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Steiger Terra Cotta and Pottery Company

History

As early as 1871, Andrew and son George Steiger were operating the San Jose Pottery on 528 Main St., San Jose. The plant was later located at the foot of Autumn St., near the Southern Pacific railroad, and on the west side of 5th St. between San Carlos and San Salvador. Products included terra cotta chimney pipe and tops, fire brick, stoneware, flower pots, drain and irrigating tiles, and vitrified ironstone sewer pipe. This plant was destroyed by fire about 1893.

In 1894, the Steigers moved their operation to South San Francisco, where they continued manufacturing sewer pipe, terra cotta, tiles, pottery, and bricks. The new plant was located on the south side of San Bruno Point on San Francisco Bay, just east of the Western Meat Packing Co. In addition to the pressing and molding plant, there were ten round kilns located inside drying rooms. Three of the kilns were 16-foot muffle kilns and seven were 25- to 30-foot brick and sewer pipe kilns. The fuel used was oil. Clay was mined locally on the property and supplemented with plastic and fire clays from Carbondale, Amador County. This plant was destroyed by fire in 1917.

Steiger products were used in many fine buildings in San Francisco, including Y.M.C.A., Humboldt Savings Bank, Levi Strauss, Rialto, Monadnock, Grant, Hooker and Lent, Ghiradelli, Jean Parker School, Girl's High School, Oriental School, Holluschickie Club, Olympic Club, California Pacific Title, Underwood, Press Club, Holy Cross Mortuary Chapel, Polytechnic High School, Mary Elizabeth Inn, and Sacred Heart College.


Steiger Terra Cotta and Pottery Works, South San Francisco, CA, with
stacks of clay sewer pipe in the yard. From California State Mining
Bureau Bulletin 38, 1906, p. 228.


The cupola of the Burlingame City Hall was preserved along with Steiger bricks in a parking lot in Burlingame.


Steiger Brick


Steiger bricks from the Burlingame City Hall.


Common brick was pale red to red, with no visible clasts on the surface and minor holes. Slight yellow flashing visible on some bricks. Some overburned. Rough, gritty surface texture. Straight sharp edges and corners. Hand-molded, sand-struck, soft-mud process. Faint transverse striations on the sides, with occasional deep transverse scoring. Some display prominent lip on top and some have lip on top and bottom, the top lip being more prominent. Broken surfaces may display the granular texture of coarse clay with white clasts. Bottom face is smooth with minor scrap marks. Top face may have irregular surface, full of holes. Length 8 - 8 1/4, width 3 3/4 - 4, height 2 5/8 - 2 3/4.


Bottom face of a Steiger brick.



top face of a Steiger brick.



Steiger fire brick. Photo courtesy of Patrice Malone.


Steiger fire brick is pinkish buff to tan with smooth faces and sides. The brand name "STEIGER" is impressed within a shallow rectangular frog on the bottom face. One sample has a screw impression centered at each end of the frog, but outside of the frog. Top face is pitted and displays longitudinal grooves. Surface has small fractures. Length 9, width 4 1/2, height 2 1/2.

Source

Alexander, Philip W., and Ham, Charles P. History of San Mateo County: Burlingame, CA, 1916, p. 198-200.

Califoria Division of Mines and Geology Report 14, 1913-1914, p. 11

Califoria Division of Mines and Geology Report 17, 1920, p. 172

Califoria Division of Mines and Geology Report 31, no. 4, Oct. 1955, p. 417

Gazette Times, October 13, 1894, p. 3.

Gazette Times, July 13, 1895, p. 3.

Malone, Patrice, written communication on Steiger fire brick, 2004.

Salata, James, San Jose brick collection.

San Jose City Directories, 1871-1993.

Sanborn Map of South San Francisco, Nov. 1910, sheet 10.

Copyright © 2004 Dan Mosier

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Please send email to Dan Mosier at danmosier@earthlink.net.