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Overview

The San Jose Pottery Company operated at this location from about 1876 until about 1894, before it moved to a new location at Baden, CA, near South San Francisco, CA.

Building History

Construction on this two-floor, wood-frame factory was first completed in 1876, according to a Sanborn Fire Insurance Company map of 1884. Work continued between 1876 and 1884 on the expansion of its facilities and capacity. By 1884, the plant had three kilns and produced terra cotta and stoneware pieces, and drain and sewer pipes. A. Steiger was its proprietor in 1884.

By 1890, Steiger had died, and his sons Charles F., George A., and Louis A., operated the pottery works at this location. The firm made sewer and chimney pipe and terra cotta. Members of the Steiger family all lived in the vicinity of the plant near Lenzen and Autumn Streets. (See San Jose, California, City Directory, 1890, p. 368.)

In 1894, the industry publication, Clay Record, indicated that Louis Steiger was travelling in the East to research other pottery factories in preparation for building a new factory in Baden, CA, near the City of South San Francisco, CA. It stated: "Mr. Louis A. Steiger, of the firm of A. Steiger Sons, representing the San Jose Pottery Company, San Jose, Cal., is in the East for the purpose of purchasing machinery and other appurtenances for the new works which are to be located at Baden. He will visit all the principal potteries and make a careful study of the many new methods employed in this industry. Mr. Steiger states that it is the intention of Steiger Sons to build in Baden one of the best equipped potteries in the United States, and he intends to spare no expense in purchasing the most improved machinery necessary for the same." (See "New Pottery Work in California," Clay Record, vol. V, no. 10, 11/28/1894, p. 23.) The Steiger Family was German, and they migrated from San Jose to Baden, a town named for a former German state in the southwestern portion of the country.

Cattleman Charles Lux (1823-1887) a native of Hatten, Departement du Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France, was responsible for naming the land around his agricultural estate, "Baden," sometime between 1853 and 1863. This portion of Alsace stood on the other side of the Rhine from the German state of Baden.

This plant was apparently constructed in the town of Baden, and became known as the "Steiger Terracotta Pottery Works, and the Baden Brick Factory," c. 1894. (See "South San Francisco General Plan Update, Cultural and Historic Resources December 2019 Existing Conditions Report," (South San Francisco: City of South San Francisco, 12/2019), p. 5.)

Building Notes

As noted on the 1884 Sanborn map, 12 people worked at the plant, which it described as "cheap & substantial." Most of the plant was occupied by a single large space used for the kilns and for the sawing, grinding and burning of wood. Two spaces on the west accommodated an office and a separate mixing grinding room. The north side of the plant held separate engine, grinding and moulding rooms. Stairs on the east side led to a second floor. (See Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from San Jose, Santa Clara County, CA, Image #3, [New York, NY: Sanborn Map Company, 1884], accessed 03/05/2025.)

Demolition

The San Jose Pottery Company plant was demolished. In 2025, a Target Department Store (533 Coleman Avenue) and its parking lot stood on the site.

PCAD id: 25666