1736 Franklin Street
John Henry Harris (1902-1978) was a Berkeley-based grading and excavating contractor during the mid-century years, not so much a sidewalk contractor, but here’s a single, very obscure example of his stamp in Oakland. Other stamps survive in Alameda.
Harris was born and raised in the Sierra foothills. He’s listed in the city directories from 1924 to 1943, but this stamp and other sources show he was active until liquidating in the early 1960s. He lived at several Berkeley addresses during those years, first with his wife Billie (1908-1961) and their three children and later with second wife Mabel (1903-1992). He had a brickyard down near the foot of University Avenue at Third and Bancroft. During the late 1940s he advertised paving services as well as grading. In the 1950s he did a lot of demolition work.
Harris wasn’t totally obscure; he was head of the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce in 1952-53 and fulfilled contracts in the north Bay as well as locally.
My thanks to Ken Zinns for spotting and sharing this mark.
Oakland Underfoot 