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Overview

One of the most compelling skyscrapers on the West Coast, the Richfield Building, erected for the Richfield Oil Company, had a stunning black/"midnight blue" and gold color scheme making it instantly recognizable on the skyline. Adding to its distinctiveness was the steel armature for a 125-foot, neon, rooftop sign, shaped like an oil derrick. Its senseless demolition incensed historic preservation advocates in Los Angeles, and further catalyzed the historic preservation movement in the city. The Richfield Building stood out as a masterpiece of Art Deco skyscraper design, one of architect Stiles O. Clements's most extraordinary designs.

Building History

At an approximate cost of $1,750,000, the Los Angeles-based architectural firm of Morgan, Walls, and Clements designed most of the building to accommodate the executive and general offices of the Richfield Oil Company; the twelfth floor housed a large amusement room, with stage, kitchen, cafeteria, barber shops, lavatories, and a ladies'lounge. The office tower had three basement floors, two for automobile parking and one housing mechanical equipment. According to the Historic American Buildings Survey, completed just before the building's demolition in 1968-1969: "The Building is located on the southwest corner of the intersection of South Flower Street and West Sixth Street. The site is an L-shaped parcel with 175' fronting on Flower (east); 167.88' on the north; 121.35' fronting on Sixth; 125' on the west; There is a 50' x 46.31' extension at the NW corner. The main entrance is on Flower Street." (See Robert C. Giebner, "Richfield Oil Building 555 S. Flower Street, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, HABS Cal, 19-Losan, 67-," [Washington, DC: National Park Service, Historic American Buildings Survey, 07-08/1969], p. 7.)

Ray Hebert, (in his article "End Arrives for L.A.'s Richfield Building," Los Angeles Times, 11/13/1968, p. B4), discussed the impact of the Richfield Tower on the architectural community in 1930: 'Yet what caused most of the comment about the building and made it an unforgettable landmark here was the color scheme, black and gold. Black was used to minimize contrast with the windows. But the black--a symbolic reference to Richfield's interest in the 'black gold' of the oil industry wasn't really black. It was glazed terra-cotta and light played tricks when it hit it. The gold? It was--and is--gold dust, pulverized and applied to the terra-cotta in a transparent glazing solution." The Richfield Building was one of the only black/midnight blue-toned office buildings in the US, its dark color highlighted further by its 14-carat gold detailing. Tiles for the building were produced by the Gladding-McBean ceramics factory at Lincoln, CA, northeast of Sacramento in Placer County.

This dark blue and gold color scheme recalled the highly publicized American Radiator Building (New York, NY, 1924) designed in a dramatic black-and-gold scheme by the partnership of Raymond Hood (1881-1934) and André Fouilhoux (1879-1945). As at the later Richfield Building, dramatic up-lighting was maximized to give the American Radiator Building a notable presence on the New York City skyline.

A 130-foot tower, mimicking an oil derrick, stood atop the 13-story building, emblazoned vertically with the name "Richfield," and acted as a landmark for aviators. Lighting on the rooftop tower was made to simulate an oilwell gusher; this tower motif was re-used at some Richfield service stations built in California, Oregon, and Washington. The mast became a critical visual addition to the building, accentuating its height and suggesting its up-to-the-minute modernity as both an advertising emblem and an airplane beacon. For many at the time, the oit industry propelled progress, fueling the modern world of cars, airplanes and a variety of other labor-saving machines.

Haig Patigian created the exterior sculptures, all of which were to suggest "motive power."

A one-eighth-inch scale model was made of the Richfield building during the design phase.

Building Notes

Architect Stiles O. Clements (1883-1966) was the lead design partner on the Richfield Building. According to his daughter, Mary Clements Rosenast, Stiles O. Clements considered the Richfield Building his favorite work, executed at the height of his powers at age 45. (See Mary Clements Rosenast, "Stiles O. Clements: A Personal View," Los Angeles Conservancy News, 12:2, 03-04/1990, p. 8.)

The Richfield Oil Company, which went into receivership in 1931, enabled the architects to enrich the office building with Art Deco decorative features. The 1969 Historic American Buildings Survey done on it stated of its decoration: "There is a profusion of marble, Keene cement, plaster and ornamental metal work throughout the building's public spaces. Some wood trim is employed in the more important offices. All designs are moderne and stylized. Contemporary designs revealing the role of the petroleum industry are evident upon entry into the building as the entry doors had metal grilles with figures of the automobile, airplane, tanker, etc. on them. Model airplanes stood on pedestals to the sides. Over the entrance are were four figures also holding objects associated with the industry. The elevator lobby on the first floor abounded with richness of materials and design from the inlaid marble floor to the carved plaster ceiling. Notable are the elevator doors and panels which had abstract patterns in relief in the metal surface. The Assembly Room was the other major area of decorative attention. The room had inlaid floors, wood paneling on the window wall and entrance arches, and marble inlaid panels next to the stage. The ceiling had recessed light fixtures. Cast iron grilles in moderne design covered register openings. Metal plaques, plaster cornices and carved marble molding are a part of the public areas, especially the elevator lobbies, of the building." (See Robert C. Giebner, "Richfield Oil Building 555 S. Flower Street, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, HABS Cal, 19-Losan, 67-," [Washington, DC: National Park Service, Historic American Buildings Survey, 07-08/1969], p. 7.)

The neon-lit, oil-derrick-shaped tower on the Richfield Building's roof was actually higher in the sky than that of the City Hall. City Hall, by ordinance, was to remain the tallest building in the city, but, because of the its location, the Richfield Building, with its neon roof sign, stood higher on the skyline. The Los Angeles Times explained in 10/1929: "Although just 350 feet above the sidewalk, the new Richfield beacon atop the Richfield Building at Sixth and Flower, will be the highest aviation guide in the city, in spite of the fact that the City Hall beacon is 435 feet above ground level. This apparent inconsistency is due to the wide difference in ground elevation of the sites of the two structures. The corner of Sixth and Flower is higher than the City Hall site, consequently the Richfield beacon will reach farther into the sky than that of its taller community neighbor. In constructing the new light tower, Consolidated Steel Corporation, which was awarded the contract by the P.J. Walker Company, builder, was faced with special engineering problems. The superstructure of the Richfield Building first had to be reinforced with heavier steel to support the added 70,000-poud weight, after which the 125-foot tower itself had to be constructed in such a way that wind resistance would be cut to a minimum. Although fragile in appearance, because of its great height, the structure possesses a strength commensurate with that of the most solid portions of the massive building it crowns." (See "Beacon on Building To Be Highest," Los Angeles Times, 10/20/1929, p. D8.)

Alteration

A remodeling was done 01/1953; an annex of four stories was also added to the Richfield Building.

Demolition

A notorious Los Angeles demolition, began 11/12/1968, with wrecking crews taking apart the interior; it continued for several months into 1969. The Richfield Building was only the largest of many buildings demolished to make way for the 52-story Atlantic Richfield Plaza, a parcel bounded by 5th Street, 6th Street, Flower Street and Figueroa Street; others included a four-story annex to Richfield, a small IBM building, an apartment building, Dawson's Bookstore, a car rental agency, and the Douglas Oil Building, an 11-story office high-rise. All of these sites were demolished by the Cleveland Wrecking Company.

PCAD id: 332