Bayside Cannery, 1290 Hope Street, Alviso, Santa Clara County, CA

Significance: The Bayside Cannery is significant for its association with the Chew, family, founders and owners of the Bayside Cannery in Alviso, California. Thomas Foon Chew, the son of the founder Sin Yin Chew, developed the cannery operations into one of the largest canneries in the county and it was the third largest cannery in the United States in 1931. The cannery was the first major Chinese owned industry in Santa Clara County. Thomas Chew employed hundreds of people in his business from a variety of ethnic backgrounds; the cannery contributed substantially to the economic vitality of the Santa Clara County. Besides the cannery operations in Alviso, Chew built two other canneries in the region and owned thousands of acres of farm and orchard land. The Bayside Cannery is also significant as the last of the main cannery buildings built specifically for use in Chew's canning operations (the Bayside Cold Storage Warehouse to the south was built prior to the development of the cannery complex and was originally known as the Union Warehouse). Built ca. 1929, as part of the large expansion project undertaken by Chew, the cannery's facade was designed in the Spanish Colonial Revival style with a clay tile pent roof, corner towers, and stucco exterior. The interior of the cannery is utilitarian in nature, however, the Howe truss system supporting the roof is of special note. The trusses have been reinforced with diagonal and lateral cross bracing built to withstand earthquakes. The other extant buildings associated with the cannery are the Bayside Cannery Office (907 Elizabeth Street) and the China Camp or Boarding House (906 Elizabeth Street). These structures are east of the main cannery building.
Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N588
Survey number: HABS CA-2686
Building/structure dates: 1929 Initial Construction