The San Francisco call., 1909-10-31
STRUCTURAL STEEL
PLANTS KEPT BUSY
Great Impetus Given to Business
Since Fire and Many
Buildings Erected
Pacific Rolling Mill Company,
Pioneer in Industry, 0per=
ated for Forty Years

been demonstrated 10 a large extent
in the last Is years all over the United
States and is being used more and
more every year.
The structural steel business in San
Francisco5s one that has assumed large
proportions ana there are today 10
firms fabricating ana erecting strue-
tursl steel in this city.
IN San Francisco and Los Angeles Is
Years ago the term structural STEEL"
fabricated Ithe plain materially and un-
tabyicated Cthe finished materially. were
Terms unknown in our business. In
shose days shops. doing building work
were foundries and architectural iron
works. All the columns, lintels. etc.
were OF cast iroH, steel in the struc-
tural shape being practically unknown.
and what beams and girders were used
We're of iron. The foundries used pig
tron and coke of foreign manufacture
and were brought to our door by water.
IRON BEAMS REJECTED
with the advent Of steel shapes and
the modern skyscraper the products Of
the American mills became more gen
orally used. and not until the Balti-
more IRE did cast iron as building
material get setback, which finally
eliminated in its death in the great
fire in san Francisco.
The impetus given TO building since
the IRE has been very great and since
that time great many steel build
1ngs have been erected all over the
city.
The steel used is mostly brought
here from Europe or the east in long
lengths of about SO feet and then cut
20 any desired lengths for fabricating.
Some OF the shops carry very large
stocks and are thus in a position 10
furnish the steel for buildings on very
short notice.
PIONEER OF PACIFIC COAST
a cat IS herewith reproduced of the
Anglo and London-P Paris national bank.
for which The steel was supplied and
erected by the Pacific rolling mill
company. which is the pioneer of steel
construction on the Pacific coast In
this building an innovation was made
in column work. and by close lnspec-
fion Of the picture il IS seen that the
columns are made OF one large beam
for The web and two small beams riv-
eted on 10 The fanges- This column
proves very effective.
San Francisco has kept pace with
the resi- OF the country in erecting her
buildings OF this material and the new
civ VIII he made almost entirely OF
more than any other community the
decided advantage Of class build
ings. as the ones that withstood the
IRE and earthquake Of 1906 were or
that construction
MONU sIENTS OF EFFICIENCY
Notable among those that are now
|Ftanding as a relic TO the Old city are
Nhe Claus Spreckels buliolnG, NILS
hril6fne. CrocBer building, Kohl build
~ - h
The f7rst two named buildings are par
ttcularly demonstratfve of the ef-
sciencv OF local manufacture because
NOV were both built by the Pacihc
rolling mill company years ago ana
,,or only did this company do the Iap-
ricating and erecting Of the material
hut also rolled the steel Itself
rr,e Pacific rolling mill company, IN
rscr is me pioneer of all the IRON
businesses in this city The pfesloehl
.1f the concern, P Noble, mas peeh as
,sociated with the business for 40 years
and his company VIII De Iellls '. - ,,,.,7N
As the one which for great Hla.ls
wears vas located at the foot OF wen, I
sie+b street. where the Risdon iron ana
locomotive works is now.
FT-uDINCis WITHSTAND FIRE
In the DAYS when the street railroads
,,-ere being laid in San Francisco oid
-ezidents will remember the vast quah
sstv Of steel rails that were ialo an an
T,rsctfcalIv every foot OF the rams useu
IN the old days was mace py tHS
rifc rolling mill company
when steel manufacture began lts
strides toward the present high stand
ard for building purposes the Faellio IN
rolling mill company Draneheo ~
that line and was the frst TO supply
structural steel for buildings aho
bridges in this city
10
IA The United states TO build sky
scraper and to successfully demon
strste in New York city the Naiue OF
fhe same, erected the Mills puidlhs III
this city and placed the contract Ior
The steel with the Pacific rolllnS mlil
f,onapsnv. The efficiency Of its work
tnanship was wei demonstrated at the
time OF the fire in April 1906, as TINS
building wfthstOod the earthquake ana
Is today one OF our very best buildings
RECORD or BUSINESS
since that time the Pacific rolling
mill company has been continuing the
business OF supplying structural steel
for buildings and bridges, ana since
the time Of the fire has furnished the
steel for such buildings as the Bank
Of California. Chronicle building.
American theater, Cliff house. Anglo
and London Paris national bank build
ing Mission savings hank corporation
Francisco. situated at Bay and Stock
ton streets, and the San Francisco hos
pitals now being erected in Potrero
avenue between Twenty-secOnd and
Twentv-third streets This latter work
viii contain about $500 tons Of struc-
tural steel and this JOB covers more
area than any other job Of structural
steel in the city OF San Francisco.
Besides the structural steel business
the Pacific rolling. mill company oper-
stes a large cast iron foundry in which
Ii specializes on architectural work,
such as columns. bases, wheel guards.
etc, although il is in q position to
manufacture all kinds Of cast iron.
PATRONIZE LOCAL SHOPS
Not only has steel been used down
town but a number of buildings have
gone up in outside districts, particu-
.arly in the Mission, where the Mission
grammar school. Mission savings bank
and the Valencia theater are an steel
frames The Mission grammar school.
5ullt by Dyer Brothers is considered
he finest public school building in the
United States.
From the above it is readily seen
hat people who are contemplating