Weber's Bread bakery in Santa Ana

Kilpatrick's Bread Bakery stood about where a brick building is today at 2670 N. Main St, Santa Ana (From ad in Huntington Beach News, 11-1- 1928)

Although gone for over 45 years, the Interstate Bakers Corp complex (a.k.a. Weber's Bread Plant #28) is one of those Orange County spots that generates a lot of nostalgia and questions from the public. It was built in 1927 as a beautiful Spanish Colonial Revival at 2656 N. Main Street, along the State Highway (now Interstate 5) in Santa Ana. It was Kilpatrick's Bakery until March 1930, when numerous local industrial bakeries -- including Kilpatrick's and Weber’s -- amalgamated as the Interstate Bakers Corp. The factory would bake for many brands, including Millbrook, Weber's Bread, Dolly Madison, and Four S Bakery. 

Glass advertising slide from Colonial Theater, S. Glassell St, Orange, mid-1920s (Courtesy Orange Public Library. Thanks Roger Fitschen.)

From this point on, the names Weber Baking Co. and Interstate Bakers Corp. seem to be used almost interchangeably for the facility. Numerous additions were built onto the bakery, including in 1941, 1963, and an attached retail bakery store in 1968. 

The bakery is well-remembered by many who attended elementary school in Orange County during the 1960s. Back then, this facility was a popular place for class field trips. Busloads of students from schools as far aways as San Clemente and Olinda were brought to the bakery to see baked goods being made with all kinds of large-scale equipment. Each child got a piece of bread to eat while on the tour and received a whole free loaf of fresh Weber's Bread to take home to their family. *

North Main St. at the I-5 in Santa Ana, 1959

In a strange twist of corporate diversification, Interstate was acquired by Data Processing Financial & General Corp. in 1975. By 1978, most locals associated the place more for its "thrift bakery" retail shop than for the factory itself. And the Carter Era "malaise" made discounted day-old bread even more popular.

But it was also an era of corporate consolidations and streamlining. After closing the Main Street facility, Interstate Brands Corp. sold the property in 1980 to the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Santa Ana. Between city redevelopment efforts and new freeway expansions and overcrossings by the State, the entire area underwent significant change. Along with the nearby (and also-well-remembered) Skate Ranch, the bakery complex was soon demolished.

Snoopy shills for Weber's in a 1970s TV ad.

* - Thanks to Randy Goodno, Chris Farren, Duncan Wilson, and others who shared their school tour memories. For those under 50 who don't know what a "field trip" is,... Back in the days before Sacramento wrested most of the power and money away from local school districts (and before teaching was focused on standardized tests), California consistently ranked near the top among states for education. A small but not insignificant part of that education was taking children different places on "field trips," where they could learn about the world first-hand. They might learn how a goldfish farm worked, or how widgets were made in a factory. Or they might go to a museum or attend a classical or folk music concert. Having fun while learning was a good thing.