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1912 MSJ School
1926 Residence
1938 Cloverdale Creamery
1940 Dairy
1935 Newark Grocery
James Griffin
Randy Griffin
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A. O. Rix arrived in what is now the Irvington District of Fremont in 1852 bringing skills as a pattern maker and millwright from his home in New Hampshire. Soon he was in the business of making wagons and farm implements for the burgeoning agriculture industry, and then milling lumber and making cabinets for the ornamented Victorian homes that were to follow.
He was preceded by his father, Timothy, who in 1849 sailed around the Horn to the goldfields, but soon recognizing the future in the land, purchased a section of property, sold provisions to miners, and became the first post master in the area.
Alfred went on to build the Essannay Studios in Niles, where the early movies were made. Becoming a set designer and builder, he accompanied Charlie Chaplin in 1916 to Hollywood, where he continued constructing sets for the industry. Lee and Randolph went to France to fight in World War I; Lee dying there, being struck by artillery fire while building prisoner of war camps.
Randolph (R. A. Griffin) returned to Irvington, resuming the contracting business, designing and building homes, schools, dairy barns and commercial buildings in the Bay Area until retirement in 1963 when, in turn, his son Jim assumed leadership of the company.
Jim Griffin joined his father after graduating from UC Berkeley and spending a tour with the Navy in Panama, and has guided the company through changes and challenges of the last half of the twentieth century, expanding its operation to include the greater Bay Area, specializing in serving corporate and institutional clients on a repeat basis. Jim's sister, Helen, is an architect. | ||
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