was also a part of this system. This was a small section of the complete established route from The Mexican border to the Canadian border, which eventually was to count 40 of these beacons.

The neon signs and beacon lights were a combination of advertising, as they had service stations located at the base, and a beacon that was convenient for private pilots. These beacons in most cases could be seen as far away as 50 miles. The spacing of the service stations were so that when the fuel gauge was nearing empty, the driver was nearing the next station. Exceptional service and comfortable facilities also made the stations popular.

The construction of these beacons came about during an era in America's history, when the airplane was an obsession with the public. A time when flying distance and endurance records were constantly being broken. Charles Lindbergh was the all-american hero. Will Rogers, Amelia Earhart and others were becoming known for their skills in the flying machines. Air Mail services were in their infancy and being conducted during the hours of darkness to have the mail delivered the first thing the next day.

The following is a collection of stories from newspapers and other sources.

Siskiyou Summit ~

June 19, 1929: A vast amount of supplies to be used in the construction of a huge beacon light at the summit ranch on the Siskiyous by the Richfield Oil company, has already been hauled to the site of the beacon. K.B. Fergeson, Richfield representative, spent several days in this city making arrangements for preliminary construction work. The beacon light is one of a series being installed by the Richfield company.

(Ashland Daily Tidings - June 19, 1929)(HUGE BEACON TO BE CONSTRUCTED)

June 20, 1929: Mr. and Mrs. W.B. Norris proprietor of the Summit Ranch Lodge and service station, located on the Pacific Highway on the summit of the Siskiyou mountains has lately leased the service station and garage to the Richfield Oil company of California. The company will install attractive improvements at once, and a force of workmen has already commenced work upon them, A steel tower, 125 feet high will be erected, electrically lighted, and displaying a huge beacon on its top, and illuminations on the sides, advertising the company. The old service station and garage will be torn down, and in their stead attractive up-to-date buildings will be erected, displaying for sale all types of Richfield products. When completed and ready for business, the new station will be one of the finest and best equipped on the Pacific Highway between Canada and Mexico.

Across the highway from the station, Mr. Norris will operate a confectionery store, lunch counter, and tea room for the accommodation of tourists.

(Ashland Daily Tidings - June 20, 1929)(SUMMIT RANCH TO BE BUSY PLACE)

July 19, 1929: The beacon light which is being erected at the Siskiyou Summit by the Richfield Oil Company will go into operation the first of the month, according to Guy Good of the X-L Electric who is in charge of installing the NEON lights.

The steel tower which is 125 feet high is now finished and work is being done this week on the nine letters on either side of the tower which spells "R-I-C-H-F-I-E-L-D," each being eight feet high and five feet wide. The beacon light will be installed at the top of the tower some time within the next week, marking completion of the work.

Copco is building a power line four and a half miles long to the site of the beacon light. The transmission line carries 11,000 volts and the voltage is "stepped up" again to 32,00 volts for the NEON sign which will light the monster sign. Lights will be turned on and off by an automotive stop clock.

(Ashland Daily Tidings - July 19, 1929)(BEACON LIGHT NEARLY DONE)

December 9, 1929: Construction of an attractive service station at the Siskiyou Summit as a part of the summit project which was started last summer, with the erection of the huge Richfield beacon light, is well toward completion at the present time.

The service station is being constructed identical with those at other points where Richfield beacons have been installed, a Dutch architecture carried out in detail.

A vast amount of excavating and filling work was necessary before actual construction of the service station could be started and this was done during the summer months.

Within another month the new service station should be complete.

(Ashland Daily Tidings - December 9, 1929)(NEW STATION NEARLY DONE)

January 6, 1930: The attractive Richfield station at the summit of the Siskiyous is nearing completion, according to O.H. Bailey of the contracting firm of Bailey and Spitzmiller, general contractors for the project.

The Richfield company has constructed these attractive service stations through California, Oregon and Washington. In southern and central California they were constructed on the low, mission style architecture, while in northern California and through Oregon, the attractive Gothic architecture is followed.

The summit project was started more than six months ago and involved the wrecking of the old camp ground at the summit, the blasting away of a hill, and making an immense fill in a deep canyon. The erection of the 125 foot beacon tower was the first unit of the project to be completed, this tower with the illuminated Richfield advertising, and distance information, is surmounted by a beacon light similar to others constructed by the government in this territory.

The service station is directly across the highway from the beacon tower. The Gothic structure is 18 by 60 feet, and is built in three units. The center portion of the building is used as a salesroom, with all first class equipment.

