Lawrence Warehouse Company

Summary

Business	Warehousing
Active	1912-

Locations

Location	Years	Address	Details
Oakland	None	325 13th Street	Headquarters.
Oakland	None	Foot of Webster St.	At piers.
Sacramento	None
San Francisco	None
San Joaquin Valley	None

Details

Public warehouse company. According to September 1922 Western Canner and PAcker Organized in 1912, serious growth in last seven years. Operates in San Francisco, Oakland, Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys. V. O. Lawrence stepped down in September 1922 to be replaced by A. T. Gibson, general manager.

Shows up in the 1920's and 1930's leasing Hyde and Higgins-Hyde warehouse, probably as a way to allow those companies to borrow against unsold stock using public warehouse receipts.

"The Lawrence Warehouse Company originated the idea of field warehouses in California and at the present time is operating thirty-five different plants all the way from Beach, Washington to San Diego, California. Loans secured by Lawrence Warehouse receipts are prime paper, rediscountable at the Federal Reserve Bank, and have become very popular with the banks as well as the canning industry, Gilbert asserts. It is estimated that a good many million dollars will be loaned this way to the canners on the Pacific Coast through this method of financing, worked out by Lawrence Warehouse Company."

Ad touts field warehousing in February 1923 Western Canner and Packer Same issue also includes article by A.T. Gibson on the approach. Cites one benefit is it avoids need to have enough railroad cars to ship the fruit out to wholsalers.