Former Fremont Apple Factory's Historical Significance Under Consideration

Apple computers may no longer be made in the United States, but for a short period of time, Fremont was home to a facility that manufactured the original Macintosh computer.

And while Apple is still making history despite the 2011 death of co-founder and longtime CEO Steve Jobs, the City of Fremont is looking at the historical significance of its former Apple Computer, Inc. factory.

A presentation about the former factory’s history will be presented to the Fremont City Council at Tuesday's meeting.

Located at 48233 Warm Springs Blvd., the former manufacturing center includes three buildings that sit on 20 acres, according to the city documents.

It opened in January 1984 and continued to manufacture Macintosh computers for about two years until its operations relocated, but the facility continued to produce Apple products until it closed in September 1992, according to the Fremont City Council Oct. 2 agenda packet.

City staff noted that at the time of its operation, the factory was “one of the nation’s most automated plants” and had the ability to build a Macintosh “every 27 seconds.” See video footage filmed in front of the factory in the media gallery above.

According to the California Register of Historic Resources, a site must be at least 50 years old to be granted historical significance on a national level. But state and local levels can make exceptions if the building being considered “is associated with exceptional circumstances or of great importance,” according to the council agenda.

In Fremont, sites can be eligible as historic resources if its context is of historic significance. To secure a state and local historical significance, the city would have to prepare a Historic Resrouces Inventory form, which could cost anywhere between $30,000 and $45,000 for consultant services and internal staff management.

City officials note in the agenda that while the building of Macintosh computers in Fremont was brief, Jobs played a key role in developing the factory. His association with Apple was short during the lifetime of the factory and it is unknown at this time whether Jobs worked at the Warm Springs center.

City councilmembers won’t be asked to vote on the item.

The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at City Council Chambers, 3300 Capitol Ave., Building A. To see the full agenda, click here or view it in the Patch media gallery above.