by Paul R. Spitzzeri
One of the earliest manufacturing plants, modest in comparison to those that followed over the course of the next few decades, the Alhambra Shoe Manufacturing Company, situated in the suburb under 10 miles from Los Angeles, where the region’s first industrial section, located on the west side of the Los Angeles River, was located, began production in spring 1893. Later that year, an expansion to the plant was announced, allowing for a larger capacity of footwear to be produced each day.
About a year in to its existence, the enterprise was briefly featured in the Los Angeles Express in its 7 May 1894 edition under the heading of “Busy and Pushing Alhambra,” that town approaching its 20th birthday. The paper, stating inaccurately that the concern was founded in 1892, when it was February 1893, recorded that the enterprise began with $50,000 in capital stock and then remarked,
Undoubtedly there are many business men in Los Angeles and other cities in Southern California who are not aware that our beautiful suburban neighbor Alhambra has such a well developed industry as is found in the factory of the Alhambra Shoe Manufacturing Company.
After adding that land was acquired and a two-story edifice erected and contained “the latest and most improved machinery, for the manufacture of this line of goods, that can be found anywhere in the country.” The account went on that there 50 employees and that, while the capacity was 1,000 pair of shoes daily, the current production level was about a fifth of that.
Moreover, it was asserted that “experienced workman from our large Eastern factories” headed the various sections of the factory with the highest quality of products and “a guarantee [was] given with every pair of shoes made.” A combination of high-grade materials for the finish and quality of the products, along with fair prices to the retail trade, the paper remarked, “should make all dealers investigate these products before purchasing from the Eastern market, thereby [helping to] encourage one of our youngest and best industries.”
A new advertisement proclaimed that “Alhambra Men’s and Boys’ Shoes Are the Best Men’s and Boys’ Shoes on Earth!” The only such business in the region with that aforementioned capacity sought support under the slogan of “PROTECT HOME INDUSTRY,” while it was reiterated that every pair of shoes made by the firm was guaranteed and were “for sale by all first-class Shoe Houses in California.” Also in April and May, notices were taking out by the company seeking salesmen, working on commission, for Los Angeles and Orange counties, as well as operators of machinery in the factory’s fitting room.
In September, the pamphlet from the Museum’s holdings was published with the title “A Little Town in a Big Factory” in a shoe-shaped front cover design and the pun “SOLE-LY FOR YOU” next to it. Inside, under the heading of “Where We are ‘At’,” it was related that the enterprise was only eight miles from the Angel City along the Southern Pacific Railway, which still runs along Mission Road coming northeast from the growing metropolis and on the long-gone Monrovia branch. For a one-way fare of a quarter and a round-trip one 45 cents, visitors were encouraged to “Come And See Us.”
Another page recorded the incorporation date, amount of capital stock, names of officers Milbank Johnson (president), his elder brother Gail B. Johnson (vice-president) and S.R. Smith (secretary and general manager, and those of directors including the three men, as well as F. Edward Gray and John M. Elliott. In addition to the main office at the plant, a branch office for selling footwear was on Requena Street, which no longer exists, but then ran east of Main Street across from the Temple Block to Alameda Street.
A page headed “This will Interest You” and the slogan “A Little Town And A Big Factory” concerned “Some Natural Questions” based “a great surprise to the residents of Alhambra, and indeed to the people of Southern California,” when the firm was formed nineteen months earlier. These queries were “Where will the leather come from? What will be used for fuel? How can you find the necessary labor? How in the world can you expect to compete with Eastern factories?” To this it was rejoined “these questions only demonstrate the limited conception and inadequate knowledge so many good people have of the resources and possibilities of this wonderful new country of ours.”
With “Pioneering Not All Sunshine” at its head, a page remarked that “pioneering has its charm, no doubt, but it also has its discomforts” as there were challenges in getting the machinery together, “removed as we are so great a distance from the sources of supply.” With “the experimental point of our existence . . . now happily passed,” the company offered it gratitude to customers “for so kindly bearing with us during the formative period.”
With just a few pieces of equipment run by a four-horsepower motor, more machinery was added along with the new building and a steam plant making for a “thoroughly equipped model shoe factory” on an acre site. Moreover, the fuel was switched from gasoline to crude oil, notable that the Los Angeles Oil Field was recently opened by Charles Canfield to Edward L. Doheny, and the main engine was five times more powerful than the earlier one. As “evidences of growth,” it was added that the line of shoes grew from eight or ten to 85 and the material came from local sources, except some from Wisconsin.
In the middle of the publication is a section that would seem better placed at the beginning and which informed readers,
This little pamphlet is intended to acquaint you with the fact that it is not at all necessary to go away from our own Southern California for a full line of Mens’ and Boys’ Shoes. Quality and prices being equal, we expect a continuance of the generous patronage thus far accorded us. We deem it our duty as well as pleasure to state that we owe our reputation for good work largely to the intelligent work of Alhambra men, women, girls and boys. With only a few experienced men to begin with, the intelligent help found in our midst has now become experts.
