Building History

This steel mill began as the Columbia Geneva plant opened in 1910. According to the San Francisco Chronicle: "Opened in 1910 as Columbia Geneva Steel, the steel mill then had 60 workers in one foundry with a single 150-ton open hearth. The plant made steel castings for the dredging, lumber and shipping industries." (See Christopher Heredia, SF Gate.com, "Men of Steel / For five generations, a Pittsburg family forges life at the mill," published 03/05/1999, accessed 04/10/2017.)

In 01/1922, the Columbia Steel Corporation merged with the Southern California Iron and Steel Company and the Salt Lake City-based Carbon Fuel Company, and immediately announced plans to increase the scale of its factories. The new company disclosed that it would be adding "...a new rod mill, wire mill, nail works, and other structures, at an estimated cost of $1,500,000," by 09/1922. (See Mark W. Hemphill, "Geneva Steel Columbia-Geneva Division of U.S. Steel Columbia Steel Summary History, 1916-1950," accessed 04/10/2017.) Close on the heels of this expansion, another expansion costing about $75,000 was announced in 02/1923; that consisted of "...additions to its plant at Pittsburg, including an addition to open hearth department, new sheet and wire mills. Over a six-month span in 1928-1929, the company added a tin-plate mill, which began production on 03/12/1929. (See Mark W. Hemphill, "Geneva Steel Columbia-Geneva Division of U.S. Steel Columbia Steel Summary History, 1916-1950," accessed 04/10/2017.)

In 1930, the company became a subsidiary of U.S. Steel." (See Christopher Heredia, SF Gate.com, "Men of Steel / For five generations, a Pittsburg family forges life at the mill." published 03/05/1999, accessed 04/10/2017.)

PCAD id: 21068