Off the main salesroom, is a storage room, in which hot water tanks are located. On either side are rest rooms, one for men and one for women. The ladies' rest room is elaborately equipped with full length mirrors, etc. Hot and cold water will be available at all times.

A canopy extends over the gas pumps, insuring protection from the weather.

The landscaping of the grounds at the summit will greatly enhance the natural beauty of the spot. A semi-circle 160 feet across will be laid out and bordered with shrubbery. All space inside the semi-circle will be paved.

The building is being finished in white with the woodwork a mottled black and gold.

(Ashland Daily Tidings - January 6, 1930)(LOCAL CONTRACTORS COMPLETING PROJECT AT SUMMIT OF SISKIYOUS)

April 12, 1930: Representing an investment of in the neighborhood of $40,000 the new Richfield airway beacon service unit at the summit of the Siskiyous has been completed and Friday (April 11) afternoon was opened for business.

Twenty-four hour service, with four men regularly employed at the station, is to be maintained. H.A. Hiserman is in charge with Lawrence Clark, Holt Wordrip and Lyle Schoppert as assistants.

Installation of standard Richfield type equipment and fixtures at the service station was completed this week.

The 125 foot Richfield neon lighted tower surmounted by a revolving beacon was completed last fall and has been in operation during the winter months. Flood lights, lighting the service station and grounds, were in operation for the first time last night.

The service station is of standard Norman type architecture used in the northern airway beacon units of the Richfield company. A landscaping expert has laid out the grounds in circular lines about the station. Shrubbery borders the station and the grounds in pleasing effect.

The building is of stucco. The sales room is located in the center and modernly equipped comfort stations on either side. Full length mirror and a dressing table mirror are features of the ladies' rest room, which is modernly equipped.

The interior finish of the station is in a gray, interior lighting fixtures in antique design further carry out the harmony of old Normandy finish.

A canopy extends from the sales room over the two modern service pumps. Standard Richfield equipment automatic air pressure pumps for gasoline and oils. All oil is drawn from the exterior service equipment instead of from the oil drums which are on the interior of the sales room.

The station is supplied with water from a spring 2100 feet back of the station. A pressure pump at the spring forces the water into a storage tank on the hill above the station, this tank location providing gravity for abundant pressure for the service station.

The summit station is located directly opposite the Norris summit ranch. The hillside was cut away to provide the station site while a big fill was made to provide the beacon tower site on the opposite side of the road. A flood light on the beacon tower, two flood lights on the grounds, and yard lights of harmonizing design furnish effective illumination for the station at night time.

This unit is leased and operated by T.A. Winter of Los Angeles.

This is the twenty-third of the airway beacon service stations to be completed by the Richfield company. They were designed primarily to aid aviators in night flying, augmenting the government airway beacons.

(Ashland Daily Tidings - April 12, 1930)(RICHFIELD SISKIYOU SUMMIT BEACON SERVICE STATION IS OPENED FOR BUSINESS FRIDAY"

October 5, 1939: Construction of one of the most spectacular jobs of the new Siskiyou Highway is now in progress, with a crew of 106 men being employed at Siskiyou summit of the Pacific Highway by the Roy L. Houk Construction company of Salem.

At the summit, where the new highway crosses the old, the largest highway cut in Oregon will be completed, after removal of 280,000 yards of earth.

At present, work is progressing on a detour, which will be of quality exacted in many permanent roads. The detour, which now is being rocked, proceeds from the right hand side of the present road, through a deep cut back of Norris' Lodge at the summit, and continues down the south side of the Siskiyous.

The new highway will take off nearer the summit, cross the present road near the Richfield station, which is now closed, and, at various places between the hilltop and the California line, will intersect the present route.

A near city of trailers extends from the bank of the Richfield station, around the Norris camp and north to the Colestin road. Russell's Summit camp and Norris' Lodge are crowded with workers and their families. The big Richfield beacon, which was visible for many miles, has been removed.

Five RD8 caterpillar tractors now are working in the big cut. Also two power shovels, five trucks and a jackhammer crew are at work.

(Ashland Daily Tidings - October 5, 1939)(NEW HIGHWAY CUT IS BIGGEST ON STATE ROADS)

The above three photos from the Oregon Historic Photograph Collection at the Salem Public Library. No confirmed date of photos.

June 26, 2008: The following photos show the location of the former Richfield service station.

