When I originally did a search for the Standard Oil Beacon, I found a lot more information about the one at the Mount Diablo, but didn't realize they were linked. Maybe there's more information because the Mount Diablo one still stands. I wonder if the Montebello Beacon looked like this.
www.mtdiablocam.com
The 1948 and 1953 images at Historic Aerials both show buildings at Montebello which aren't there any more. Based on the picture above, my guess for the beacon would be the structure in the center of this 1948 view. Back in 1948, the whole area looked pretty much like this.
Historic Aerials
To add to
oldstuff's info - from
www.mtdiablocam.com:
Quote:
Beacon History
The beacon was originally lit by Charles Lindbergh in 1928 to assist in the early days of commercial aviation. The beacon shined from the summit of Mount Diablo each night until December 8, 1941, the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor. It was not relit until December 7, 1964, when Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz, Commander in Chief of Pacific Forces during World War II, attended a ceremony on Mount Diablo’s summit in commemoration of the survivors of Pearl Harbor. He suggested it be lit every December 7th to honor those who served and sacrificed.
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This picture shows the Mount Diablo Beacon illuminated, although it doesn't give a great idea of how powerful the light is. Incidentally, I did a quick check to see how bright a 10,000,000 candle power lamp might be, and found that a well-known online retailer is currently selling an "18 Million Candle Power Rechargable Halogen Spotlight" for just over $60.
www.mdia.org