The Del Mar Canning Company, 1927-1947
Historic Cannery Row
The Del Mar Canning Company was established in 1927 on this site, the original location of the Bayside Fish & Flour Company, a Japanese-operated reduction plant established in 1916. The Del Mar quickly rose to prominence in the canning industry under the dynamic leadership of its president, Edward David. David became a major force in shaping the Monterey sardine industry.
On November 25, 1936, an electrical fire destroyed the Del Mar, the one the largest canning operations along Cannery Row. The fires also razed the Pacific Biological Laboratories next door. Ed Ricketts lost everything, including his personal papers and scientific library. “Wotta disaster,” the scientist wrote a friend.
Ricketts rebuilt the lab, and David rebuilt the cannery. The Del Mar continued canning through the 1946-1947 fishing season, one of the worst in the history of Cannery Row. Ed David sold the operation just days after the 1947 season closed to the Sun Harbor Company of San Diego. Sun Harbor suffered a second devastating fire in 1951 and never rebuilt.
Steinbeck’s Cannery Row Sites
1 Doc’s Western Biological Laboratory
2 Dora Flood’s Bear Flag Restaurant
3 The vacant lot
4 Lee Chong’s grocery
5 La Ida Cafe
6 Hediondo Cannery
7 Palace Flophouse and Grill
Marker is on Cannery Row.
Courtesy hmdb.org