The left image shows the broken remains of the service station on the side of the road cut. The right image shows the road cut with debris and the location of the service station, which was located in front of the truck. Photos were taken from the opposite road cut slope facing east. Visiting the site requires land owner permission as the east side of the highway is posted "No Trespassing." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Grants Pass ~

May 15, 1929: By Tuesday night, barring unforeseen difficulties, the steel air neon beacon of the Richfield Oil company, in a corner of the county airport, north of the city, will reach 125 feet into the air. A crew started working on the steel framework Wednesday morning. The lighting crew, who will transform the tower into a shaft of light will arrive in about two weeks to complete the work.

Under the direction of Hugh Bergland, the steel men were rapidly assembling the material Wednesday. The crew came here from Vacaville, Cal. This is the 17th beacon to be erected by them.

The beacon here is to serve as a night guide for fliers. It can be seen for miles in any direction from the air and for several miles each side of the city from the highway.

A service station will be erected later in the summer at the base of the tower. Plans have already been drawn for the station by Lynn Sparhawk, formerly of Grants Pass, now with the Richfield company in Los Angeles.

The Richfield company leased a small tract on the airport during the winter, fronting on the Pacific highway.

The local beacon and service station is one of a chain extending from the Mexican border to the Canadian border. Eight units have already been completed, all of these being in California.

Hotels are also contemplated for a number of the sites, but it has not yet been announced whether one is to be built in Grants Pass.

(Grants Pass Daily Courier - May 15,1929)(GIANT BEACON CONSTRUCTION ON AT AIRPORT)

May 17, 1929: Erection of the steel tower for the new Richfield neon beacon on the airport north of the city was completed Thursday night and the crew has left for another location. The tower, which is 125 feet above the foundation, is now ready for battery of lights, which will be installed by the lighting crew within a few weeks. A few have already been lighted,

(Grants Pass Daily Courier - May 17, 1929)(STEEL TOWER ERECTED)

May 25, 1929: Installation of neon lighting on the steel tower erected by the Richfield Oil company at the Josephine county airport will begin next week according to A. Hawley, of Highway Communities Inc., who spent Friday afternoon here conferring with Gladwin Smith, Harold Prestel and J.E. Kerr, members of the county airport commission, relative to plans on the local Richfield project.

The lighting crew is coming south Portland and will be here Sunday or Monday to begin work. The steel crew finished its work last week. On two sides, the word "Richfield" will be installed while on the third side "G.P." will be emblazoned in 15-foot letters.

(Grants Pass Daily Courier - May 25, 1929)(ILLUMINATION OF NEON BEACON 'ON' NEXT WEEK)

May 28, 1929: A crew is at work installing neon lights on the Richfield company's air beacon on the county airport. The lettering was placed today. It is expected the wiring will be completed by Saturday so the tower can be lighted Saturday night.

(Grants Pass Daily Courier - May 28, 1929)(INSTALLING NEON LIGHTS)

May 31, 1929: Saturday night the new beacon tower of the Richfield Oil company will be lighted. Installation of the lighting system has been completed with the exception of the beacon light which is to be placed on the very top of tower. This will be installed as soon as the standard type desired by the government can be ascertained. This beacon light will be of 3000 candlepower or greater. The tower itself will be a solid light of neon. It is stated that construction of the service station at the base of the tower will be started soon. Brownell's Electric will service the lighting on the tower.

(Grants Pass Daily Courier - May 31, 1929)(TURNS ON LIGHTS SATURDAY)

July 22, 1929: Construction began Monday of the Richfield Oil company's $35,000 service station near that organization's neon air beacon on the Grants Pass airport north of the city.

Under direction of H.R. Lohrer, of the J.W. Feak Construction Company, Tacoma, surveyors were platting the site today. Construction is to be completed within 60 days, it is expected.

Local labor and materials will be employed if prices are acceptable, Mr. Lohrer declared. He will be at the Redwoods hotel until Wednesday evening, arranging for materials available here.

Frank Misho, will be general foreman of construction. Frank Sherlock, Richfield Oil superintendent, will supervise.

The new station is of Norman design and measures 35 by 70 feet, with a central tower 45 feet. Salesrooms comprise the central part of the building, with a canopy extending over the pump toward the highway.

Lounging rooms for men will form the south wing, ending in a covered porch. Ladies' rooms form the north wing. Both wings incline toward the highway at a slight angle from the central tower, making better use of a semicircular paved driveway surrounding the building and beacon tower.

Beamed ceilings will mark the interior and walls will be of rough plaster.

The Grants Pass and the Roseburg stations are being built simultaneously. They are the first of this design to be constructed in Oregon and Washington.

