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In the early part of this century (20th) this was the third largest cannery in the world - next to Del Monte and Libby.

Prior to 1906 it was the Precita Canning Company. After the earthquake of that year, Thomas Foon Chen took over the business from his father and renamed it Bayside Cannery. Up to that time, it canned only tomatoes. Chen implemented techniques to effectively can asparagus while keeping it fresh and tender. He became known as the Asparagus King.

The death of Chen in 1931 combined with the depression, effectively ended the enterprise. In 1936 the cannery closed for good.

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