Oildale

When he moved into the converted church on Oildale Drive, Al’Lyn Cline, 22, was the only person living there for about two weeks.

The church on Oildale Drive and Minner Avenue has stood on the corner since 1954, built after an earthquake damaged the Oildale Church of Christ’s building.

Oildale, an unincorporated town north of Bakersfield, borders the Kern River Oil Field, one of the largest active oil fields in California.

But Oildale, population 36,000, has largely stagnated.

The project is in a tumbledown section of Oildale, situated between an optical lens store and aquatic pet shop.