While it may be something of a shock to our modern sensibilities to see the reference to children workers, the fact is that it was very commonplace to see youngsters in such factories rather than in school, though none of the quartet of photos in the publication show anyone younger than adults among the males and females shown at their jobs.
Expressing “confidence in our work, and confidence in the good judgment of the public,” the proprietors affirmed that “our aim is to give ‘value received'” while acknowledging that mistakes were sometimes made, “but when they do we stand ready to make it good.” Those photos were intended to give some idea of the enterprise and it was concluded that “if this brief sketch has interested you, we will be pleased to have you visit us and be convinced that the manufacture of shoes in Southern California is not only possible but actual.” Styles and sole types and testimonials from a half-dozen shoe dealers (it was claimed “we might go on and fill a book” with those) comprised the remainder of the pamphlet.
Another feature in the Express, from 16 February 1895, began with the query, “whoever heard before of a shoe factory embowered in an orange grove, with flower beds and grass paths bordering the building?” The piece then commented that the production at the enterprise “is as excellent as though the factory were placed between brick walls, with smoke, soot and cinders for its environment.” The use of the two-story building for manufacturing and a trio of cottages for the officers was followed by the earlier point about the struggles to get to the point of its capacity of 1,000 shoes per day, and the piece added,
This has not been accomplished without indefatigable effort and tireless energy, however, and the young men who have so successfully managed the enterprise in the face of bitter Eastern competition, deserve large credit for their work.
Gail Borden, a relative of the Johnson who worked for their forebear’s well-known condensed milk company, was quoted as stating that “the ‘Alhambra’ shoe is peculiar in that it is fully guaranteed” and that, of thousands sold, under a dozen were returned. It was emphasized that the footwear was all leather, even if the price was somewhat higher than those of other shoes deemed of lesser quality. Still, it was commented that “the demand at this time is naturally greater for shoes of the cheaper grades,” a concession of hard economic time that included the Panic of 1893 and which also involved a new recession that emerged in late 1895.
Another sign of trouble were reports in February and March that the owners approached the more far-flung regional towns of Ontario and Riverside offering to move the enterprise to one of them if stock subscriptions of $20,000 and $25,000, respectively, could be promised. The only other substantial news during the year came in September when the company briefly offered in the Los Angeles Times of the 8th that, for $2.50, a pair of bicycle shoes, these being part of the great fad of the day, and in early November when the Express of the 2nd provided another long feature.
Titled “Home Industry Succeeds,” the piece launched with the assertion that, given that recent oil boom,
With the assurance of a practically unlimited supply of cheap fuel, a populous and rapidly growing country to be depended upon as a market, and a constantly increasing demand for home products, the question of successfully conducting manufacturing enterprises in and around this city has been removed from the range of possibilities to the position of established fact.
The Alhambra company was cited as emblematic of what would happen if other manufacturing firms “were run on the same business principles and received the same practical management” as “admirably illustrated in the brief but interesting history” of the enterprise. It was averred that the shoe manufacturer “has made such remarkable progress that it now occupies an important position in the manufacturing circles in the country, being the largest establishment of the kind on the entire Pacific coast.
In fact, the success was such that “it has demonstrated to those who questioned the advisability of such a project at the outset that there is a field here for industrial establishments of almost every description.” With its “delightful” suburban setting, moreover, the Alhambra firm “offers a practical illustration of the theory that more and better work can be obtained from operatives where they are provided with everything that is required to make them healthy and contented.”
Informing readers that the factory was “turning out every class of goods for an established trade” spanning from Canada to México and from the ocean to inland areas, the Express continued that,
The only secret attending this remarkable growth lies in the fact that the company has attended strictly to its legitimate business. It started in to make shoes for all this section of country and is now reaping a justly deserved success.
The aforementioned praise about the enterprise’s additions of new styles, maintenance of high quality and use of skilled labor was such that it was pronounced that the company had “worked up a trade that any corporation would only be too willing to call its own.” The article then went into significant detail regarding the production of its shoes, whether “fit for the most fastidious wearer or intended for rough service in the mines or fields.”
This meant examinations of the processes in the cutting room, the fitting room “where a large force of girls deftly fit the parts together,” and the sole fitting room for attaching those elements, as well as the heels. Tacks, screws and nails were also applied, while, at the end, were the “burnisher and buffer machines” for three types of polishing. Notably, capacity was said to be 800 pairs a week while capacity was 2,000 and it was claimed that “but for the fact that not enough skilled operatives can be obtained . . . the factory would be running to its utmost capacity” as there were enough orders through early 1896.
The paper remarked that there were 150 styles including “every variety of men’s, boys and youths’ shoes in the most approved shapes and at prices,” ranging from $1.75 to $3.50, “that are sure to meet with public favor.” It was added that the market embraced Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico as well as California, while San Francisco exporters were apparently readying markets in Baja California and other parts of “old Mexico” and Oregon and Washington were reportedly being targeted, as well.