Six such stations are planned and are in different stages of completion permitting crews skilled in different construction to move from station to station, specializing in their work.

The station paving will be of rock and asphalt and 2,000 yards of fill will be required.

About the station will be a complete semi-circle on a 75 foot radius carrying six clusters of floodlights and air and water connections. The site will be planted to grass and flowers. A concrete retaining law around the tower base will enclose other plants.

Lead covered cables under the paving will supply the electrollers.

Tests of aviation beacons will decide the type of light to be mounted atop the tower, Mr. Lohrer declared. The beacon will be placed as soon as the best light for the local airport is decided on.

Mr. Lohrer was not informed of the plans of the Richfield Oil company for hotels at their service stations, but cited a report published in Roseburg to the effect that J.W. Feak, head of the construction company has said that erection of hotels might start within six months.

(Grants Pass Daily Courier - July 22, 1929)(CONSTRUCTION BEGINS MONDAY ON RICHFIELD'S AIRPORT PLANT)

November 23, 1929: The Richfield Oil company's lighting crew arrived in Grants Pass Saturday morning to put a revolving light atop the Richfield beacon. The beacon will carry 8,000,000 candlepower rays and may be seen for 100 miles during clear nights.

(Grants Pass Daily Courier - November 23, 1929)(TO ERECT BEACON)

December 7, 1929: The county commissioners court has decided upon early removal of buildings on the Richfield property adjacent to the airport. twenty hotels are to be constructed by the Richfield people as part of their long chain of service stations extending from the Mexican border to the Canadian line; and while it has not yet been announced that Grants pass will have a Richfield hotel, the commissioners decided to clear off property and to stress to the Richfield people the strategic advantage of choosing Grants pass for one of the hotel sites.

(Grants Pass Daily Courier - December 7, 1929)(COUNTY TO CLEAR SITE FOR RICHFIELD HOTEL)

December 21, 1929: Bids for removal of the buildings now covering part of the county's airport leased by the Richfield Oil company in anticipation of erection of a hotel here in connection with their beacon station, were rejected by the county commissioners as too high, and plans are being changed to reduce the expense of the project. The Richfield company has been urging the county to have the buildings removed without delay.

Offers for the removal job were opened by the commissioners and the county airport commission.

Under the new plans, the house on the property will be moved across the highway and located beside the machinery warehouse on the county farm property. Smaller buildings in the way of the Richfield project will be demolished, with the exception of a barn which will remain in place for the present.

(Grants pass Daily Courier - December 21, 1929)(COUNTY TURNS DOWN AIRPORT REMOVAL BIDS)

May 3, 2008:

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Roseburg ~

In 1942 the Douglas Forest Protective Association purchased the tower, complete with signs and all the electrical, dismantled it and reconstructed it as a fire lookout on Bell Mountain near Elkton, Oregon. The tower was 125 feet tall with a 8x8 observation cab and had an elevator operated by a hand crank to raise and lower the lookout person. At the end of the fire season the elevator was locked at the top and person closing the lookout climbed down one of the tower legs, in the spring the opposite, climb the tower to unlock the elevator. On October 12, 1962, during the Columbus Day Storm the top of the tower was damaged, the following year it was repaired and somewhat shorter at 105 feet and the elevator was replaced with stairs. In 1978 the tower was sold for salvage and removed.

March 27, 1929: Construction work is being started today on the Richfield air beacon three miles north of Roseburg. Kerby B. Ferguson, of Richfield Oil company, who was in the city today, completed all final arrangements and supervised the laying out of foundation for which excavation was started today.

The first work will be the construction of the concrete forms for the steel tower, gasoline pumps and service station, which will form the first unit to be constructed.

Steel for the 85-foot beacon tower is expected to arrive within a few days and the tower will be built as soon as the concrete base is ready to support the weight.

The beacon and station will be located on the Pacific highway 3 miles north of town on a 4 acre tract recently acquired by the company. The tower will be set out by the road and behind it will be placed the gasoline pumps, while at the rear of the lot will be a completely equipped service station, rest rooms and oil house. Each tower forms the nucleus for an ideal village consisting of the service station, roadside hotel, restaurant, etc. Just how extensive the improvements will be here has not yet been decided as the company is at present building only the towers and service stations and will add the additional units later.

There are to be forty beacons between Los Angeles and Seattle and hotels will be provided at 20 of these. Whether or not a hotel will be erected at the local station depends entirely upon the trade that develops and the prospects for the future.

Surmounting the 85-foot tower will be a rocking beacon. This powerful light will swing in an arc of 180 degrees. The light will rock back and forth from horizontal through the vertical position instead of rotating, as in the case with government beacons.

