Car Climbs on the Hill

In the early 1920s, automobile drivers tested the steep ascent of Signal Hill, which rose to an elevation of 364 feet and included a 70% grade known as "The Hill" or later "Shell Hill." In January 1921, a Dodge touring car attempted the climb before thousands of spectators and reached the top, crashing through the Dodge brothers’ paper emblem after completing the ascent in 15 seconds. A few months later, Oldsmobile increased the challenge by adding four passengers, bringing the total load to 750 pounds. By the 1930s, the hill climb had become an annual race for Model "T" Fords along Hill Street, where crowds gathered to watch cars struggle upward, sometimes rolling backward with radiator trouble or steering into the grass below to slow down when brakes failed.

Signal Hill, California · United States