Libby, McNeil, and Libby
| Business |
Cannery |
|---|---|
| Predecessors |
Sunnyvale Canneries |
Libby, McNeil, and Libby was a Chicago-based canner, organized in 1875.
Their Sunnyvale cannery, opened in 1907, was large and long-lived; the water tank from the cannery still sits in the industrial park off Mathilda, painted as one of Libby's cans. Libby's opened the Sunnyvale cannery as their first west-coast plant due to the encouragement of local real estate agents and proximity to San Francisco[1] Sunnyvale had primarily been a meat-packing company; the Sunnyvale plant was an attempt to broaden their product line[2] The cannery's first product was canned apricots[3]. The cannery closed in the early 1980's, and the plant was torn down by 1985.
Newspaper articles in 1916 suggest that Libby's was connected with the Swift meat-packing business[4].
Libby, McNeil, and Libby in Sacramento
Libby's expanded into Sacramento in 1913. The plant employed 1,400 people in 1921, and was nicknamed "Old Reliable" because of its ability to fulfill production contracts[5]. The plant had sidings served by the Southern Pacific and Northern Electric (Sacramento Northern).
Locations
| Location | Years | Address | Details | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sacramento | 1913-1982 | 1724 Stockton Ave. | History | |||
| Sacramento | 1914 | Folsom Blvd. and Hazel Ave | Olive pickling. | |||
| San Francisco | 1912 | 112 Market Street | Santa Marina Building | |||
| San Francisco | 1922 | 465 California Street[6]. | ||||
| San Francisco | 1960 | North Point near Taylor[7]. | San Jose | 1926-1927 | 4th and Lewis | Leased from California Prune and Apricot Growers. |
| Santa Clara | 1927- | Franklin Street | ||||
| Sunnyvale | 1907-1981 | Mathilda and Evelyn Avenue | water tank still exists. |
References
- ↑ Kent L. Seavey, Yolanda Wuth, and James C. Williams, Images: Sunnyvale's Heritage Resources, 1988, City of Sunnyvale. Chapter 4.
- ↑ Canneries hold important place in Sunnyvale's history: August 9, 2012 San Jose Mercury Views
- ↑ C.W. Geiger, "Libby, McNeil, and Libby's Sacramento Cannery". In January 1921 Canning Age.
- ↑ $25,000,000 Merger of California Canneries: August 23, 1916 San Jose Evening News.
- ↑ C.W. Geiger, "Libby, McNeil, and Libby's Sacramento Cannery". In January 1921 Canning Age. Article includes plan of factory site and location of different buildings and railroad sidings.
- ↑ These Shippers have Signed On With Peach and Fig Growers: July 1921 Associated Grower magazine
- ↑ William Kaufman and Michelle Kaufman: "The State Belt: San Francisco's Waterfront Railroad".