Old Soap Factory Begins Falling to Wrecking Ball

The empty shell of the old Procter & Gamble soap factory met its date with the wrecking ball last week. Chunks of concrete, clung together by steel reinforcing rods, began falling amid dust and rubble as a wrecking crew went to work. Below, Mike Gilliland of Bragg Crane Service makes sure the wrecking ball is securely fastened to its cable. The 34-acre property on West 7th Street has been sold to the Port of Long Beach and is being cleared for a new shipping terminal.

The factory was built in 1930 and opened in 1931. Its first product was Flakewhite shortening, followed by Oxydol and Dash soaps. The plant survived the Long Beach earthquake in 1933 and steadily expanded its capacity and products through the years, reaching its height in the early 1980s when the average daily production was 22,000 boxes of synthetic detergents, 13,000 cases of bar soap and 14,000 cases of food products. But on June 19, 1987, announcement was made that the plant would close, a victim of company economic strategy influenced by brand shifts, deregulation and competition from more and better manufacturing technologies. Procter & Gamble ceased operations on Oct. 2, 1988. Demolition by Diamond Pacific Co. is estimated to take about five months.