Peralta Street at 16th Street
Lovisone & Co. used two different stamps in 1928. This was the first one, with straight text. Later in 1928 they switched to a stamp with arched letters, and used it in 1929 as well. From 1930 to 1939, the last year I’ve documented, they used an arched-text stamp saying “Lovisone” without the “& Co.”
The only reason I know this is from 1928 and not 1925 is that a 1928 mark appears on the other side of this driveway.
389 Euclid Avenue
This Fitzmaurice mark is rarely found and even more rarely dated.
Broadway Terrace at Route 13
Right next to the Hayward fault trace, at the entrance to Lake Temescal Regional Park, this mark sits out in the middle of the road.
Lindgren & Swinerton was the name of a company founded in 1888 by Charles Lindgren, an immigrant Swedish brickmason, and going strong today under the name Swinerton, Inc.. It adopted this name in 1923 to acknowledge the role of Alfred Swinerton, a pioneer in the use of reinforced concrete in the days before the 1906 earthquake proved its worth in spectacular fashion. The name lasted until 1942.
Lindgren was no relation to C. J. Lindgren.
Park Boulevard and 8th Avenue
The Oil Marketing Equipment Company was at 325 Fremont Street, San Francisco. It was run by an Atherton resident named Frank D. Mahoney. You could phone him at GArfield 1-5328.
The 1948 San Francisco directory lists it as “Manufacturers and Distributors of Specialized Equipment for the Oil Industry.” Its factory was at Dollar and Linden Streets in South San Francisco, on the railroad tracks. As of 1960, its factory was in Redwood City at 3524 Haven Avenue. It was listed in the San Francisco directory until 1962. All of those addresses are occupied by newer buildings today.
575 Merritt Avenue
With this find, I’m missing only two dates between 1920 and 1934.
10 10th Street
You may recognize this address as the Oakland Civic Auditorium. The stamp is at the end next to the museum.
1257 65th Street
Whereas my other example of F. A. Mero’s mark is straight text, this pair, in the same neighborhood, displays two different versions of arched text. I’m guessing that Mero struck one character at a time.
