A Vulcan Iron Works was established at 135 Fremont Street , San Francisco in 1850 during the California gold rush . The factory occupied the block bounded by Fremont , Mission , Howard , and First Streets . The factory maintained the name through a number of owners building boilers , steam engines , mining machinery , sawmills , and some relatively primitive steam locomotives for 19th century California railroads . It built the Oregon Pony in 1861 . The factory was destroyed by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake , but steel fabrication activities resumed on the site after the quake
1906 San Francisco earthquake
1906 San Francisco earthquake
Vulcan Iron Works