Overview

Fairbanks, Morse and Company, a company founded by Thaddeus Fairbanks (1796-1886) in 1823 in Saint Johnsbury, VT, maintained a Los Angeles factory at 423-429 East 3rd Street in Los Angeles, CA, in 1914. At this time, the company produced oil engines, steam pumps, motors, warehouse trucks and scales. (See Los Angeles, California, City Directory, 1914, p. 2041.) During the 19th century, its first successful products were a platform scale and, later, a windmill for pumping water, and the company began building engines in the 1890s. By the time that this building was built, Fairbanks, Morse and Company produced engines and sold a plethora of industrial tools, from hand trucks to warehouse equipment. By World War II, the company was a key manufacturer of marine and submarine engines and locomotives.

Demolition

The Fairbanks, Morse and Company Building was razed. In 2018, the Union Church of Los Angeles, at 401 East 3rd Street, occupied its location.

PCAD id: 22586