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Overview

This steel-frame factory building was designed by the San Francisco architectural firm of Corlett and Spackman and completed in 1953. It operated on Acacia Street in Tracy, CA, with at least four owners, from about 1953 into the early-2000s.

Building History

The San Francisco architectural partnership of Corlett and Spackman designed this factory building for the American Sisalkraft Corporation in Tracy, CA, c. 1953-1954. William Nelson Stevenson II (b. 1901) and Patrick Tracy Jackson, Jr., (born c. 1872-d. 06/22/1959) his father-in-law, established the "American Reenforced Paper Company," in 1920. (Jackson received US Patent #US1211851A on 01/09/1917 for a "Paper-reinforcing Machine,")

It combined with its sales division, The Sisalkraft Company, in 1954 and was renamed the "American Sisalkraft Corporation." (See Obituary: Patrick T. Jackson," California Lumber Merchant, 07/15/1959, p. 35.) It produced reinforced and waterproof kraft paper wrapping materials and packaging for retail businesses and industrial use. In 1964, American Sisalkraft had its main office in Attleboro, MA, and factories in Cary, IL, and Tracy, CA. Tracy was selected for the factory location because of its "central location and excellent highway access." (See "Tracy, California...Was This Firm's Decision, Industrial Development and Manufacturers Record, 1959, p. 5.)

The Saint Regis Paper Company of New York, NY, purchased the plant in 1960. (See Tracy Press.com, "Remember When/Twice-Told Tales: 60 Years Ago," published 10/07/2010, accessed 03/05/2024.) Two years later, Saint Regis transferrred American Sisalkraft's West Coast Sales Office from San Francisco, CA, to Tracy. (See Package Engineering, vol. 7, 1962, p. 24.)

An article in the Tracy Press.com, said of the Corlett and Spackman-designed plant: The plant was built in 1953 by the American Reenforced Paper Co. of Attleboro, Massachusetts, which changed its name to American Sisalkraft Corp. It was later operated by St. Regis Paper Co. and then Fortifiber Corp. The 70,000-square-foot plant, which at one time had up to 70 employees, over the years produced laminated paper for construction, protective packaging for boxes, lumber and steel wrap and reinforced carpeting tape. It was closed in November 1994, and production moved to a new, larger Fortifiber plant in Fernley, Nevada, 30 miles east of Reno. In 1999, Rehrig Pacific Co. bought the vacant plant to produce plastic crates and recycling bins. It was closed several years later." (See Tracy Press.com, "Remember When: Making Paper," published 05/18/2017, accessed 03/05/2024.)

Building Notes

In 1956, Allan H. MacKay was the plant's president. (See Tracy, California, City Directory, 1956, p. 92.)

Demolition

The American Sisalkraft Corporation Factory in Tracy was razed and its 17-acre plot was used to build a housing tract.

PCAD id: 25042