OpenStreetMap (new tab)

Google Map (new tab)

Building History

In 1905, a survey of the sugar beet industry in CA stated: "California was the first State in the Union to go into the beet-sugar industry extensively. In the early nineties the wave of financial depression existing throughout the country affected the producers on the Pacific coast probably more seriously than others farther east and better located in regard to markets. The time required for shipping crude products from California to the East is especially discouraging to producers of perishable crops. It was but natural that California should begin to investigate carefully the methods of diversifying agricultural production. This led to the establishment of canneries, dairies, creameries, poultry farms, and sugar factories. The original purpose was to grow sugar beets with natural moisture. Sugare production was quite spasmodic at first. Unfortunately, in the early history of sugar production in California the State experienced a long period of drought, and as the sugar industry was one of the least understood it was the most affected. The results have been favorable to the industry rather than harmful. They caused more conservative action in factory building and inspired more energy in developing conditions to meet the demands of factories already installed. The seasonal conditions of valleys were studies to find the best time for planting beets. The development of water supply for irrigation also became a burning quesiton. This led to the development of artesian wells, some of them flowing and others requiring the use of pumps. During the past few years considerable agitation and negotiation has occurred at different points touching the installation of new factories." The areas around Chico, in the Sacramento Valley, Fresno, in the San Joaquin Valley and Visalia, also in the San Joaquin, were cited as places where factories were planned. (See Charles F. Saylor, 59th Congress, 1st Session, Senate, Document No. 418, US Department of Agriculture Report No. 82: "Progress of the Beet-Sugar Industry in the United States in 1905," [Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1906], p. 82.)

Canadian-born architect William H. Weeks (1864-1936) designed the plant for the family patriarch, Claus Spreckels (1828-1908), who began in railroads and later became a sugar king in California. Spreckels retained Weeks for a number of commissions in the early twentieth century. the Spreckels sugar-beet-processing factory operated in the company town of Spreckels, CA, from 1899-1981.

While its production line was shut in 1981, it continued to be used as a storage and packing plant until 1995. Spreckels (and its successor Spreckels/Holly Sugar Company) opened six other manufacturing plants in CA between 1906 and 1963.

Building Notes

At one time, this was the largest sugar beet refining plant in the world. The writer John Steinbeck (1902-1968), who, as a student, worked summers for the Spreckels Sugar Company, featured the company town of Spreckels and its sugar refinery in two of his works, Tortilla Flat (1935) and East of Eden (1952).

Alteration

The plant was damaged in the 04/18/1906 San Francisco Earthquake, and remained closed until October of that year; according to a Los Angeles Times story of 04/21/1906: "At Salinas, the Spreckels Sugar Refinery, valued at $1,500,000, is completely destroyed." (See Five Millions in Loss in San Jose Alone," Los Angeles Times, 04/21/1906, p. I9.)

PCAD id: 2620