On each side of the tower, in giant neon lights, will appear the word "Richfield," with a key letter to designate to the flier his position. Thus the station will serve both the fliers and motorists, guiding the one and providing service for the other.

The stations are being built at such intervals that a flier is constantly in sight of one of the giant lights.

Buildings are to be of concrete and steel construction with stucco and will be built on a Spanish style of architecture.

The location is ideal, being just in a curve of the road so that motorists can see the place for a long distance. The grounds and buildings will be beautified and will be heavily floodlighted.

Construction work is to be rushed so that the beacon will probably be in operation within the next few weeks.

Aviators during the coming summer should have no difficulty in spotting Roseburg at night, for in addition to the Richfield beacon now under construction the government is preparing to erect a huge rotating beacon on the summit of Mt Nebo and a field beacon is expected at the airport north of town. The government contract is expected to be announced within a very short time. Arrangements have already been made with the California-Oregon Power company for construction of necessary power lines for the local beacons. both the Richfield and the government lights, and the company is also preparing to build lines necessary to connect up the beacons at emergency fields along the route.

(Roseburg News-Review - March 27, 1929)(WORK STARTED ON AIR BEACON NORTH OF CITY)

May 17, 1929: Above (a drawing) is an architect's drawing of the new Richfield beacon tower, "Lane of Light" service station, which is to be erected on the Pacific highway about three miles north of Roseburg. The foundations for the tower are already in place and additional work is to be undertaken in the very near future. This English-Norman design, a sharp contrast to the low, rambling Spanish stations built for the project in California, was decided upon as a tribute to the more rugged beauty of mountain, mesa and sea of the colorful Pacific Northwest. These stations will rise at the base of 125-foot Richfield neon lighted beacon towers at the following points: Blaine, Stanwood, Seattle, Tacoma, Centrailia and Longview, all in Washington; Crown Point, Salem, Portland, Eugene, Roseburg and Grants Pass in Oregon. All, it is anticipated, will be completed within 90 days.

(Roseburg News-Review - May 17, 1929)(RICHFIELD BEACON AND SERVICE STATION TO BE ERECTED ON HIGHWAY NORTH OF ROSEBURG SOON)

July 17, 1929: Construction of the service station in connection with the Richfield beacon, located north of Roseburg on the Pacific highway, was started this morning. J.W. Freak, Richfield contractor from Tacoma, accompanied by H.R. Lohrer, Jr., Frank Misho and Fred Amerman, foreman, arrived in the city last night, and secured materials for preliminary work this morning.

Mr. Freak states that local labor and materials will be used as far as possible, if suitable prices are obtained, and he is today arranging to contract for the materials to be used, and is employing laborers. It is expected to use about 30 men continuously for the ensuing 60 days.

The service station, which is to cost approximately $35,000 will be one of the most elaborate on the Pacific coast, Mr. Freak states. The California stations were built along a Spanish type of architecture, but those in the Pacific Northwest are to be of the rugged Norman type with high sloping roofs, gabled wings and wide porches. The central portion of the building will contain the supply room, and in front will be the canopy over the gasoline pumps, where cars will be serviced. In each side wing will be located restrooms, which will be fitted with lounging chairs, dressing tables, smoking stands, etc., with toilets and washrooms adjoining. These lounge rooms Will be attractively furnished.

The station at Roseburg and at Grants Pass will be built simultaneously and will be the first in the state, Mr. Freak says.

The Richfield company also plans to make these beacon sites a small community in themselves. It is planned to add hotels at each place, and this concession has already been let. The Richfield company will erect the buildings, which will be operated by a company already formed. Erection of the hotel at Roseburg will be started within the next six months.

The company has acquired a 4-acre tract north of Roseburg, and has already erected the beacon tower, on which the huge neon sign is now operating. The buildings will be constructed in a semi circle, with the exception of the service station, which will occupy a space 35 by 70 feet in the center. The building is being constructed on a very substantial plan, using heavy concrete base with steel skeleton, covered with stucco.

The Richfield company is experimenting with different types of revolving beacons, which are to be mounted on top of the 125-foot towers, and within a few weeks expects to contract for the purchase and installation of these powerful lights, which are being installed at 50-mile intervals along the entire coast to furnish a guide for night fliers.

