Looking for information on Fontana & Co. It was a fruit cannery once located at 134 Market St. San Francisco, CA. The company also had factories located in Armona, Healdsburg, Hanford, and Oroville. When was company established? Was Marco Fontana one of the owners?

-- George Sheffler (gsheffler@hotmail.com), January 30, 2005

Answers

FONTANA, M.E., California Fruit Canners Assn., 120 Market St.
FONTANA, M.J., California Fruit Canners Assn., 120 Market St.
I don't know if this helps, but I found these names in the San Francisco Commercial Club Officers and Members: 1916
-- strange (stranger@yahoo.com), January 31, 2005.

There was also the large "Fontana Warehouse" on Francisco Street between Van Ness and Polk, on the site of today's Fontana Apartment towers.

-- john martini (jamartini@earthlink.net), January 31, 2005.

Marco J. Fontana, who worked at the famous Colombo Produce Market on the Embarcadero and in 1899 created the world's largest canning operation (California Fruit Canners Association) with methods he devised experimenting at home. In 1907 Fontana built the Cannery building near Fisherman's Wharf at Jefferson and Leavenworth streets, where tons of California fruits and vegetables were canned for shipping across the country and around the world, under the world famous Del Monte label. Canning operations continued there until 1937. The Cannery was renovated in 1967, and today is a maze of shops, galleries and restaurants.

-- strange (stranger@yahoo.com), January 31, 2005.

John--

I think the Fontana Warehouse and Apartmen Tower was on North Point. Does anyone know the approximate dates?

Thanks

Kurt

-- Kurt Iversen (Iversenk@aol.com), February 01, 2005.

1961 Fontana Towers, two 17-story slabs, rise next to Aquatic Park and block views from Russian Hill. After a public uproar, city officials slap a 40-foot height limit along the waterfront.

Now back to Marco Fontana. I find that California Fruit Growers Assocation was formed in 1899 by combining 11-18 existing canneries and Marco appears to be the head of the operation for two reasons: He was a graduate of the Colombo Produce Market and had the advantage of knowing all the growers and the market, and secondly, he would have known another alumni of Colombo Produce Market, A.P. Giannini, founder of Bank of Italy (later Bank of America). Marco knew the market and had access to the money to expand, but when did he start his own cannery, and was it located at 134 Market Street under the name Fontana & Co.?

-- strange (Stranger@yahoo.com), February 01, 2005.