Peck & Hills Furniture Co. (Now Emeryville Warehouse Lofts)

The Emeryville Warehouse Lofts was originally constructed by The Peck and Hills Furniture Company in 1905. The original wood construction was replaced with the current concrete building in 1922 and expanded between 1925-1926. The rooftop was equipped with a massive tank that held 25,000 gallons of water.

Peck & Hills expanded its line to include drapes and floor coverings and in 1932 claimed to be “the largest wholesale furniture dealers in America.” The depression era impacted their business and they closed in the late 1930s.

During World War II, the top floor of the building was used to store bales of cotton for the manufacture of uniforms for American soldiers.

The 150,000 square foot building became the Emeryville Warehouse in about 1952 and was partitioned for various light-industrial uses. In the 1970’s the space evolved into a refuge for artists and musicians seeking inexpensive studio space.

Many prominent musicians utilized the warehouse for practice space including Exodus, promoter Wes Robinson, Ross Valory from Journey, Dave Bryson from Counting Crows, and members of the still active heavy metal band Machine Head.

The warehouse was damaged by the 1989 Loma-Prieta earthquake and deemed seismically unsafe. It was renovated and converted to lofts by architect David Baker and developer Rick Holliday 142 live-work spaces in 1998.