Gail B. Johnson, however, was no longer head of the company, being replaced by R.W. Colson and moving to the vice-president role, and Gail Borden, noted above, joined as treasurer, while Milbank Johnson left his officer’s role, though it was remarked that he remained “the principal stockholder and has every confidence in his investment proving an assured success.” He also was keen on offering a stock dividend to anyone willing to invest because it was believed that expansion could be up to four times current output as “the demand is constantly growing for the excellent products now being turned out.”
The article then ended with an instructive statement about the place of business (despite efforts to seek a move, as noted above, and another was contemplated later):
The town of Alhambra has been greatly benefited by having this important industry located there. The operatives are all residents of the place, and the pay roll is not a small item in the business activity of the town [despite some wage unrest, as noted in part one of this post]. Added to this the beautiful grounds occupied by the factory, with their tasteful settings and attractive cottages, all lighted by the private electric plant of the company, all contribute to the importance of Alhambra and makes it one of the most thriving towns in Southern California. Every resident of Southern California who believes in encouraging home industry could not carry out their intentions in any more practcali [sic] way than by demanding the product of the Alhambra Shoe Manufacturing Company when purchasing foot wear.
Despite this rosy assessment, however, 1896 was marked by a decision in early March to cease selling shoes at its Requena Street location in the Angel City, and the stock was sold to the Massachusetts Shoe Store, which was at 1st and Main streets where the Los Angeles Police Department headquarters stands now, which offered them at half-price.
In early June, Colson approached the Board of Trustees of Pasadena about a move there if a suitable building was made available, while, as with the preceding offers, more capital was also requested—the idea that 50 to 75 families would secure employment was apparently the company’s offer to sweeten the deal.
At the same time, the firm’s president appeared before the newly established Manufacturers’ and Merchants’ Association, which became a very powerful force in Los Angeles, explaining the factory’s operations, but emphasizing the need for investment because production was down to 100 pairs daily, a third of what considered a goodly number. Colson told the group that “everything here was favorable to the industry” as “there was [an] abundance of skilled help already at hand and hungry for work.”
Tangentially, the members also talked about the possibility of a new industrial district a few miles south of Angel City limits where some 3,000 acres might be available and one of those present was paraphrased as saying, “the time . . . was now ripe for a remarkable rise of manufacturing industries in this locality.”
A month-and-a-half later, however, the Alhambra Shoe Manufacturing Company went into insolvency proceedings with Colson filing a petition, following one made by a quintet of creditors who were owed more than $2,500. It was declared that the factory property was worth $4,000, but mortgaged for that amount, while machinery and stock, valued at $4,550 was also subject to a chattel mortgage of $1,000 made to the Alhambra National Bank, of which Milbank Johnson and John M. Elliott were principals. Moreover, liabilities of more than $4,200 were double accounts receivable.
At the end of July, a San Francisco man was appointed receiver and took on the doleful task of winding down the affairs of the failed business, culminating in February 1897 with the sale of the Alhambra property to the bank for just north of $4,500. A half-dozen years Alhambra became the location, at its further west end, of another much-hyped manufacturing project, the Dolgeville felt factory town. The Museum just acquired a set of 14 stereoscopic photographs of processing images at that enterprise, so we’ll certainly look to share those in a future post here.
As to the shoe factory property, it has been stated to have been on Chapel Street, just north of Main Street, in the eastern part of town, and flanking the San Pascual Wash. Two decades after its closure, Walter and Laura Temple, flush with a major windfall from oil wells found on their Montebello-area ranch and having purchased the 75-acre Workman Homestead at the same time, bought a Craftsman-style house across the wash from the factory site. When Walter sold the house after Laura’s death, it became, and remains, the Methodist Episcopal Church, which was cofounded by the Johnson brothers.
Though it only existed for three years, the Alhambra Shoe Manufacturing Company is important and instructive for the industrial history of our region, being a very early example of what, in the first three decades of the 20th century, involved a remarkable transformation for greater Los Angeles and its economy.
We are fortunate at the Homestead to have this pamphlet in our collection as a tangible part of that history.
Prior to the concluding portion of Part II, most of the discussion about the Alhambra Shoe Company appears positive and even promising. Then, rather abruptly, the company faded out of business within three years.
Because there was no dramatic ending, such as bankruptcy, scandal, or public collapse, nor any clear explanation for why operations ceased, I tried to infer possible causes by reading between the lines and by applying hindsight to the economic conditions of the period they were in. My thoughts are as follows:
(1) Their executives were modest and honest, but perhaps not shrewd or aggressive enough. In other words, they may have been good operating managers, but not good battle commanders in a highly competitive industry.
(2) Their operation appeared smooth and well run, but it may have lacked sufficient space, manpower, and capital to expand capacity.
(3) There may have been some underlying labor issues.
(4) While the quality of their products seems to have been competitive with those from the East, their costs may not have been due to their comparatively smaller scale, especially at a time when mergers and acquisitions were becoming a new survival strategy among Eastern manufacturers in the late nineteenth century.
(5) Like many business owners, they may have chosen to sell the business while it still had value, particularly if they foresaw a dimmer future ahead.