By 1897, the once quiet Crown Hill neighborhood was overrun with promoters, drillers and more than 500 chugging and wheezing derricks. Gingerbread houses and neatly trimmed gardens were quickly transformed by homeowners and leasing companies attempting to turn their backyards into pay dirt.

http://crownhillchronicles.blogspot.ca/2009/11/great-los-angeles-oil-strike.html

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