Watkins Terminal Building (Now Pixar’s “West Village”)

This building that spans 4240-4250 Hollis was built in 1924 for the J.R. Watkins Company.

J.R. Watkins manufactured homemade medical products including liniment, extracts, and salves.

The Kirsch Company moved into the space in 1934 vacating their previous location at 45th & Horton.

Another early occupant was St. Louis, MO based McQuay-Norris, who manufactured auto-parts and electrical controls for gas appliances

Wood Briquettes Inc., who manufactured the heating product Pres-to-logs also occupied the space. Pres-to-logs were the invention of Bob Bowling who determined a way of compressing and binding sawdust into logs for wood-burning stoves.

By the 1950s, the plant was occupied by Guardian Paper Company who manufactured polyethylene and paper used in bags and boxes.

It served as the divisional sales headquarters for Nabisco, formerly The National Biscuit Company, throughout the 1970s into the late 1980s. Nabisco was acquired by R.J. Reynolds in 1985.

Semifreddi’s Bakery took over the space in 1989. The partitioned warehouse and factory was also occupied by a variety of other food companies including Noah’s Bagels and Voila Juice.

In 2006, the adjacent Pixar Animation Studios purchased the building as part of their approved campus expansion and evicted all the tenants. Pixar refers to this building as their “West Village.”

The address sign is bookended by Pixar’s mascot “Luxo” which is a desk lamp character featured in the animation studio’s original 1986 animated short.

The included photo is from the 1939 “Pioneer Days” celebration that coincided with the opening of the Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island which celebrated the completion of both the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges.