Comments on: san francisco steam coffee?

By: Jeni

Jeni — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 02:27:09 +0000

I have an Antique Steam Ran TJ Hopper Co Coffee Urn that i cant find any info on. its absolutely beautiful. its copper w/ rosewood knobs approx 5 gallons patent number 1468527….PLEASE HELP?????

By: richard - sparkletack

richard - sparkletack — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 18:24:48 +0000

No kidding, Thomas, great idea …

By: Thomas

Thomas — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 17:36:30 +0000

Windmills on Telegraph Hill – that brings up a whole alternative-history scenario of what SF could have looked like. And a very romantic scenario at that. Let’s put that one into the list of ideas for a novel. :)

By: richard - sparkletack

richard - sparkletack — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 04:37:50 +0000

Of course, I didn’t read far enough! The Broadway location was where the steam mill was built after being forced to move from the Powell shop with its over-taxed hand-cranked mill. I love the detail about attempting to use power from a Telegraph Hill windmill – I’m picturing some serious Rube Goldberg machinery there …

I’m sure you’re right about the ’06 fire wiping out any trace of the Broadway mill – take a look at this map of the extent of the fire’s reach; that stretch of Broadway is well within the boundary.

By: Thomas

Thomas — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 03:53:35 +0000

FYI: In that link to google books – the mill was between stockton and dupont (grant). But there is no trace of any old factories left in that area – I guess the 1906 earthquake wiped out the last of that…

By: Thomas

Thomas — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 03:45:10 +0000

Powell between Broadway and Pacific? Wow. There is literally nothing left of any kind of industrial activity – at least at the level of a steam-driven coffee and spice mill.

I wonder what spices they were working with… and that place must have smelled like crazy if they were milling coffee and spices at a large scale. :)

By: richard - sparkletack

richard - sparkletack — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 22:27:42 +0000

Interesting speculation, Thomas … who knows, you may be on to something!

A little judicious Googling of my own produced the fact that this mill was located right downtown, somewhere on Powell between Broadway and Pacific.

Further, apparently Mr. Folger had actually helped to build the mill (for one Mr. William H. Bovee) in 1850, returning from a sojourn in the gold country to buy him out.

By: Thomas

Thomas — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 19:37:49 +0000

Some bored googling gave me this:

“Upon his return to San Francisco in 1865, James became a full partner of The Pioneer Steam Coffee and Spice Mills. In 1872, James bought out the other partners, renaming the company J. A. Folger & Co.”

from here:
http://www.folgers.com/pressroom/history.shtml

I guess the old Folger coffee mill in SF (where in town was that?) was powered by a steam plant. So the engraving on the urn could be a reference to the name of that plant.