(Roseburg News-Review - July 17, 1929)(SERVICE STATION UNIT OF BEACON SITE GOING UP)

November 25, 1929: Installation of two 8-million candlepower beacons on top of the 125-foot Richfield tower, two miles north of Roseburg, is being completed today by the Richfield electrical crew. The lights are to be turned on at dusk tonight, and will be put into immediate use to aid night flying on the coast route.

One of the lights will revolve, throwing a horizontal beam, and will be visible for 100 miles in any direction. The other will be stationary and throw and throw a beam of light in the direction of the municipal airport.

The lights are automatically operated by a time clock, and are turned on at dusk and off at dawn.

A 32-volt incandescent globe is used, burning 1,000 watts. There are two globes in each lamp, and if one burns out the other is turned on automatically. A 28 inch plate glass reflector is used with a focusing apparatus that gives a long, highly penetrating beam, visible for a great distance.

The lights were put in place this morning and were given a temporary electrical hookup for the tests to be made tonight. The final wiring and adjustments will be completed tomorrow after the lights are used tonight.

Beacons have been installed at Siskiyou and Grants Pass, and the crew will go to Eugene Wednesday to put in the lights at the tower there.

(Roseburg News-Review - November 25, 1929)(RICHFIELD TOWER BEACONS WILL BE FLASHED TONIGHT)

April 20, 1942: A crew of workmen from the Douglas Forest Protective association, under the direction of Ira Mann, foreman, is engaged in razing the Richfield beacon tower, located four miles north of Roseburg and will relocate the tower at Bell lookout, near Elkton.

The beacon tower has not been used for many months and recently was purchased by the forest protective association. Fred Southwick, supervising warden, reports.

The 125-foot steel structure will be placed on a new base atop Bell mountain, five miles east of Elkton. The tower will support a standard forest lookout station, which commands view of a large part of the coast range forest area in Douglas county. The present station is located on top of two tall fir trees which were topped to provide a base for the lookout. The supporting trees, Mr. Southwick reports, are showing signs of rot, making further use of the present facilities dangerous. The steel tower is expected to provide a permanent installation.

It is anticipated that it will require from a week or ten days to remove the tower from its present location and to transport it to Elkton, where another two weeks will be required in erection. A roadway to the base permits easy transportation.

(Roseburg News-Review - April 20, 1942)(RICHFIELD BEACON TOWER WILL BE MOVED TO LOOKOUT)

May 10, 2008: Photos added from files.

The above photos were courtesy of Douglas Forest Protective Association. Left: undated, shows the earlier version of the lookout tower, note - the person climbing the tower to open it for the season. The elevator is locked into place just under the cab. Right: This is a 1963 photo taken after the tower was rebuilt, tower about 30 feet shorter, stairs and a larger cab were the major differences.

May 11, 2008: Searched for the site about three miles north of Roseburg and found nothing. The highway and right of way had been widened, no doubt erasing all traces.

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Eugene ~

April 3, 1929: Establishment near Eugene of a tourist apartment hotel of pretentious features, with a revolving airplane beacon and a large automobile service station, became assured yesterday with the closing of negotiations for a site on the Pacific Highway seven miles north of this city.

In the transaction, the Highway Community Corporation of Los Angeles, a division of the Richfield Oil company, acquires five acres of the old Spencer place on the west side of the highway, about two and one-half miles north of Santa Clara. This property has been owned by Mr. and Mrs. J.L. Barbre and Mr. and Mrs. J.S. Lockey, and the Los Angeles corporation held a 30 day option on it while the deal was pending.

This option expired yesterday and the deal was closed, according to an announcement by F.M. Cashman and John Baird, of the Berger Realty company, who handled the transaction. The property provides the community corporation a frontage of 450 feet on the highway, a stipulation which was required by representatives of the concern when they were here more than two months ago looking over prospective sites.

An engineer of the corporation will be on the ground next week to make preliminary surveys and other preparations looking toward erection of the hotel and service station, according to Mr. Cashman. The local realty man was shown architect's drawings of the plans for the establishment, and understands that the company expects to spend about $250,000 in the development project.

The hotel will be an attractive Spanish type, such as predominates in Southern California. It will be built in a horseshoe shape, the hotel itself standing about the 150 foot revolving beacon light. Automobiles driven in from the highway, will make a loop about this tower. The plans call for shops of various types to be provided in the hotel building, the whole establishment making up a community center for the higher class of automobile tourists.

It is reported that the project contemplates eventual development of an airport in addition to the automobile service facilities.

These establishments are being located by the Richfield people at various points along the highway. The next one south of Eugene, it is understood, will be at Grants Pass, and the next out of Portland will be at Hood River.

