Public officials held golden paddles aloft during a ribbon cutting ceremony at Discovery Well Park on Wednesday, May 10, commemorating the installment of new playground equipment, a resurfaced basketball court and the city’s first pickleball court.
City employees were joined by dozens of students from nearby Alvarado Elementary School, who each had their own handmade paper pickleball paddle adorned with colorful drawings.
After the ribbon cutting, children swarmed the new playground equipment, while others ran around the new pickleball court, paddle in hand, playing with councilmember Keir Jones.
Children play on the new playground equipment at Discovery Well Park in Signal Hill on May 10, 2023. 
Children play on the new playground equipment at Discovery Well Park in Signal Hill on May 10, 2023. 
Children play on the new playground equipment at Discovery Well Park in Signal Hill on May 10, 2023.
The new updates to Discovery Well Park were funded by a Community Development Block Grant and a grant from the State Department of Parks and Recreation.
According to data from the Sports and Fitness Industry Association, Pickleball was the fastest growing sport in the United States in 2021 and 2022, with a near 40% increase of players across the nation.
In an April 2022 interview with the Signal Tribune, local pickleball player Mark Leonard described pickleball as being “a mix of tennis, table tennis and badminton. It’s tennis on a badminton court, played with an oversized ping pong paddle.”
Tensions have risen between pickleball players and tennis players in neighboring Long Beach over the last few years due to limited court space.
The scarce amount of dedicated pickleball courts means pickleball players often make do with tennis courts. Long Beach has begun adding new lines to some tennis courts so they can be used for either sport, including at Somerset Park.
History of Discovery Well Park
The installation of Signal Hill’s only pickleball court, is the latest in Discovery Well Park’s historical feats.
It was there that Signal Hill’s first oil well struck “black gold” on June 23, 1921 in front of 500 spectators and forever changed the trajectory of the city’s development. When drilling reached 3,114 feet, the well suddenly began spewing a jet of oil that reached 114 feet high, and covered the surrounding area in a layer of crude oil.
When oil was first discovered at the site, what is now known as Signal Hill was still part of Long Beach. But when Long Beach passed a tax on oil barrels produced within city limits, Signal Hill oil producers led a movement to incorporate the most profitable oil wells into a separate city.
The oil magnates’ efforts were successful, and Signal Hill was incorporated as a city on April 14, 1924.
By 1930, Signal Hill had been given the nickname “Porcupine Hill” because it was completely covered with oil derricks. While the vast majority of oil derricks in Signal Hill have been taken down, and the original oil pump at Discovery Well Park is not currently operating, methodically placed pumps can still be seen throughout the city.
Discovery Well Park is located at 2200 Temple Ave., and is open daily from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
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