Gladding, McBean is a

ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...

s company located in

Lincoln, California Lincoln is a city in Placer County, California, United States, part of the Sacramento metropolitan area. Located in an area of rapid suburban development, it grew 282.1 percent between 2000 and 2010, making it the fastest-growing city over 10,000 ...

. It is one of the oldest companies in California, a pioneer in ceramics technology, and a company which has "contributed immeasurably" to the state's industrialization. During the heyday of

architectural terra cotta Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings o ...

, the company "dominated the industry in California and the Far West."

Founding

Charles Gladding Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

(1828–1894) was born in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

, served as a

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, and later moved to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, where he engaged in the clay sewer pipe business. He came to California in 1874 looking for new business opportunities. While in California, he read an article in a San Francisco newspaper about a large clay deposit near the town of

. Investigating, Gladding verified that it was an "unusually fine deposit of white kaolin clay" located close to a railroad line., and selected the spot as the site for a new business. Gladding, along with Peter McGill McBean and George Chambers, established Gladding-McBean in 1875. Its original product was clay sewer pipe. By 1883, the company had grown to 75 employees, and it then evolved into a major manufacturer of architectural terra-cotta. Peter McBean became president of the company after Charles Gladding's death in 1894, and his son Athol McBean later served as chairman of the board.

Growth, acquisitions, and merger

In June 1923, the company acquired the controlling stock of Tropico Potteries, Inc. of Los Angeles. In 1925, the company purchased all the holdings of the Northern Clay Products Company including the Auburn, Washington terra cotta plant. In 1926, the company merged with the Los Angeles Pressed Brick Company. After this merger, the company had plants in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...

, Point Richmond, and Alberhill, California. The former Los Angeles Pressed Brick Company's plant at 922 Date Street became Gladding, McBean's Los Angeles plant. In 1927, the company acquired the holdings of the

Denny-Renton Clay and Coal Company Denny-Renton Clay and Coal Company, founded in 1892 as Denny Clay Company, was the largest producer of brick pavers in the world by 1905. An industry journal said in 1909 "The clay products of this company have long been a standard for general ex ...

which included the terra cotta plant in Renton, Washington, the plant and mines in Taylor and Mica, Washington. The company closed their plant in Van Aselt, Washington in 1927. Tropico Potteries, Inc. filed for dissolution of the corporation in 1928 merging with Gladding, McBean. The former Tropico Potteries's plant at 2901 Los Feliz Boulevard became the company's Glendale plant. Due to the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, the Auburn plant closed in 1932. All operations were consolidated with the Renton plant. The Taylor coal and clay mines and the town were condemned by the Seattle Water Department in order to include the area inside an expanded watershed. In 1933, the company bought the "entire holdings on the Pacific Coast of the

American Encaustic Tiling Company The American Encaustic Tiling Company was founded in New York, New York in 1875, later establishing a factory in Zanesville, Ohio, in 1892. Their tiles were intended to compete with the English tiles that were selling in the United States for use ...

, Ltd., of New York". Since the demand for building materials dwindled, the company began to look for new products. The company expanded into

tableware Tableware is any dish or dishware used for setting a table, serving food, and dining. It includes cutlery, List of glassware, glassware, serving dishes, and other items for practical as well as decorative purposes. The quality, nature, variet ...

. In 1932, experimental work in Dinnerware began at the Glendale plant in Los Angeles. In 1934, Gladding, McBean introduced the Franciscan Pottery line of dinnerware and art ware, named after the

Franciscan friars The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

who established missions throughout California in the 18th and 19th centuries. The lines were very successful. In 1937, Gladding, McBean and Co. purchased the Catalina Clay Products Division of Santa Catalina Island Co. The company closed the pottery moving all molds and equipment to the Glendale plant. The company continued to use the tradename of Catalina Pottery on select dinnerware and art ware lines produced in the Glendale plant until 1942. In 1940, the company introduced the hand-painted embossed pattern Franciscan Apple, and in 1941 Desert Rose. Both patterns became the company's most popular patterns. The company introduced fine china dinnerware in 1942 and due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, discontinued all art ware lines. By 1950, it was considered one of the "world's largest ceramics manufacturers". In 1957, they purchased Washington Brick and Lime and its factories located in

Dishman, Washington Dishman is a locale and former census-designated place (CDP) in Spokane County, Washington, United States. Founded by Addison T. Dishman (II), who operated a nearby rock quarry in 1889, its population was 10,031 at the 2000 census. Dishman has bee ...

and

Clayton, Washington Clayton is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Stevens County, Washington, United States. It is located along U.S. Route 395 northwest of Deer Park, and has a post office with ZIP code 99110. Clayton was founded in 1889 ...

