Guide to the Spreckels Companies Records
MS 258
Finding aid prepared by Sandra Kirkwood
Collection processed as part of grant project supported by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) with generous
funding from The Andrew Mellon Foundation.
San Diego History Center Document Collection
1649 El Prado, Suite 3
San Diego, CA, 92101
619-232-6203
October 8, 2012
Title: Spreckels Companies Records
Identifier/Call Number: MS 258
Contributing Institution:
San Diego History Center Document Collection
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
0.5 Linear feet
(1 box)
Date (inclusive): 1910-1958
Abstract: The collection contains information related to specific properties owned by J.D. and A.B. Spreckels Company and other Spreckels-owned
companies.
creator:
J.D. and A.B. Spreckels Company.
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
The San Diego History Center (SDHC) holds the copyright to any unpublished materials. SDHC Library regulations do apply.
Preferred Citation
J. D. and A. B. Spreckels Company Records, MS 258, San Diego History Center Document Collection, San Diego, CA.
Processing Information
Collection processed by Sandra Kirkwood on October 8, 2012.
Collection processed as part of grant project supported by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) with generous
funding from The Andrew Mellon Foundation.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged numerically by land booklet number. Original order is retained within each booklet.
Scope and Content
The collection contains "land booklets" for property held and managed by the Spreckels Companies, including the J.D. and A.B.
Spreckels Company, San Diego Electric Railway Company, Mission Beach Company, Spreckels Brothers Commercial Company, and Cabrillo
Land Company. The booklets generally contain the same type of information for each business venture—an index summary sheet,
finances, lease and rental information, taxes, appraisals, valuations, correspondence, maps, and photographs. Specifically,
the index summary sheet includes information on location, size, date of purchase and improvements, the property’s function
or utility, and a list of current lease and/or rental agreements. The finance sheets cover yearly totals of expenses, investments,
and revenue.
Biographical / Historical Notes
John D. Spreckels visited San Diego in the mid-1880s and became interested in the development boom. Adolph B. Spreckels, his
brother, joined forces with John in many business ventures. The Spreckels Brothers Commerical Company, established in 1886,
built a brick warehouse and a wharf near Pacific Highway and G Street to process bulk commodities such as coal, cement, and
railroad iron. The Spreckels’ empire expanded to various companies, utilities, and buildings in the San Diego and other locations.
John Spreckels worked with several other local businessmen, such as E. S. Babcock, Charles T. Hinde, and D. C. Collier. Businesses
included the Mission Beach Company, First National Bank of San Diego, Savage Tire Company, and the J.D. and A.B. Spreckels
Company. Utilities included the Coronado Water Company, Southern California Water Company, and the Hercules Oil Company. In
addition, John D. Spreckels was part owner of the San Diego & Coronado Ferry Company and the San Diego Electric Railway Company,
and he was a key player in the expansion of the railway system for the Panama-California Exposition in 1915. The Spreckels
brothers built the Spreckels Theater Building, the Union Building, and the San Diego Hotel, among others.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Babcock, Elisha S.
Cabrillo Land Company.
Hinde, Charles T.
J.D. and A.B. Spreckels Company.
J.D. and A.B. Spreckels Securities Company.
J.D. Spreckels & Bros..
Kemmer, Julius
Mission Beach Company.
San Diego Electric Railway.
Spreckels Brothers Commercial Company.
Spreckels Theatre.
Spreckels, Adolph B.
Spreckels, John Diedrich, b. 1853
Buildings
Business
Commercial real estate
Coronado (Calif.)
Horton's Addition (San Diego, Calif.)
La Jolla (San Diego, Calif.)
Leases
Middletown (San Diego, Calif.)
Mission Beach (San Diego, Calif.)
Pueblo Lands
Real property
San Diego (Calif.)
Sherman's Addition (San Diego, Calif.)
Shipping
Box-folder 1:1
J.D. and A.B. Spreckels Company: Spreckels Building, Lots A-E, H-L, Block 40, Horton’s Addition (Land Booklet No. 13),
1911-1943 and undated
Includes:
"Spreckels Theatre Building - Main Floor Plan" (in Oversize Collection D7)
"Spreckels Theatre Building - Third Floor Plan" (in Oversize Collection D7)
"Plan of Auditorium" (in Oversize Collection D7)
"Plan of Balcony" (in Oversize Collections D7)
Box-folder 1:2
J.D. and A.B. Spreckels Company: Union Building, Lots A, B, K, L, Block 41, Horton’s Addition (Land Booklet No. 15),
1910-1943 and undated
Includes:
“Union Building First Floor Plan” (in Oversize Collection D7)
“Union Building Fourth Floor Plan” (in Oversize Collection D7)
Box-folder 1:3
J.D. and A.B. Spreckels Company: Hotel San Diego, Lots A-F, K, L, Block 55, New San Diego (Land Booklet No. 17),
1911-1943
Box-folder 1:4
J.D. and A.B. Spreckels Company: Lot ‘A’ Block 21, New San Diego (Land Booklet No. 19),
1925-1936
Box-folder 1:5
J.D. and A.B. Spreckels Company: Lots K and L, Block 53, New San Diego (Land Booklet No. 20),
1911-1935 and undated
Box-folder 1:6
J.D. and A.B. Spreckels Company: Lots K and L, Block 54, New San Diego (Land Booklet No. 22),
1911-1938 and undated
Box-folder 1:7
J.D. and A.B. Spreckels Company: Union Oil Station, Lots A and B, Block F, Horton’s Addition (Land Booklet No. 23),
1911-1941
Box-folder 1:8
J.D. and A.B. Spreckels Company: Ninth and Broadway Property, Lots A and B, Block 48, Horton’s Addition (Land Booklet No.
