SIGNAL HILL

FOCUS

City Built on Oil Shell Oil Co. sold its oil wells here in 1984. ARCO put its city wells up for sale this year. If the ARCO sale goes through, Texaco will become the last major oil company still operating in Signal Hill, a former oil town that once produced 244,000 barrels of oil a day during its heyday in the early 1920s. What the city has lost in petroleum in recent years it has gained in people. According to 1985 census figures, Signal Hill was the fastest growing city in Los Angeles County. To accommodate that growth, more than 1,400 condominium units were built from the late 1970s until 1984, when a moratorium was imposed on all residential permits, city Planning Director Christine Shingleton said. The city in recent years has also begun to redevelop some of its commercial areas. A $7-million Price Club on Willow Street opened in November, and city officials also are planning a 24-acre auto mall for the intersection of Willow Street and Cherry Avenue.

CITY SERVICES City Hall 426-7333

2175 Cherry Ave.

Police (business) 426-7311

1800 E. Hill St.

Fire (business) 427-6006

2300 27th St.

Post Office 494-2216

2300 Redondo Ave.

Library 424-5383

1770 E. Hill St.

In Emergency, Dial 911 GOVERNMENT City Council: Jessie Blacksmith (mayor), Richard Ceccia (mayor pro tem), Gerard Goedhart, Sara Dodds (fifth seat vacant)

City Manager: Louis Shepard

Fire Chief: John Englund

Police Chief: Michael McCrary

AREA LAWMAKERS Congress: Daniel E. Lungren, Republican, 42nd District; 555 E. Ocean Blvd., No. 505, Long Beach 90802; (213) 436-9133

State Assembly: Dennis Brown, Republican, 58th District; 1945 Palo Verde Ave., No. 203, Long Beach 90815; (213) 493-5514

State Senate: Robert G. Beverly, Republican, 29th District; 1611 S. Pacific Coast Hwy., No. 102, Redondo Beach 90277; (213) 540-1611

County Supervisor: Deane Dana, 4th District; Hall of Administration, Room 822, 500 W. Temple St., Los Angeles 90012; (213) 974-1044

STATISTICS Population: 7,555

Area: 2.50 square miles

Incorporation: April 22, 1924

Median household income: $20,705

Median home value: $75,306

Median age: 32.3 years

Race: white, 68.6%; black, 17.4%; Latino, 12.4%; other, 14.1%

(Total is more than 100% because racial/ethnic breakdowns overlap) Statistics: Donnelley Demographics (1985 estimates)