GRANTS PASS
May 15, 1929: " By Tuesday night, barring unforeseen difficulties, the steel air neon beacon of the Richfield Oil company, in a corner of the county airport, north of the city, will reach 125 feet into the air. A crew started working on the steel framework Wednesday morning. The lighting crew, who will transform the tower into a shaft of light will arrive in about two weeks to complete the work.
Under the direction of Hugh Bergland, the steel men were rapidly assembling the material Wednesday. The crew came here from Vacaville, Cal. This is the 17th beacon to be erected by them.
The beacon here is to serve as a night guide for fliers. It can be seen for miles in any direction from the air and for several miles each side of the city from the highway.
A service station will be erected later in the summer at the base of the tower. Plans have already been drawn for the station by Lynn Sparhawk, formerly of Grants Pass, now with the Richfield company in Los Angeles.
The Richfield company leased a small tract on the airport during the winter, fronting on the Pacific highway.
The local beacon and service station is one of a chain extending from the Mexican border to the Canadian border. Eight units have already been completed, all of these being in California.
Hotels are also contemplated for a number of the sites, but it has not yet been announced whether one is to be built in Grants Pass." (Grants Pass Daily Courier)(GIANT BEACON CONSTRUCTION ON AT AIRPORT)
Under the direction of Hugh Bergland, the steel men were rapidly assembling the material Wednesday. The crew came here from Vacaville, Cal. This is the 17th beacon to be erected by them.
The beacon here is to serve as a night guide for fliers. It can be seen for miles in any direction from the air and for several miles each side of the city from the highway.
A service station will be erected later in the summer at the base of the tower. Plans have already been drawn for the station by Lynn Sparhawk, formerly of Grants Pass, now with the Richfield company in Los Angeles.
The Richfield company leased a small tract on the airport during the winter, fronting on the Pacific highway.
The local beacon and service station is one of a chain extending from the Mexican border to the Canadian border. Eight units have already been completed, all of these being in California.
Hotels are also contemplated for a number of the sites, but it has not yet been announced whether one is to be built in Grants Pass." (Grants Pass Daily Courier)(GIANT BEACON CONSTRUCTION ON AT AIRPORT)
May 17, 1929: " Erection of the steel tower for the new Richfield neon beacon on the airport north of the city was completed Thursday night and the crew has left for another location. The tower, which is 125 feet above the foundation, is now ready for battery of lights, which will be installed by the lighting crew within a few weeks. A few have already been lighted." (Grants Pass Daily Courier)(STEEL TOWER ERECTED)
May 25, 1929: " Installation of neon lighting on the steel tower erected by the Richfield Oil company at the Josephine county airport will begin next week according to A. Hawley, of Highway Communities Inc., who spent Friday afternoon here conferring with Gladwin Smith, Harold Prestel and J.E. Kerr, members of the county airport commission, relative to plans on the local Richfield project.
The lighting crew is coming south Portland and will be here Sunday or Monday to begin work. The steel crew finished its work last week. On two sides, the word "Richfield" will be installed while on the third side "G.P." will be emblazoned in 15-foot letters." (Grants Pass Daily Courier)(ILLUMINATION OF NEON BEACON 'ON' NEXT WEEK)
May 26, 1929: "Installation of the lighting equipment on the Richfield air beacon on the Josephine county airport will begin early next week. The tower, 125 feet high, was completed a week ago. 'G.P.' will appear on one side of the tower in 15-foot letters." (The Sunday Oregonian)
May 28, 1929: "A crew is at work installing neon lights on the Richfield company's air beacon on the county airport. The lettering was placed today. It is expected the wiring will be completed by Saturday so the tower can be lighted Saturday night." (Grants Pass Daily Courier)(INSTALLING NEON LIGHTS)
May 31, 1929: " Saturday night the new beacon tower of the Richfield Oil company will be lighted. Installation of the lighting system has been completed with the exception of the beacon light which is to be placed on the very top of tower. This will be installed as soon as the standard type desired by the government can be ascertained. This beacon light will be of 3000 candlepower or greater. The tower itself will be a solid light of neon. It is stated that construction of the service station at the base of the tower will be started soon. Brownell's Electric will service the lighting on the tower." (Grants Pass Daily Courier)(TURNS ON LIGHTS SATURDAY)
June 23, 1929: "Airway-highway beacon towers being erected by the Richfield Oil company in Oregon, Washington and California are nearing completion and several of the Oregon towers are ready for tourist inspection. Towers at Crown Point, Salem, Roseburg, Grants Pass and Siskiyou Summit are among the Oregon towers already up and equipped with neon tubing." (The Sunday Oregonian)
July 22, 1929: Construction began Monday of the Richfield Oil company's $35,000 service station near that organization's neon air beacon on the Grants Pass airport north of the city.