24),
1915-1938
Box-folder 1:9
J.D. and A.B. Spreckels Company: La Jolla Park, Lots 1-6, Block 38, La Jolla (Land Booklet No. 26),
1920-1940 and undated
Box-folder 1:10
J.D. and A.B. Spreckels Company: Lots F and G, Block 40, Horton’s Addition (Land Booklet No. 32),
1911-1943 and undated
Box-folder 1:11
J.D. and A.B. Spreckels Company: Mission Cliff Gardens Property, Pueblo Lot 1111 (Land Booklet No. 39),
1922-1944 and undated
Box-folder 1:12
J.D. and A.B. Spreckels Company: Fuel Oil Tank, Coronado (Land Booklet No. 44),
1921-1941 and undated
Box-folder 1:13
J.D. and A.B. Spreckels Company: Pueblo Lands, Portion of Blocks 434 and 455, Old San Diego (Land Booklet No. 128),
1927-1940
Box-folder 1:14
San Diego Electric Railway Company: La Jolla Hermosa Substation, Easement Only, Portion of Pueblo Lot 1773 (Account 503, Other
Land Used in Electric Railway Operation) (Land Booklet No. 254),
1924-1958 and undated
Box-folder 1:15
San Diego Electric Railway Company: Block 37, Lots 1-16, Sherman’s Addition (Account 503, Other Land Used in Electric Railway
Operation) (Land Booklet No. 261),
1924-1944 and undated
Box-folder 1:16
San Diego Electric Railway Company: Block 54, Lots 1-16, Sherman’s Addition (Account 503, Other Land Used in Electric Railway
Operation) (Land Booklet No. 262),
1924-1942 and undated
Box-folder 1:17
Mission Beach Company: Mission Beach Company, Mission Beach (Land Booklet No. 601),
1922-1958 and undated
Includes:
“Miscellaneous Map No 72” (in Oversize Collections D7)
“Mission Beach Company Description of Operating Features” (spreadsheet, 2 pages) (in Oversize Collections D7)
“Mission Beach Co., San Diego, California, Map of Mission Beach, August 13, 1926" (in Oversize Collections D7)
“Map of Amusement Center, Mission Beach, Cal., Showing location of water mains, pumps, fire hydrants, etc., September 25,
1925" (in Oversize Collections D7)
“Mission Beach Co., San Diego, Calif., Map of Amusement Center, June 23, 1927, revised April 21, 1933” (in Oversize Collections
D7)
“Mission Beach Co., San Diego Cal, Map of Fun Zone at Mission Beach Amusement Center, December 10, 1926" (in Oversize Collections
D7)
“Mission Beach Co. San Diego, Calif., Map of Amusement Center, June 23, 1927, revised April 21, 1933 . . . Red figures indicate
areas in square feet. Computed and corrected June 26, 1933” (in Oversize Collections D7)
Box-folder 1:18
Mission Beach Company: Mission Beach Company, Mission Beach (Land Booklet No. 601),
1922-1958 and undated
Includes:
“Mission Beach Co., San Diego, California, Map of Mission Beach, August 13, 1926” (blueprint) (in Oversize Collections D7)
“Mission Beach San Diego California” (marks “Company Owned Lots”) (on reverse: “Part I – Page 38”) (in Oversize Collections
D7)
“City of San Diego Engineering Department, Map showing the alignment of Mission Boulevard, Easy Way and West Way between San
Fernando Place and Ventura Place, and a parcel of land to be quit claimed to the City of San Diego, also West Way and portions
of East Way to be closed to public use. July 18, 1941” (blueprint) (in Oversize Collections D7)
“Map Showing Area in Sq. Ft.” “Map of Amusement Center, Mission Beach, Cal., Showing location of Water Mains, Pumps, Fire
Hydrants, etc.” (also indicates “Portion Sold May 1940”) (in Oversize Collections D7)
“Mission Beach Co. San Diego, Calif. Map of Amusement Center, June 23, 1927, revised April 21, 1933” (color coded showing
land owned, land leased, and property deeded to city/state, as well as “portion sold May 1940” and
“Land Deeded to City of San Diego – Sept. 1940”) (in Oversize Collections D7)
“Miscellaneous Map No 72” (in Oversize Collections D7)
“Amusement Center, Owned and to be Developed by the San Diego Electric Railway Co.” (in Oversize Collections D7)
“Amusement Center, Owned and to be Developed by the Mission Beach Company” (in Oversize Collections D7)
Box-folder 1:19
Spreckels Brothers Commercial Company: Branch Two, Vicinity of G Street (Land Booklet No. 802),
1924-1958 and undated
Includes:
“Spreckels Bros. Commercial Co., Map of Tide Land Lease for Bunkers Wharf, Aug. 7, 1924” (in Oversize Collections D7)
Box-folder 1:20
Cabrillo Land Company: Branch Four, Hercules Oil Company, Middletown (Land Booklet No. 804),
1924-1958 and undated
Includes:
“Hercules Oil Company, San Diego, California, Location of Oil Lines from Plant to Waterfront” (blueprint) (in Oversize Collections
D7)
“Map of the City of San Diego and Vicinity” (with note pointing to “Location of Water Front Station…”) (in Oversize Collections
D7)
Box-folder 1:21
Cabrillo Land Company: Branch Four, Hercules Oil Company, Middletown (Land Booklet No. 804),
1916-1940 and undated
Includes:
“Hercules Oil Company, San Diego, California, Location of Oil Lines from Plant to Waterfront” (blueprint) (in Oversize Collections
D7)
“Map of the City of San Diego and Vicinity” (with note pointing to “Location of Water Front Station…”) (in Oversize Collections
D7)