(Eugene Register - April 3, 1929)(SITE ACQUIRED FOR BIG HIGHWAY HOTEL)

April 8, 1929: The Highway Community corporation, a division of the Richfield Oil company, which opened negotiations some time ago for the five acre tract known as the old Spencer place two and a half miles north of Santa Clara, has closed the deal and will erect a service station and tourist hotel, to cost approximately 250,000 on the site.

The property, which was acquired from Mr. and Mrs. J.I. Farbre and Mr. and Mrs. J.S. Luckey, will afford a 450-foot frontage on the side side of the highway. A Spanish type of architecture will be used in construction work, which is to follow surveys to be made by an engineer of the company who will arrive here shortly. A beacon light will be a feature of the new building, as a guide to automobiles, and possible later to airplanes, as the ultimate plans call for a landing field near the hotel.

Similar hotels are planned for Grants Pass and Hood River. The deal here was made by FM. Cashman and John Baird of the Berger Realty company.

(The Eugene Guard - April 8, 1929)(DEAL CLOSES HERE ON SITE FOR HOTEL NEAR SANTA CLARA)

May 3, 1929: Work of developing a highway hotel and service station on the Pacific highway north of Eugene by the Highway Communities corporation of Los Angeles, a branch of Richfield Oil company, is expected to start within the next six weeks, it was learned yesterday.

The company's engineers are expected to survey the property recently acquired in a short time, and make preparations for the construction work. A revolving airplane beacon, such as the Richfield people have erected near their large service stations at intervals along California highways, is to be put up at the station here.

(Eugene Register - May 3, 1929)(WORK WILL SOON START)

May 16, 1929: Construction commenced Tuesday on the tower for the airplane beacon which the Richfield Oil company will erect on the company's three acre plot of ground seven miles north of Eugene on the highway. A 125-foot tower which will support a revolving light to have a radius of 70 miles will be built.

The base of the tower is to be 19 feet square, and is of concrete. The light will have a candle power of 11,000,000. Dennis Lovelace, local contractor. is doing the work. The entire job will take about two weeks, he said.

(Eugene Register - May 16, 1929)(TOWER WORK STARTED)

March 8, 1930: The $35,000 Richfield air beacon and service station, located seven miles north of Eugene on the Pacific highway, was completed Saturday by the contractors, the J.W. Feak Construction company of Tacoma, Washington.

This is the fifth unit of a string of beacons and service stations operated by the Richfield company between the borders of Mexico and Canada, according to H.R. Lohrer, general manager of the Feak Construction company. All materials were bought in Eugene and the labor was hired here, said Mr. Lohrer.

The beacon tower is equipped with two 4,000,000 candle power lights. One shines steadily, pointing in the direction of the Eugene airport, and the other light revolves, halting momentarily when pointing in the direction of the landing field and again when the light beam is pointing the way north from Eugene.

The service station is of Norman design and was erected directly behind the beacon tower within a paved circle of 150 feet. The circle will be edged with shrubs.

(Eugene Guard - March 8, 1930)(BEACON, SERVICE STATION FINISHED)

March 8, 1930: The $35,000 Neon-lighted air beacon and service station seven miles north of Eugene on the Pacific highway is now completed and the opening, to which the public is invited for inspection purposes, will be at 8 p.m., Monday evening.

The Eugene beacon, located on the air-line, is the twenty-first beacon to be completed by the Richfield oil company of the 35 scheduled to be installed from Mexico to Canada.

The Neon-lighted tower is 125 feet in height, and has two 8,000,000 candle-power beacons. One of these is a directional projector, indicating to aviators the position of the Eugene municipal airport. The second is a revolving light to guide aviators for a distance of 50 miles, in clear weather.

The service station unit at the foot of the tower is constructed with Norman architecture, and will operate on a 24 hour basis.

The station has been leased and will be operated by the T.A. Winter company. Gene Geiselman will be in charge, with LeRoy Mellon, R.E. Baldwin and R.P. Busey, assistants.

(Eugene Register - March 8, 1930)(RICHFIELD BEACON TO HAVE OPENING)

March 11, 1930: The construction of a $125,000 tourist hotel on the site of the recently erected service station and air beacon built by the Richfield Oil company will be started sometime this summer, according to plans revealed here Tuesday. The hotel will be a two story building of modern Spanish type architecture, and will be one of a chain of hostelries along the Pacific highway.