Under direction of H.R. Lohrer, of the J.W. Feak Construction Company, Tacoma, surveyors were platting the site today. Construction is to be completed within 60 days, it is expected.
Local labor and materials will be employed if prices are acceptable, Mr. Lohrer declared. He will be at the Redwoods hotel until Wednesday evening, arranging for materials available here.
Frank Misho, will be general foreman of construction. Frank Sherlock, Richfield Oil superintendent, will supervise.
The new station is of Norman design and measures 35 by 70 feet, with a central tower 45 feet. Salesrooms comprise the central part of the building, with a canopy extending over the pump toward the highway.
Lounging rooms for men will form the south wing, ending in a covered porch. Ladies' rooms form the north wing. Both wings incline toward the highway at a slight angle from the central tower, making better use of a semicircular paved driveway surrounding the building and beacon tower.
Beamed ceilings will mark the interior and walls will be of rough plaster.
The Grants Pass and the Roseburg stations are being built simultaneously. They are the first of this design to be constructed in Oregon and Washington.
Six such stations are planned and are in different stages of completion permitting crews skilled in different construction to move from station to station, specializing in their work.
The station paving will be of rock and asphalt and 2,000 yards of fill will be required.
About the station will be a complete semi-circle on a 75 foot radius carrying six clusters of floodlights and air and water connections. The site will be planted to grass and flowers. A concrete retaining law around the tower base will enclose other plants.
Lead covered cables under the paving will supply the electrollers.
Tests of aviation beacons will decide the type of light to be mounted atop the tower, Mr. Lohrer declared. The beacon will be placed as soon as the best light for the local airport is decided on.
Mr. Lohrer was not informed of the plans of the Richfield Oil company for hotels at their service stations, but cited a report published in Roseburg to the effect that J.W. Feak, head of the construction company has said that erection of hotels might start within six months." (Grants Pass Daily Courier)(CONSTRUCTION BEGINS MONDAY ON RICHFIELD'S AIRPORT PLANT)
October 1, 1929: Certification of private lights: "Grants Pass, Oreg.---The Richfield Oil Co. of California is operating a 24-inch beacon, 8,000,000 candlepower, six revolutions per minute, elevation of main beam above horizon 1 degree, located 3 miles north of Grants Pass on the Pacific Highway, latitude 42 degree 29' 00", longitude, 123 degree 21' 40"; altitude 1,400 feet. This beacon is mounted on top of a 125-foot, red neon signs 115 feet long on two sides of tower, with word "Richfield," the third side having initials "GP" in neon 15-foot letters. This beacon is adjacent to Grants Pass Airport, which is to lighted for night flying." (Air Commerce Bulletin, Vol. 1, No. 7)
November 23, 1929: "The Richfield Oil company's lighting crew arrived in Grants Pass Saturday morning to put a revolving light atop the Richfield beacon. The beacon will carry 8,000,000 candlepower rays and may be seen for 100 miles during clear nights." (Grants Pass Daily Courier)(TO ERECT BEACON)
December 7, 1929: "The county commissioners court has decided upon early removal of buildings on the Richfield property adjacent to the airport. twenty hotels are to be constructed by the Richfield people as part of their long chain of service stations extending from the Mexican border to the Canadian line; and while it has not yet been announced that Grants pass will have a Richfield hotel, the commissioners decided to clear off property and to stress to the Richfield people the strategic advantage of choosing Grants pass for one of the hotel sites." (Grants Pass Daily Courier)(COUNTY TO CLEAR SITE FOR RICHFIELD HOTEL)
December 21, 1929: "Bids for removal of the buildings now covering part of the county's airport leased by the Richfield Oil company in anticipation of erection of a hotel here in connection with their beacon station, were rejected by the county commissioners as too high, and plans are being changed to reduce the expense of the project. The Richfield company has been urging the county to have the buildings removed without delay.
Offers for the removal job were opened by the commissioners and the county airport commission.
Under the new plans, the house on the property will be moved across the highway and located beside the machinery warehouse on the county farm property. Smaller buildings in the way of the Richfield project will be demolished, with the exception of a barn which will remain in place for the present. "
(Grants pass Daily Courier)(COUNTY TURNS DOWN AIRPORT REMOVAL BIDS)
"RICHFIELD, neon lighted, on tower, operates from sunset to 12 midnight." (Airway Bulletin, No., 1-2 1931-38)