Saturday, April 11, 2020

Vintage 1950s Lost Buildings, Richfield Tower


Vintage 1950s Lost Buildings

Richfield Tower
formally 555 South Flower Street
Los Angeles

Richfield Tower, (a.k.a. Richfield Oil Company Building) was constructed between 1928 and 1929 and served as the headquarters of Richfield Oil. It was designed by Stiles O. Clements and featured a black and gold Art Deco façade.
          The 12-floor building, including a 130-foot (40 m) tower on top of the building emblazoned vertically with the name "Richfield". Lighting on the tower was made to simulate an oil well gusher and the motif was reused at some Richfield service stations.

          The company outgrew the building, and it was demolished in 1969, much to the dismay of Los Angeles residents and those interested in architectural preservation. It is now the ARCO Plaza skyscraper complex. The elaborate black-and-gold elevator doors were salvaged from the building and reside in the lobby of the new ARCO building (now City National Tower).
          Richfield Tower was featured in a few scenes of Michelangelo Antonioni's 1970 film Zabriskie Point, shot shortly before its demolition


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