Richfield Tower
- Architect
- Stiles O. Clements
- Year
- 1929
- Style
- Art Deco
- City
- Los Angeles, CA
- Collection
- l.a. deco
Richfield Tower rose in downtown Los Angeles in 1928-1929 as the headquarters of the Richfield Oil Corporation, designed by Stiles O. Clements in a black-and-gold Art Deco scheme meant to evoke the company's own "black gold." The 12-story building carried a 130-foot rooftop tower spelling out RICHFIELD vertically in lights designed to simulate an oil derrick gusher, a motif the company repeated at its service stations. Richfield outgrew the tower within four decades, and it was demolished in 1969 to make way for the ARCO Plaza complex.
the building
Black-and-gold facade. The tower's signature color scheme, black terracotta trimmed in gold, was a literal symbol of the oil business behind it: Richfield's "black gold." Sculptor Haig Patigian carved the building's exterior figures to match the scheme.
The gusher tower. A 130-foot tower crowned the 372-foot, 12-story building, spelling RICHFIELD vertically in illuminated letters. The lighting was engineered to simulate an oil-well gusher, an idea Richfield later reused as a motif at its own gas stations.
the style
Clements' black-and-gold palette made Richfield Tower one of the era's more theatrical Art Deco statements, using the style's taste for bold ornament to advertise the company's product rather than simply decorate the building.
More on Art Decosignificance
Richfield Tower's 1969 demolition drew strong objections from Los Angeles preservationists and is remembered as one of the city's notable losses of an Art Deco landmark. Its ornate black-and-gold elevator doors were salvaged and reinstalled in the lobby of the ARCO tower (later City National Tower) that replaced it, and two of the golden doors were later installed as public art.
nearby
- California Club Building
- General Petroleum Building
- Engine Company No. 28
- Los Angeles Central Library Building and Grounds
- Westin Bonaventure Hotel
- U.S. Bank Tower