Opening of Peoples Lumber Co. New Yard at Oxnard Attracts Many Visitors

Formal opening of .the new, offices and yard of the PeopleS Lumber Company at, Oxnard, one of the finest building material plants in California, was held on Thursday, October 3,'from I to 8 p.m.

Harold Burket, Ventirra' architect, designed the office building and store. Thelwhitle paint€d brick structure, although just completed, alreadv has an aged appearance due to the irregularly laid brick, not a single brick in the building being laid in regular form. The small window panes and Redwood panels, also the copper eave spouts, which because of being pure copper will shortly turn green, further strengthen the aged appearance of the building. The red tile roof completes the true likeness of the ancient Spanish type of architecture

Inside of the office building one finds the lobby most attractive, finished with Redwood beam ceiling and wainscoting, and embossed tile linoleum on the floor.

On the front and side of the office is a Maple top and base counter, with the center of Redwood, etched with up and down lines and relieved with diamond shaped figures, with just a touch of color. This is the work of the Santa Paula Peoples Lumber Company's mill.

A distinctive feature of the lobbv is the modernistic lan- tern lighting effect. This is used not only in the lobby but throughout the building. The manager's office is panelled in Redwood, with a log cabin Oak floor, very novel in design. The bookkeeping department has a room to itself, and is finished in the same styie. Connected directly with the bookkeeping office is the very large vault, built of solid masonry.

A pleasing arch separates, but in efiect only, the office lpbby from the store adjoining on the west. This is a modern building-material store, with a show case and all modern labor-saving devices. The floor is covered with heavy Pilot roofing.

In front and on the north. side of the office building there are tile walks, green lawns, and shrubbery will be planted later. Back of the lawn and shrubs and screening the yard will be a decorative fence and an artistic sign board. This sign board is 80x17 and is to be a work of art, depicting green woods, mountains and a cosy home, with a single line of advertising, which will read "Peoples Lumber Company. Since 1890."

Adjoining the store is the sash and door warehouse. Then comes the warehouse proper, in which are stored several carloads of nails, netting, wall board and other building material of this sort. The cement warehouse nearby is large enough to store six or seven carloads of cement.

In the lumber shed, which is 140x97 and 30 feet high, the material is stood on end, and partitioned off. Adjoining the railroad track it is possible to unload material from the car to its proper place with one handling only.

In the yard, which with the buildings takes up five acres of space, is a modern incinerator, where sawdust, shavings and refuse will be "incinerated." There are 80,000 square yards of macadam paving on the premises and some cement concrete paving.

The mill proper is 108x60 feet and has wings on each side, providing an ample cabinet shop, also a private office. There is the mill shed and the dry clear shed, where the highest grade lumber is stored with utmost safety.

A distinctive feature of the office and plant is that it was built entirely with local talent and help. The huge sign is the handiwork of George Christenson, local sign painter. The interior stucco was done by J. E. Osborne & Son.

Roy Guyer was in charge of the general construction, Carl Fischer did the electric work, and A. P. Harvey did the painting. J. L. Mitchell installed the mill machinery and did the heavy electrical work.

The Peoples Lumber Company have been operating yards in Ventura county since 1890 and have yards at Veniui'a, O*nard, Santa Paula, Fillmore, Santa Susana, Ojai, Moorpark and Hueneme. Walter S. Riley is manager oI the Oxnard yard.

H. J. BATLEY VTSTTS SAN FRANCTSCO

H. J. "Bill" Bailey, sales manager of the Saginaw Timber Co., Aberdeen, 'Wash., visited San Francisco recently, making the Bay City his first port of call on his annual tour of the company's sales agents throughout the country. While in San Francisco he conferred with the Santa Fe Lumber Co., California agents for Saginaw Brand Red Cedar Shingles.