senoritafish | A plaque, two parks and a concert

I'd like to know some history behind this plaque. It marks the first oil well drilled in Huntington Beach; it's now in the middle of a park. However, it says it was placed in 1960 (two years before I was born); the park and housing develop it's in weren't built until nine years ago. Was it sitting in the middle of an oil field until then?

This is the old park at the end of my street;

runsamuck and his buddy were playing horseshoes, and the kids found their friends nifty auto-setup T-ball rig pretty fun...

Then they demanded to go to the "Whale Park" (where the plaque above is placed). This is in a newer development and instead of sand, the play equipment is all border with rubber matting, parts of which are sculpted into a passing whale and her calf...

Then, since I'm too old to endure festivals, I watched the webcast of Crowded House's reunion at the Coachella festival...Sigh. Can't wait to actually see them in person.