Do you remember the water tower that used to be the iconic symbol of Signal Hill, visible for miles around? If so, you must have seen it before 1999, when it was taken down.
One reader asked me to
find out more.
Couple in front of water tower on remains of Denni home.
Source: Long Beach Public Library
There
might have been a water tower on the Hill as early as 1906. According to the Los Angeles Herald:
“The
water tower on top of the hill, tall and shapely, will be crowned with a design
for beautiful lights which will illumine the whole hill.”
I
am not sure when or if that water tower was built, but most report a water
tower of some sort being on the Hill since the 1920s. That 1920s water tower
was severely damaged in the March 1933 Long Beach earthquake but plans for a
new tower were quickly approved in July of that year. The tower, atop the Hill
at about the 350-foot elevation mark at Skyline Drive and Junipero Avenue
became one of Signal Hill’s most visible landmarks, especially after nearly all
the oil towers were taken down to make room for redevelopment. The tower was
officially named the Denni tank after the Denni family, who had what many
described as a “mansion” on the top of Signal Hill before oil was discovered.
Louis Denni (1859-1933) migrated from Switzerland in the
1880s and worked at the Bixby ranch on Rancho Los Alamitos, eventually becoming
foreman. He later set up his own dairy operations in Los Alamitos and in October
1912 sold his dairy herd and other holdings in the area to his nephew, Joe
Denni, who continued the business. The Santa Ana Daily Register described Louis
Denni as one of the oldest, as well as one of the wealthiest dairymen in Southern
California. Following the sale of his
Los Alamitos property, Louis, wife Elisa (1862-1941) and their family moved to
Signal Hill, purchasing the residence of George W. Hughes, one of the
developers of Signal Hill, for $24,000 ($624,000 today). Hughes had purchased 35-acres at the summit of
Signal Hill for $20,000 ($687,000) in 1904. 
Denni home, 36 Junipero
Source: Long Beach Public Library
Already
wealthy, Denni was made even richer by the discovery of oil in 1921. The Denni
family leased their Signal Hill property*, moving to Wilmington in 1923, investing
in real estate. At the time of his death in 1933 from injuries incurred in a
traffic accident, Louis Denni was said to be the largest single property owner in
Wilmington with an estimated worth of $1 million ($21 million today). He and
wife Lizzie had several children including - Frank (1889-?), Elizabeth (1893-?),
Mary (1894-1959), Anna (1895-1896), Nicholas (1896-1898) Louis (1899-1920), Joseph
(1902-1990). Anna, Louis, and Nicholas are
buried at Sunnyside cemetery, along with their parents.
Denni memorial - Sunnyside
Source: Long Beach Public Library
In October 1999, the Denni tank was dismantled as were
two 300,000 gallon tanks at nearby Temple Avenue and Hill Street. New
reservoirs, a $1.2 million ($2 million today) gallon Hilltop Reservoir, beneath
Hilltop Park at Dawson Street and Skyline Drive and a $1.3 million ($2.1
million) Temple Reservoir next to the old Temple tanks replaced them. This was good news for developers who would
now be able to supply ample water to the Hill’s new residents, and also good
news for those already there who would no longer be troubled by poor water
pressure.
* As of 1999 the city
still leased the property from the Denni Family Trust. Attempts to find if they
still do were not successful.
Sources:
“A big buy; G. W. Hughes
purchases summit of Signal Hill. Evening Tribune, 01 September, 1904.
Lowe, Joshua. “Signal
Hill’s landmark tank coming down.” Press Telegram, 12 October 1999.
“Louis Denni succumbs to
auto injury.” San Pedro News Pilot, 12 May 1933.
“Quits dairying after
thirty years’ experience.” Santa Ana Daily Register, 10, October 1912.
