7up Bottling ~ Bakersfield, Ca. ~ 3-1-3 Sign vs 7313 Phone Number ~ Timeline
I have compiled numerous documents from newspaper articles and city directories to support the following timeline, and will post those documents just as soon as I properly organize them. But for now I just wanted to record the timeline while its fresh in my mind. In the event I make any unintentional errors, I will edit them later. As my heading indicates, my primary focus is an attempt to determine if there was a direct connection between the 3-1-3 7up sign and the 7313 phone number, or if it was just coincidental. The timeline is set up with the Newspaper records first, followed by the City Directory records.
Bakersfield Newspaper Archives ...
December 24, 1938 = Permit filed by D. K. Washburn (7up President) to pour concrete slab at 230 E. Eighteenth St.
April 15, 1939 = Article stating that new 7up bottling plant is almost completed
May 17, 1939 = D.K. Washburn announces completion of bottling plant
May 18, 1939 = Earliest date when 7313 phone number appears in Bakersfield newspapers
June 14, 1939 = Formal opening of bottling plant
Footnote: Apparently it took about five months to construct the bottling plant
Bakersfield City Directories ...
1938 = No listing for Seven Up or 7313 phone number
1939 = Directory stamped with February 27, 1939
1939 = Listing for Seven Up Bottling ~ 2814 Chester
(I need to research this address further. Its also listed as the residence of a Mr. & Mrs. George C. Cook) ?
(Maybe Mr. Cook had something to do with a 7up distribution warehouse) ??
(I don't know why its listed as "Bottling") ??? (See Post #126)
1940 = Directory stamped with March 11, 1940
1940 = Listing for Seven Up Bottling - 7313 phone number - 230 East Eighteenth St. address
Footnotes: Its hard to say exactly when the various directories were published and released to the public, but the dates stamped in them provide us with clues. Although this information is inconclusive as to which came first, the 3-1-3 sign or the 7313 phone number, I suspect the 3-1-3 sign was ordered sometime in advance to allow time for it to be put together and installed. The earliest picture of the sign I have been able to find is in the April 15, 1939 newspaper article. But whether they had the 7313 phone number at that same time, I cannot say for certain but suspect they probably did due to the fact that the plant was completed at that time. If I were to speculate as to which came first, all I can say at this juncture is to ...
Here's the bottom portion of the date-stamped pages from the 1939 and 1940 Bakersfield Directories. I don't know what the stamped dates are for. But because both directories have them, I guess they were important to someone. They also have the same handwritten initials ...
Here's that listing from the 1939 Bakersfield Directory that has me confused. There is no listing for it in 1938 or earlier. Just 1939. Notice the address; 2814 Chester. ???
To avoid going down a rabbit hole any farther than I already am, I'm hoping this will clear up the Chester address mystery. Besides, I want to get back to the 3-1-3 Sign vs the 7313 Phone number question. The first attachment is to remind everyone that even though D. K. Washburn was the President of the 7up Bottling Co. in Bakersfield, it was A. J. Crocker who was the Manager.
[ The Bakersfield Californian ~ June 13, 1939 ]
(Also from the two page article I posted earlier)
Next up we have a 1940 Bakersfield U.S. Census record for Arlo Crocker
Notice ...
1. 'Chester So.' on the left side
2. The 'R' stands for 'Rented'
3. Occupation = 'Manager Beverage Co.' on the far right
What this tells me is that A. J. Crocker probably had something to do with the "distribution point" mentioned in my last post. Either that or he rented the Chester property after D. K. Washburn moved out and relocated somewhere else. But I'm leaning more toward the possibility that Crocker had something to do with the "distribution point" (warehouse / center)
I have located a photo of a store with a advert with the 3-1-3 sign in the window. I messaged the person to ask wether they know when, where and what store it is. I hope to here from them soon.
to the right and look behind the man, a partial look at a sign with 3 bubbles on the left of it.
Great find! It will be interesting to know where the picture was taken and when. I agree it looks like a 3-1-3, especially on the tin sign. I took a quick look for another sign like it but gave up because there are hundreds of them. However, of the hundred or so that I did look at, all of them had the 2-2-3 bubble placement.
I'm not sure how these cropped/enhanced images will look until I post them, but they might help to see the bubbles a little better ...