Sun Garden Packing
| Business |
Cannery |
|---|---|
| Main Location |
San Jose |
| Active |
1939 - 1996 |
Sun Garden Packing was a tomato, vegetable, and fruit canner in San Jose. The company operated from 1939 to 1996, finally closing because the fields had moved far away from the cannery[1][2]. Their cannery on South First Street burned down in 2002[3].
Sun Garden was founded by the DiNaopoli family[4] in 1939 canning apricots in a former distillery. The company bought the former Bisceglia Brothers cannery on South First Street in 1948. The company specialized in tomato packing; in later years, the site was used by the American Can Company.
The South First Street cannery was towards the back of the lot along the pre-1935 Southern Pacific main line tracks. The area along South First Street held worker housing and other businesses; by the 1960's, the company had torn these down, and opened the land for commercial businesses along the busy street.[5].
A 1941 video shows the harvest and packing of asparagus at Sun Garden[6]
Locations
| Location | Years | Address | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose | 1948-1996 | 1598 Monterey Highway |
References
- ↑ Sun Garden finally closed on May 9, 1996 according to San Jose Mercury News article
- ↑ Cannery row "recycling" continues. August 30, 1998 Silicon Valley Business Journal. "It has been purchased outright by San Jose's DiNapoli family, which has owned it through a partnership with the Perrucci family since it was built in the late 1930s. In a cost-cutting effort, the families decided two years ago to shut down operations at the San Jose plant and shift them to California's central valley. The plant has been sitting idle since that transition was completed last year."
- ↑ Former Tomato Cannery in S.J. Damaged By Fire, Cause Being Investigated: February 9, 2002 San Jose Mercury News
- ↑ DiNapoli family history
- ↑ Flickr photo from user JAB88 showing former Sun Garden property and quoting from environmental impact report for new construction.
- ↑ Sun Garden Packing Company Asparagus Production (1941). At YouTube.