Grainnet

Written by Barb Selyem. Photos by Bruce Selyem

Until Bill Jacobson, doing business as Riverside Centre, sold the salmon-colored concrete elevator on Riverside Drive in Paso Robles, CA to Smart & Final Inc. in 2005, little attention had been paid to the building for many years except by the various quasi-industrial businesses that leased space there.

Smart & Final, a food warehouse chain, was interested in bringing its business to the area and felt the elevator property along U.S. Highway 101 was ideally located. At that time, the architecturally appealing building had never been listed on any historic register.

Once the sale was final, the company designed a new building that incorporated the 82-foot tower but required the demolition of the surrounding 75-foot-x-160-foot warehouse. Smart & Final applied to the City of Paso Robles for a demolition permit, and suddenly the community woke up. It realized it was losing a structure significant to the area’s agricultural history.

From Gold to Wheat to Almonds
After the discovery of gold in 1848, a steady stream of pioneers seeking land for agriculture and commerce began arriving in California including the area of del El Paso de Robles, later Paso Robles in San Luis Obispo County.

Between 1880 and 1890, sparked by the arrival of the Southern Pacific Railroad and a “Grand Auction” of land in 1886, the number of farms surged. San Luis Obispo County emerged as a leader in wheat production. Paso Robles, with its central location between the Salinas Valley and the Estrella plain, became a commercial center for export.

Almond boom. Though wheat farming was central to the Paso Robles economy in the 1880s and ‘90s, many farmers hoping to increase profits began increasing the size of their orchards and eventually replacing wheat altogether, as trees began to mature.

Almonds emerged as one of the most successful orchard products, and by 1920, Paso Robles was touted as the “Almond Capitol of the World.”

Following the example of wheat farmers, the almond growers, wanting to take advantage of collective bargaining and marketing, formed the Paso Robles Almond Growers Association in 1910 under the California Almond Growers Exchange.

The end of World War I and technological changes resulted in a decline in agriculture around 1920. The exchange responded by taking steps to forecast crop production more accurately and secure loans, by giving more control to local associations.

This reorganization created the climate for the building of a new warehouse and production facility at Paso Robles—the ornate concrete structure still standing today.

Concrete Elevator Erected
The concrete elevator was completed in 1922 and could handle 1,000 tons of almonds annually. The exterior was finished with a red tint of cement stucco. “Paso Robles Association, member of the California Almond Growers Exchange” was painted in large blue lettering across the front of the building.

Its “Blue Diamond Brand’ trademark was painted on all four sides of the tower. The building became a symbol of the success of the area’s almond industry.

In the 1930s, almond trees began to die off as many of the early trees had been grafted onto peach rootstock that proved to be shallow and short lived. Productivity declined because of dry farming techniques.

In 1936, The Farmers Alliance Business Association, which had grown to include poultrymen, dairymen, and orchards, as well as grain growers, bought the warehouse and retrofitted it for grain handling.

The focus of agriculture in San Luis Obispo County would change again, as vineyards replaced wheat fields. In 1975, after 84 years of service, the Farmers’ Alliance closed its doors.

The elevator was never used for grain storage again, and for the next 30 years, the longest-term tenants have been the pigeons that roost on the tower.

Historical Relevance Discovered
Bill Jacobson, a real estate developer, bought the facility at an auction in 1984. He renovated it and removed some of the old wooden bins and machinery.

“The interior, with its huge wooden beams, takes your breath away,” says Bill.

“I had hoped to lease it for retail use, but other businesses in the area are more industrial and I could never convince anyone in retail that it was a good location,” says Bill.

“I approached Smart & Final about leasing some space but when they offered to buy the building, I sold it to them.”

In response to community petitions opposing Smart & Final’s application for demolition, the city voted to delay the permit and to initiate an investigation of the building’s historical significance. As a result of the study, the city denied the company’s request and listed the property on the city inventory of historic resources. For now its future is uncertain.

Barbara and Bruce Selyem are directors of the Country Grain Elevator Historical Society. For more information, contact the society at 406-388-9282; e-mail: bselyem@country-grain-elevator-historical-society.org.

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