Building Materials of California 



JOHN OALEN HOWARD 



INGULARLY blessed as California is in the matter of climate and 

 the beauty of its natural scenery, the State is hardly less fortu- 

 nate in respect of the building materials with which it is endowed. 

 Only a few of the more conspicuous products have been devel- 

 oped up to the present time. Vast opportunities are offered for 

 future development by the inexhaustible deposits of building 

 stone, lime, clay, sand and other minerals used in the building arts, as well 

 as by the enormous tracts of forest wherein the timber attains astonishing 

 proportions. 



First in point of monumental quality of all the materials which enter 

 into building operations may be mentioned granite. A large portion of the 

 Sierra Nevada Mountains is underlain by or visibly made up of granite of 

 excellent quality. Several quarries are already in active operation, notably 

 those at Folsom and at Raymond. The former is of good structural quality, 

 of a darkish grey color, somewhat coarse in texture. The Raymond granite 

 is one of the best building stones to be found anywhere. For color, texture, 

 grain and durability, it is hard to beat. 



Among sandstones those from Colusa and San Jose are the most 

 widely known. The San Jose stone is of a rich, warm yellow color, slightly 

 coarse in grain. This stone has been used very largely at Stanford Uni- 

 versity. The Colusa sandstone is somewhat harder and of excellent quality 

 structurally. In color, it is of a greenish grey. This stone is very largely 

 used at the present time in San Francisco and thereabouts. 



Several other quarries producing stone of various degrees of excellence 

 have been recently opened, but their product has not as yet been given a 

 sufficient trial to justify a conclusive testimony as to their character. 



California is producing from several quarries in active operation a large 

 quantity of marble of high character. Notable among these is the Colum- 

 bia marble quarried in Tuolumne County. There are two shades — a dark 

 and a light, both of neutral grey tone. The lighter is handsomely veined, 

 hard and durable, well fitted for wainscoting, plumbing work, floors and 

 mosaic. It is largely used at present in the local market and is rapidly ex- 

 tending its sphere of operations. 



Inyo County contains valuable deposits of white marble useful for ex- 

 terior ashlar. This stone was used on the ground story of the Mills Build- 

 ing, San Francisco. San Diego produces a marble of a rich pale green, bril- 

 liantly variegated and useful for interior decorative work. Onyx of the most 

 varied character is to be had from several localities, especially in the 

 southern portion of the State. 



The manufacture of Portland cement has recently been taken up and 

 has already assumed large proportions. The Standard and Golden Gate 

 brands are now to be had at extremely reasonable prices. Both brands 

 have shown excellent results under severe tests and there can be no ques- 

 tion but that they have a great future and are destined to play an important 

 part in the structural development of the State. 



Brick-making is a long-established industry in this community. In- 

 exhaustible supplies of clay of every desirable color are to be found in many 

 parts of the State. Brick manufacturers are too numerous to mention in- 

 dividually. Suffice it to say that the quality of the output is in general first 

 class, both in respect to common brick and the finer varieties of face brick. 



The same might be said of terra cotta. The State possesses excep- 

 tional advantages for the manufacture of the highest grade of this mate- 

 rial. The demand for decorative terra cottas for use not only m wall struc- 

 ture, but for roof tile, flower pots, decorative urns, sewer pipe, drains, etc., 

 is constantly and rapidly growing. 



