Los Angeles is Full of Fake Buildings… Why?

Yeah. When I was a kid in the 50s 60s, there were wells all over LA.

I was recently in LA driving down La Cienega and my cousin pointed out the oil fields. I thought it was weird to have that in the middle of the city but put it in the back of my mind. Now I see oil is what built the city

Oil wells! People think I'm crazy when i tell them that.. LOL

Guess the new generations really need to learn some history. Like California used to be energy independent but now imports the majority of its oil and much of its electrical.

As a kid in the 60's , I remember going to Long Beach to swim and having tar all over my feet. I also remember some oil derricks painted and decorated to look like grasshoppers.

if you listen to it, it's silent, right? that's because it's a gas turbine generator, it only switches on to augment the grid during peak power draw. When on, you will see heat haze from the exhausts at the top. Notice the high voltage lines running adjacent the buildings... those aren't oil pipelines, they connect the generator to the local grid.

Excellent mini doc, thank you! Was born Santa Monica 1950 to a surfing family in Malibu and remember as a kid the trips to surf south of LA still with those bizarre dystopian wells in operation. We left for Oahu 1963 and now that I'm 74 am fascinated by LA's history.

When I was a child in the early 50s, I clearly remember a Los Angeles that was swamped with oil derricks.

Cell towers are disguised as palm trees 🏝

Oil field, i worked there and the one behind the beverly center and Inglewood oil fields and EVEN the Montebello fields before they sold them out. Its a NASTY place.

I was raised in WLA in the late 80’s and you can’t miss the sight of that building. Besides the Century City skyline in the distance it’s the only building that tall until you reach The Beverly Center.

"What should we do with this old, spent oil field" "Build a swimming pool"

Wow! Well done video! I lived in LA since the early 70s, and I remember as a little boy seeing more oil wells all around Los Angeles. People think Beverly Hills was just glitz and glamor, big mansions, movie stars, and palm trees, etc. But people and tourists don't know it was full of oil wells back in the day. I lived near the Doheny oil well on Olympic blvd. Only a few blocks away and we knew what it was as a little kids. And oil goes under many houses in B.H. so people own the mineral rights and get a check every few months for drilling under their houses. My parents sold their house but kept the mineral rights when we moved in the 80's. So I still get a check every few months from the oil company, which is less than $200.00 at times, which means the well is not going last long in the decades to come. Thanks again for the video, and keep the good work!

I appreciate your efforts and research. However, it isn’t a conspiracy. We need oil. The technology for alternative power just isn’t there yet. These are aesthetic decisions more than attempts to hide oil extraction.

I used to date a girl in LA who lived next door to property with an oil derrick on it. You can hear them at night when you're trying to sleep. At first it's creepy and alien sounding but eventually it becomes a rhythmic white noise

I'm shocked that people did not already know that! That is old news. Out off of Long Beach or one of the nearby beaches, the artificial islands with the towers. Even Beverly Hills High School is sitting on top of an oil field. That is the problem, people for decades have wanted these wills closed and plugged. As the people up in Porter Ranch about natural gas storage under their community and how well that worked.

I've been in LA all my life and never knew this. Wonderful video. Thank you.

Fascinating stuff. Looking forward to seeing your future releases matey.

This is a professional documentary.

Oil drilling was how my great grandfather and grandfather made a living. It beat working the mines in Arizona. The sinister tone you attempt to cast upon this industry here does not work. They lived long and vibrant lives. And their destruction, like that of the film industries destruction today, has displaced our family. But hoorah, the rich have their nice estates with beatiful views where once many made a good living, the ones who actually built this place. The real reason the oil industry has been killed is because they lost the propaganda war with the real estate moguls who wanted the cheap land. The very same industry behind the open borders now propping up property valuations by cramming the worlds populations into tiny plots of land. Congratulations, you win the prize.