Oakland Underfoot

1600 Franklin Street

This access cover sits right outside the big AC Transit headquarters building, where it protects the fiber optic connections. I’ve passed over it for years, but today I noticed that the two S’s on the lid are backwards. The manufacturer responsible for the error, Alhambra Foundry Co. Ltd., was founded in Southern California in 1923, but after a century’s existence was swallowed up in 2022 as part of a relentless acquisition drive by the private multinational metalworking firm EJ Group. Alhambra’s shortcomings are also evident in the firm’s former website, preserved on archive.org.

This entry was posted on 26 August 2024 at 3:23 pm and is filed under  Access covers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.