march 25, 1955
SJlWi
PAGE THREE
this aerial view of the Los Angeles Plant shows the Administration Building in the right
foreground, facing east. Running to the west along Firestone Boulevard is the Tire Plant and beyond
the driveway, at far left, is the Fuel Cell building and just west of that is the area where the new
Guided Missile plant is being built.
featuring plant cities—LOS ANGELES
City Of Industry And Culture;
Site Of West Coast Plant
By Paul Neff, Editor, Firestone Californian
In one of the most rapidly growing areas in the world lies the first domestic subsid
iary plant of the Company. The Firestone Tire & Rubber Company of California is located
111 Los Angeles, where as the result of foresight and shrewd planning, Harvey S. Firestone
^nd his associates built the Coast plant in 1928.
The city, ranking second in the nation in production of automobile tires and tubes,
IS the leading manufacturing center west of the Mississippi and third ranking industrial
area in the United States.
* * o —— — ^
As early as 1919 Mr. Firestone
had announced his intention of
building a tire factory on the West
Coast to save freight costs on
^hipping finished products to 12
Western states. In 1927, after busi-
conditions had recovered from
the set-back of 1920-21, surveys of
Several sites were made and de
cision was reached to locate the
plant on the present 40-acre
tract in Los Angeles. At that time
Was a bean field.
On August 5, 1927, Russell A.
firestone, member of the Board
of Directors and second son of the
F'ounder, was guest at a luncheon
SiVen by the Los Angeles Chamber
Commerce in recognition of
^ifestone’s coming to California,
which time he presented the
Purchase check to the land owner’s
Representative.
The site where the plant was
located is now the center of a
_^stling industrial and commer-
cial area and Firestone Boulevard,
^hich passes the beautifully land-
®*^aped site with its attractive
uildings^ is one of the most
®avily traveled traffic arteries in
he nation.
^lans for the new plant’s equip-
^ent and construction occupied the
^^pany’s engineering depart-
^ent during the summer of 1927
ground-breaking ceremonies
held on December 15 of that
with Russell Firestone again
’^^Presenting his father. It was
^^ttounced the new factory would
capacity for 5000 tires and
^0 tubes daily and the cost was
^^timated at $7,000,000.
a record-breaking span of
six months, progress had
In
made to the point where ma-
^^ery was installed and the
tire was made on June 15,
jj, by the Company’s founder,
^^ttial open house for the public
held on December 4, 1928,
when some 60,000 visitors toured
the plant. Even prior to the formal
opening a new addition was start
ed as it was decided the plant
needed additional rooms. This ad
dition was dedicated June 5, 1929.
^ ;>c til
THE ORIGINAL PLANT pro
vided 408,000 square feet plus the
Administration building, the
Powerhouse, and the Machine
shop. The 1929 addition provided
another 400,000 square feet of
manufacturing space.
LEONARD K. FIRESTONE
became President and General
Manager of the Coast Plant in
1953.
Plant 2, for the use of the Xylos
division in reclaiming rubber, also
was constructed in 1929, with some
72,000 square feet of space.
The next major addition came in
1942 as the Coast Plant became in
creasingly busy with national de
fense orders. This was Plant 3,
built primarily to house the Fuel
Cell and Industrial Products di
visions. The new manufacturing
area thus provided amounted to
104,790 square feet.
Plant 4 was built in 1951 to pro
vide 217,000 square feet for ware
housing and shipping operations.
However, before it was even com
pleted, new contracts were receiv
ed from the Ordnance Department
and most of the area was utilized
for manufacturing operations of
national defense items, including
the Corporal guided missile.
=)!!!<*
PLANT 5 is now under construc
tion to provide 350,000 more
square feet at a cost of $2,000,000
for expanding manufacturing op
erations.
Now, under the personal leader
ship of Leonard K. Firestone, Pres
ident of The Firestone Tire &
Rubber Company of California,
and third son of the Founder, the
Plant is moving on to new records
of production and smooth opera
tion. His association with this
plant began in November of 1933
when he came from Akron to take
charge of the Coast Sales Depart
ment. In 1935, he returned to Ak
ron to direct Trades Sales in the
United States and later became
head of the newly-organized Air
craft Company. In February, 1942,
Mr. Firestone enlisted in the U. S.
Navy Reserve as a lieutenant and
after a successful tour of duty was
transferred to inactive status in
August, 1943, to assume the duties
of President and General Manager
of the California Company, to
head up the increasing contribu
tion being made to the war effort
by the Coast Plant.
T. E. Pittenger, who had been
Factory Manager in Akron and
at the Canadian Plant, was named
Factory Manager in California and
later when Mr. Pittenger returned
to Akron, Clyde L. Smith became
Factory Manager.
H. H. Wiedenmann took over in
1950 upon Mr, Smith’s retirement,
and R, E, McGee was named Fac
tory Manager in 1952 when Mr,
Wiedenmann was called to Akron.
HEALTHY YOUNG CITRUS TREES with their glossy green
leaves and golden oranges in the foreground and snowcapped moun
tains beyond are familiar sights in Southern California.
OIL RIGS MARCHING down to the sea is the subject of this
photo taken near Los Angeles. The country accounts for approxi
mately six per cent of United States crude oil production.
WILSHIRE BOULEVARD curves across the lake at McArthur
Park in Los Angeles as it heads out for Beverly Hills and Hollywood
in the background.
THERE ARE MORE than 4,700
persons on the Plant’s payroll,
manning the multiple operations
in nearly 2,000,000 square feet of
space. Most of them live in adja
cent areas of Los Angeles, South
Gate, Lynnwood, and Huntington
Park.
These employees participate in
many recreational activities spon
sored by the Company for their
benefit, including bowling, golf,
softball, basketball, tennis, ping
pong, fishing and hunting, rifle
and pistol clubs, and amateur radio
operation.
Many recreational, cultural, and
entertainment facilities are avail
able for employees in the Los An
geles area, including the Pacific
beaches, the mountain and desert
resorts, and many fine parks in
cluding the zoo and planetarium,
the movie, radio, and television
centers of Hollywood, theatres, and
the famous Hollywood Bowl,
Greek Theatre, Philharmonic audi
torium, and Pan-Pacific Auditori
um,
^ *
EDUCATIONAL opportunities
also are many and easily used
with night classes and extension
courses in addition to those offer
ed on the campuses of such out
standing schools as University of
California at Los Angeles, Univer
sity of Southern California, Pep-
perdine College, and Los Angeles
City College.
Los Angeles ranks first in the
nation in production of aircraft
and aircraft parts; motion pic
tures; pumps and compressors; re
frigeration machinery and equip
ment; canned seafood; and heat
ing and plumbing equipment. It
ranks second in automobile tires
and tubes; transportation equip
ment; women’s and misses’ outer
wear; pressed and blown glass;
concrete and plaster products;
automobile assembly; storage bat
teries; jewelry and silverware;
millwork (wood) and oil field ma
chinery and tools.
It would seem that Harvey S.
Firestone ’s selection of Los Ange
les as the location for his' first
domestic subsidiary was indeed a
wise one making our Company
truly “Best today—still better to
morrow.”