Rosenberg Brothers
| Business |
Dried Fruit Packer |
|---|---|
| Main Location |
San Francisco, CA |
| Active |
1893-1947 |
| Predecessors |
H.E. Losse and Company |
| Successors |
Consolidated Grocers, Mayfair Packing, Bonner Packing |
Rosenberg Brothers was a major San Francisco-based dried fruit packer. The company was started in 1893 by Max Rosenberg, Abraham Rosenberg, and Adolph Rosenberg to pack and ship California fruit to the east. The brothers were Californians, born to German immigrant parents who had arrived in the 1850's[1]. The "Sunsweet Story" refers to them as "the most successful of the speculative packers"[2], commenting on their business model of buying fruit and hoping it would sell for more when actually sold.
The company had packing houses in the Santa Clara Valley, Oregon, the Sacramento Valley, and San Joaquin Valley, and bought and sold several kinds of dried fruits. A 1911 ad in California Fruit News shows they packed dried fruit and raisins.
The last of the original brothers died in 1931; Arthur C. Oppenheimer ran the company for many years, but died in 1950.[3]. The company survived independently until December 1947 when it was bought by a Consolidated Grocers Corp. of Chicago[4]. Rosenberg stayed as a separate company but a subsidiary of Consolidated Grocers, while United States Products, a San Jose canner, became part of the canning arm and lost its independent name[5].
Rosenberg Brothers finally went out of business in 1957. Mayfair Packing bought the dried fruit and walnut operations, Bonner Packing bought the raisin business, and Trico bought Rosenberg's almond business.
Rosenberg Brothers in San Jose
Rosenberg Brothers had a long-time presence in the San Jose and Santa Clara area, moving between packing houses many times.
A fire on morning of November 10, 1906 burned an early packing house on Ryland St. at San Pedro St. in San Jose[6]. George Hyde was the manager. The night watchman was feared burned, but he turned out to be safe as he'd been at home sick for several nights[7] The fire burned several thousand tons of prunes - 50 freight cars worth. The Los Angeles Herald from November 11 notes that 11 full cars burned, and two warehouses; the fire was encouraged by 5000 gallons of crude oil. The building itself supposedly belonged to Mrs. J. C. Webber of Chicago
The Ryland Street fire chased Rosenberg Brothers away, both north of downtown to Stockton Ave.[8] and to the west side of San Jose. Their new plant was in the former Santa Clara Valley Fruit Exchange on the northwest corner of Auzerais and Sunol St., with Orrin Harlan as manager in 1908. There was a lumberyard was across Sunol Street, and Standard Oil across the railroad tracks[9].
Another fire on August 7, 1915 destroyed the Sunol Street plant according to the August 7, 1915 San Jose Evening News. The manager at the time was H. M. Barngrover. Rosenberg Brothers had been located in the Santa Clara Valley Fruit Exchange warehouse, a large brick building with multiple firewalls. Rosenberg was leasing; lost "many dried apricots and some prunes". The loss to the firm at $300,000. The fire started in pile of apricot pits near the tracks. 5000 gallons of fuel oil still burning in the tank at noon the next day. Fire was blamed on IWW, supposedly threats had been made[10]. Later news reports blamed an International Workers of the World supporter, according to October 2, 1915 Sausalito News.
After the Sunol St. fire, Rosenberg Brothers took over the former California Cured Fruit Association warehouse] next to the Santa Clara depot in 1916[11].
The company bought H.E. Losse and Company in 1917.
Details of a 1921 lawsuit over farmer who did not deliver contracted prunes appeared in the March 26, 1921 Pacific Rural Press
Locations
| Location | Years | Address | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edenvale | 1922 | "One mile away from Richmond Chase plant at Edenvale station"[12] | Receiving station |
| Fresno | None | ||
| Medford | None | Medford: Spur historically named after Rosenberg Brothers on topoquest.com | |
| San Francisco | 1906 | 211-213 California Street | Burned in 1906 earthquake[13] |
| San Francisco | 1912 | 153 California Street | |
| San Francisco | 275 Brannan St. | Warehouse. From History of Rincon Hill. | |
| San Jose | 1906 | Ryland Street near San Pedro St. | Burned Nov. 10, 1906. |
| San Jose | 1907 | West San Carlos St.[14] | Former Luehning packing house[15]. |
| San Jose | 1907-1915 | Sunol Street at Auzerais St. | Northwest corner. Burned August 1915[16]. |
| Santa Clara | 1917, 1927 | Railroad Avenue | Shows up in City Directory in 1917. |
| Talent, Oregon | None | ||
| Winters, CA | 1951 | Main St.[17] | |
| Yuba City | 1903 |
Photos
Rosenberg Brothers packing house, Yuba City. From U.C. Libraries.
Rosenberg Brothers packing house near Medford, Oregon.
References
- ↑ History of the Rosenberg Foundation
- ↑ Robert Couchman, The Sunsweet Story, 1967, Sunsweet Growers
- ↑ The Sunsweet Story
- ↑ Sunsweet Story describes it as "major postwar change in independent packer ownership"
- ↑ New York Times, May 25, 1951
- ↑ San Jose Visited by the Most Damaging Fire In Its History: November 11, 1906 Sunday Mercury and Herald. The underground tank stored a "tank car of oil".
- ↑ San Jose Evening News, November 10, 1906
- ↑ March 5, 1907: San Jose Evening News: Rosenberg Brothers have bought a lot on Stockton Ave
- ↑ August 7, 1915 San Jose Evening News report on fire in 1915
- ↑ Rosenberg Co. Plant Is Burned: August 8, 1915 San Jose Mercury News
- ↑ Santa Clara city history.
- ↑ Other Growing Towns in Santa Clara County: History of Santa Clara County history, 1922
- ↑ Lawsuit over building mentioned in January 1907 San Francisco Call .
- ↑ 1907-8 San Jose city directory lists location as "West San Carlos St. 1 west of Los Gatos Creek."
- ↑ San Jose Visited by the Most Damaging Fire In Its History: November 11, 1906 Sunday Mercury and Herald. "The first of this year, they leased the Luehning warehouse at San Carlos and the narrow gauge, and today arrangements were made to transfer all business of the destroyed plant to that place."
- ↑ Rosenberg Co. Plant Is Burned: August 8, 1915 San Jose Mercury News
- ↑ Southern Pacific engineering drawing W-1811, Winters Proposed Section Quarters, July 2, 1951. From wx4.org / Dome of Foam.