“If not now, when?” —Primo Levi
Goleta history lovers probably already know that Goleta is the site of the first shelling of the North American mainland during World War II and also the first organized, scheduled drag races in the US. A less known fact is that Goleta is the site of one of the last remaining shoreline oil wells on the West Coast of the United States, known as “Pier 421.”
Anyone wondering what an oil well is doing on a Goleta Beach may also wonder what the Ellwood Onshore Facility (EOF) for processing petroleum is doing just off of Goleta’s Haskell’s Beach, near to The Bluffs and The Hideaway residential complexes and also next to the Bacara Resort & Spa and the Sandpiper Golf Club.