LONGVIEW
July 18, 1928: "Announcement was made yesterday by William L. Keller, Longview Richfield distributor, that this section has been selected for the location of one of the 30 Neon beacons which will be erected by the Richfield Oil company between the Canadian border and Los Angeles. It is understood negotiations are already under way with the Longview company for a site." (The Centralia Daily Chronicle)
May 23, 1929: "Weekly Building Review of State: Richfield Oil Company will erect $30,000 beacon at Longview." (Centralia Daily Chronicle)
June 6, 1929: "Weekly Building Review of State--Longview--Richfield Oil Company will erect new type service station here together with restaurant building." (The Centralia Daily Chronicle)
November 1, 1929: Certification of private lights: "Longview, Wash.---The Richfield Oil Co. is operating a 24-inch beacon, 8,000,000 candlepower, six revolutions per minute, elevation of main beam above horizon 2 1/2 degrees, located 4 1/4 miles east of Longview, latitude 46 degree 06' 30"; longitude 122 degree 52' 30"; altitude 24 feet. This beacon is mounted on top of a 125-foot tower which has red neon signs 115 feet long on two sides, reading "Richfield"; the third side of tower has initials "LV" in neon 15-foot letters. A 24-inch directional projector, 8,000,000 candlepower, elevation of beam above horizon 1 degree, points toward the Longview municipal airport 4 miles west." (Air Commerce Bulletin, Vol. 1, No. 9)
December 7, 1929: "The Richfield air beacon on the Pacific highway, about two miles south of Kelso was turned on for the first time last night. The tower was erected several months ago by the Richfield company, which has neon signs on it, and that company will complete a service station at the beacon about the first of the year." (The Morning Oregonian)
March 27, 1930: "Weekly Building Review of State--Longview--Beacon Tower Service Station, erected by Richfield Oil Co., of California, opened for business." (The Centralia Daily Chronicle)
June 25, 1930: "Two youthful bandits, each carrying .32 caliber revolvers, held up and robbed the Richfield Beacon Tower service station at the Longview highway entrance at about 2:45 this morning and escaped with $23.42 in cash." (Longview Daily News)
July 14, 1956: "The monumental type, distinctive Richfield service station, which was situated on the old Pacific Highway adjacent to the Longview Wye, is being demolished.
The station had an interesting history as it was one of a chain of Richfield Oil Co. beacons constructed along Highway 99 from Mexico to the Canadian border.
Original plans were to erect one of these stations every 50 miles, but that program was never fully followed. However, a similar station was erected just north of Challis.
The location at the Wye, which was most important in those days, was due to the efforts of the late William L. Keller, father of Austil and Larry Keller, who was the Richfield products distributor for this area. His sons are in the tire business here.
Negotiations for the station began in 1928 when Max Gordon, oil company representative, accompanied by an aviation expert, visited this area in quest of a location. The site was obtained from the Longview Company through Paul V. Dick, head of the real estate department.
Construction of the station, with its dominating ornamental beacon which in those days was assumed to be an aid to aerial navigation, was completed in 1930. Although not much importance was attached to the beacon in guiding plane flights in later years, the building did serve the purpose for which it was built over a period of nearly 25 years and provided a means of directing people off the highway into Longview, via the Pioneer Bridge, as the advice was to 'turn at the Richfield Beacon.'
The building, which was of an individualistic type of architecture seldom seen in this part of the country, but more frequently and more typically in southern California, was French Provincial in style. The interior arrangements and equipment were on a deluxe scale and quite luxurious for those days. The building included, in addition to the restroom, a spacious lounge or lobby which was comfortably furnished.
The service station operated as such until it was bypassed by the new highway. For a time after that it was used as a garage and repair shop, but more recently had been completely abandoned. Some years prior to its closure the beacon tower had been removed.
The structure was purchased by the Longview YMCA from the State Highway Department. The YMCA is razing the structure, using volunteer labor on the project. The work is under the direction of J.R. Hunt, camp committee chairman, and H.W. DeJong, camp maintenance committee chairman. They are being assisted in the work by some 20 to 25 men and their wives. Some of the heavier material, such as beams, will be sold, but the bulk of the salvaged material will be used in repair work on the YMCA camp buildings at Spirit Lake. The buildings sustained damage from the heavy winter snow and the material is being utilized in the repair program." (Longview Daily News)