Bekins Moving and Storage Buildings (Los Angeles, California)

 storage, historical building

245 North Fries Avenue
and
326 West "C" St.
Wilmington, CA 90748

Construction began June 27, 1916.

The Bekins building at 245 North Fries Avenue was designed by architects Edward
Leodore Mayberry and Llewellyn A. Parker, and built by the contractor J.C. Kubach in
1917. The building was erected for the L.A. Harbor Warehouse Company, and both
Wilmington Storage and Transfer Co. and Smart & Final Wholesale Grocer leased the
building upon its completion.
Smart & Final occupied the 1st and 2nd floor on the north end of the building, while Wilmington Storage & Transfer occupied the 1st and 2nd floor of the south end as well as the entire 3rd floor.
By 1926, Smart & Final had relocated to 315 Marine Ave., and Wilmington Transfer and Storage would remain the sole occupant of the building until the late 1930's.
Bekins Van and Storage Company acquired the building by the 1940's and would remain the primary occupant for several decades.
Bekins also constructed the large warehouse structure at 326 C Street, on the northwest
end of the same parcel, in 1946.
Except for the structure at 245 North Fries Avenue, this is the only other existing building on the parcel. Building permits reveal that both buildings have only have minor interior alterations through the years, and there has been minimal work done to either of the building’s exteriors.
A nonprofit organization called Storehouse One currently uses the 245 North Fries Avenue building for food storage, while Operation USA Warehouse currently occupies the building at 326 C Street.
www.laporthistory.org/level2/archive/form/pdfs/bekins-r...