The hotels are built and managed by the Motour, Inc. The land for the site here was sold by Dr. E.L. Zimmerman, of Eugene, to the E.F. Cashman Realty company who in turn sold the property to the Highway Communities, Inc., a branch of the Richfield Oil company. H.C. Gordon, of Hollywood, representative of the finance department of the Highway Communities, Inc., arranged the deal for the property here and explained details of the proposed hotel.

The hotel will be of modern hollow tile construction with stucco exterior. There will be 100 rooms with bath and a modern coffee shop and garage to accommodate 70 cars.

Present plans call for five such hotels along the Pacific highway on Oregon, said Mr. Gordon. Building operations are expected to be started early this summer with the building open to the public sometime in the fall, probably September. The Eugene site is the first one to be definitely announced in the state.

Only the tourist trade is catered to by the chain, said Mr. Gordon.

(Eugene Guard - March 11, 1930)(SITE CHOSEN FOR $125,000 TOURIST HOTEL NEAR HERE)

July 9, 1930: Construction on the Motour hotel, to be built facing the Pacific highway north just inside the city limits, will be started the first week in August, it was announced late Tuesday by Harvey R. Malott, general manager of the system of hotels.

The general contract for the hotel has been let to Stien brothers. Clauses in the contract call for completion of the building and equipping for occupancy by the middle of November.

Accommodations will include practically 100 guest rooms and a 70 car garage offering complete automotive service. A barber shop, beauty shop and coffee shop will also be included.

The original investment in the hotel is figured at $125,000 in the specifications. An annual local disbursement of $40,000 for help, fuel, electric power and other requirements is estimated by the Motour hotel system, which is building the hotel.

The contract in Eugene is the first for five hotels to be built on the coast. Others will be at Grants Pass or Medford; Yreka or Dunsmuir, Cal.; Chico or Sacramento, Ca.; at Fresno and at Bakersfield.

(Eugene Guard - July 9, 1930)(TOURIST HOTEL TO BE STARTED SOON)

May 11, 2008: The current use of the old service station is that of a wedding chapel, known as the Beacon House. A very well kept and beautifully landscaped setting.

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Salem ~

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Portland ~

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Crown Point ~

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This section contains misc. information and photos of other Richfield Beacon Stations in California and Washington, in no particular order.

Mt Shasta City, California ~

May 29, 2008:

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Willows, California ~

August 30, 2008:

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Dixon, California ~

July 5, 1929: There is to be a new Richfield station under the large Richfield tower about five miles south of Dixon.

The Richfield people are building these stations at approximately 40-mile intervals along the main highways across the United States.

(Woodland Daily Democrat - July 5, 1929)(RICHFIELD TO BUILD STATION NEAR DIXON)

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Livermore, California ~

March 16, 1943: Work of tearing down the 85-foot beacon tower at the Richfield station on the highway just west of Livermore was completed on Wednesday, reports the Livermore News.

The tower was taken down following a request by the Navy department owing to it being a hazard to student fliers.

This tower was erected in 1928 and was one of a chain of Richfield beacon towers reaching from the Mexican border to the Canadian line along both the inland and coastal highways. The service station was completed and opened for business in 1929.

The idea for tower stations was developed by a Mr. Heinley, who formed the Highways Community Corporation, and Mr. Talbot, formerly a director of the Richfield Oil Co.

(Hayward Review - March 16, 1943)(LIVERMORE RICHFIELD TOWER TAKEN DOWN)

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GENERAL INFORMATION

August 4, 1929: (Los Angeles) Work is progressing with amazing rapidity toward the final completion of the Mexico-to-Canada chain of airway-highway beacons for the Richfield Oil company in Washington, Oregon and California, and all but ten towers of the $10,000,000 project have been finished and lighted.

This was the announcement made at Richfield headquarters here today by W.B. Cotrel, in charge of arrangements for the Richfield "Lane of Light" construction. He stated at the same time that official government approval of the aerial beacons which tip the towers -- each of 8,000,000 candlepower -- is expected now any day.

"Several of the revolving beacon lights now on the towers are more or less experimental; several others are practically what we have decided on for permanent installation," stated the Richfield official. "Announcement of the definite selection, as approved by the government, may be expected shortly."

In the case of units located directly on municipal or local airports -- as in the case of Imperial, Merced, Livermore, Santa Rosa and Grants Pass -- the towers will bear both the big beacon and a directional light, pointing the way of night fliers to the nearest airport.

(Eugene Register - August 4, 1929)(BEACON WORK IS RUSHED)

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A special thank you to the following organizations and fine people for assistance and contributions:

Klamath County Library, Southern Oregon Historical Society, Jill Livingston and Ben Truwe