Airstream California Plant History Lesson

Did you know that Airstream had two California plants in operation in the 1950s each producing their own separate Airstreams? One plant was located at 1755 N. Main St. in Los Angeles while the other was located at 12804 E. Firestone Blvd. When the E. Firestone plant first opened in 1956 it was located in an unincorporated section of the county. The nearest post office at that time was in Norwalk, so that was the city used in the plant's address. In 1958 the area surrounding and including the plant was incorporated into Santa Fe Springs. This is why you see California serial number plates with three different city locations in the 1950s, though the Norwalk plant never actually moved.

My 1958 Overlander has a Norwalk serial number plate. Apparently, Airstream had an excess supply of Norwalk serial number plates until at least August of 1958 (I located a Flying Cloud built in August that displayed a Norwalk plate http://www.vintageairstream.com/archives1/58FC/1958FlyingCloud_228604/index.html) when they started installing the Santa Fe Springs serial number plates. As you can see this difference in city names is one way to distingquish early from late 1958 Airstreams built at the E. Firestone plant. In addition, the Sante Fe Springs serial number plate looks identical to the Norwalk plate, at least they did in late 1958 and in 1959.

Fast forward to 2011. Vintage Trailer Supply didn't stock the proper 1950s Norwalk serial number plate--until now. Steve Hingtgen, owner of Vintage Trailer Supply, contacted me on AIR FORUMS about making a new serial number plate with the Norwalk street address. Based on the images I've provided, he is currently working on producing this serial number plate for the Airstream community. Way to go, Steve!

The bottom line is that if you have a California built 1950s Airstream and you need a new serial number plate make sure that the city and address match the original. This is a vitally important part of your Airstream's history.

Oh yeah. You may have wondered what happened to the Airstream plants in California. The Los Angeles plant at 1755 N. Main St. closed in 1960 (Pee Wee Schwamborn said he could still see the faint outline of an Airstream on the old brick building in 1990) and in December 1967 Airstream opened a new plant in Cerritos, CA at 15949 Puima Ave. After Airstream moved into the Cerritos plant, the Norwalk/Sante Fe Springs plant was sold to a pipe company with the building used as a warehouse. Several years later, the building was leveled to construct an auto mall. The Cerritos plant remained in operation until 1979 when the plant was closed for good. Today all Airstreams are made in Jackson Center, Ohio.