Until the early 1920s California Heights was part of the Bixby Ranch (historically, Rancho Los Cerritos) and was used primarily as grazing land and bean fields. It was the discovery of oil on Signal Hill and the ensuing land boom in 1921 that led the Jotham Bixby Company to subdivide and sell off lots in the California Heights tract.

On October 10, 1922 the company placed 830 lots on the market. The California Heights tract was just 1500 feet from the Wiley No. 1 oil well, and lot purchases included oil rights. This was an attractive offer since oil was discovered on Signal Hill the previous year and many had struck it rich. Who was to say that oil wouldn’t be discovered under the new tract, making its owners wealthy?

An ad for California Heights in the Daily Telegram, October 14, 1922 stated: You could stand on one corner of California Heights and with a 30-30 rifle shoot the lights off the top of dozens of [oil] rigs – where gushers are spouting thousands of barrels of liquid gold daily. THAT’S HOW CLOSE WE ARE TO REAL MONEY. Oil has made more rich men in Long Beach, in a shorter time, than all other interests combined. Are you among them? This is ‘Your Ship’ but you’ll have to step lively to get aboard.

Within four hours, 185 lots were sold and within 24 hours 250 more. Twenty-five of the lots were purchased by a syndicate of local businessmen who planned to drill for oil.

Because the question of oil beneath the properties remained unsettled, it wasn’t until November 15, 1923 that the water, gas, telephone and electric mains necessary for building the homes were completed. Once these were in, it became evident that very little oil was under the tract and residential development began.

The Jotham Bixby Company got things off to a start by building 25 ready-made Spanish type bungalows (see architects’ rendition) which they sold on an “easy payment plan.” Other homes were built on a parcel-by-parcel basis, creating a variety of home styles, including Tudor Revival, Spanish Colonial Revival and the well-known California Bungalow, most of which were moved to the neighborhood after being displaced by the discovery of oil on Signal Hill.

In December of 1927, California Heights and Chateau Thierry (the area currently between Long Beach and Atlantic Boulevards, south of Bixby Road) organized the California Heights-Chateau Thierry Improvement Association to petition the City of Long Beach for paved streets, sidewalks, curbs and ornamental lighting.

The California Heights-Chateau Thierry area grew rapidly, with approximately 250 families moving into the neighborhood between 1925 and 1927. The area continued to attract new families, and by 1939 most of the building was complete.