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Description
A view of the former State Printing Plant at the corner of L and 15th Streets on the site of what is now the World Peace Rose Garden. Built in the 1870s, the building contained facilities for all steps of printing and bookbinding and had outbuildings for further storage. Due to the presence of large amounts of flammable materials, smoking was prohibited within the plant and as of 1895, hand grenades filled with fire suppressing chemicals were present.
California legislators first read the bill to create the office of State Printer in January of 1850, over eight months before the territory’s admission to the United States. California governor Peter Burnett appointed J. Winchester, Esq. to the position in June of the same year. Within a year, members of the California state legislature introduced a bill to abolish the office and contract out state printing to private companies and Winchester resigned, leading to a legislative battle over his successor and whether there should be one. During the late 19th and early 20th century, this facility produced a number of printed materials including law pamphlets and state textbooks. In 1911, an investigation begun by Governor Hiram Johnson exposed profiteering on the part of the Superintendent of State Printing W.W. Shannon and contractors hired to supply reams of paper for textbook production. Shannon was removed from office in November of the same year and replaced by F.W. Richardson. Operations ceased with the construction of a new plant in 1922.
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