. The company was described at that time as "the West's largest ceramics firm" with seven plants in California and two in Washington, in addition to those acquired in that purchase. Because of "the importation of inexpensive Japanese ceramics", Gladding McBean's tableware sales declined in the post World War II period. This was a factor in Gladding-McBean's decision to seek a merger. In 1962, the company merged with the Lock Joint Pipe Company, which resulted in the creation of the International Pipe and Ceramics Corporation, shortened to Interpace Corp. in 1968.

Decline and revival

In 1976 Interpace Corp. "announced their intention to cease operations at the Lincoln plant" where Gladding, McBean began. Pacific Coast Building Products then purchased the Lincoln factory and restored the historic name of Gladding, McBean, which remains in business today. Interpace Corp. sold its Franciscan Ceramics division to Josiah Wedgwood and Sons Ltd. in 1979. In 1984 production was moved to Wedgwood's

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...

facility in England. The company now operates as a division of Pacific Coast Building Products Inc under the name Gladding, McBean, LLC. Hard hit by the recession, the company had 110 employees in 2010, "down from an average of 240 workers between 2001 and 2007". The company sponsors an annual "Feats of Clay" ceramic arts festival in Lincoln.

Products and legacy

From its base in clay sewer pipe and terra cotta, the company expanded into brick production and then branched out to dinnerware in the 1930s, with its Franciscan and Catalina lines. In 1959, the company was awarded a "subcontract in excess of $500,000 for the production of ceramic

radome A radome (a portmanteau of radar and dome) is a structural, weatherproof enclosure that protects a radar antenna (radio), antenna. The radome is constructed of material transparent to radio waves. Radomes protect the antenna from weather and ...

s." That year, a spokesman for the company "cited research in oxides and other rare earths as providing a solution to the high heat, speed and radiation problems of the space age," and identified the company's best selling products at that time as "dinnerware, tile, refractories, facebrick, clay pipe and conduit, and technical ceramics." The company now identifies its main products as clay

roof tile A roof ( : roofs or rooves) is the top covering of a building, including all materials and constructions necessary to support it on the walls of the building or on uprights, providing protection against rain, snow, sunlight, extremes of temper ...

, piazza floor tile, chimney tops and caps, terra cotta, garden pottery and clay sewer pipe. The California State Library now holds the company's job files from 1888 to 1966, documenting the use of its products to decorate thousands of buildings, including most major structures on the campus of

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

. The red roof tiles and architectural terra cotta details helped achieve the distinctive

Spanish Colonial Revival style The Spanish Colonial Revival Style ( es, Arquitectura neocolonial española) is an architectural stylistic movement arising in the early 20th century based on the Spanish Colonial architecture of the Spanish colonization of the Americas. In the ...

so common to coastal California. While many of the buildings throughout the

west coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

have been demolished, such as the

Richfield Tower Richfield Tower, also known as the Richfield Oil Company Building, was an office tower constructed between 1928 and 1929 and served as the headquarters of Richfield Oil in Los Angeles, California. History It was designed by Stiles O. Clements a ...

in Los Angeles, beautiful examples remain, including San Diego's

Spreckels Theater Spreckels Theatre is a performing arts center located in San Diego, California. It was touted as "the first modern commercial playhouse west of the Mississippi". It was designed for philanthropist John D. Spreckels, and was meant to commemorate th ...

and the

Ventura County Courthouse The Ventura County Courthouse, known since 1974 as Ventura City Hall, is a historic building in Ventura, California. It is located on a hill at the top of California Street, overlooking the city's downtown district with views of the Santa Barbara ...

References

External links