The Monrovia Historical Museum is proud to showcase this vintage, turn-of-the-century, 800-pound safe. It stands 36" tall and 24" wide and is currently displayed in our 'Lost Businesses of Monrovia' exhibit.
It was originally owned and used by the Monrovia Telephone and Telegraph Co. to store their cash payroll, and subsequently given to the Monrovia Van and Storage Company in exchange for services rendered. Click this link to read about them. We express our deepest gratitude to Don Samuels for this valuable piece of Monrovia history! See below to read its history.
Visit us on any Thursday or Sunday between 1:00-4:00pm to view this precious relic! (Note: we do have the combination to the safe and it is in working order, but due to its weight and vintage condition, we will not be able to allow visitors to try to lock and unlock it.)
It was originally owned and used by the Monrovia Telephone and Telegraph Co. to store their cash payroll, and subsequently given to the Monrovia Van and Storage Company in exchange for services rendered. Click this link to read about them. We express our deepest gratitude to Don Samuels for this valuable piece of Monrovia history! See below to read its history.
Visit us on any Thursday or Sunday between 1:00-4:00pm to view this precious relic! (Note: we do have the combination to the safe and it is in working order, but due to its weight and vintage condition, we will not be able to allow visitors to try to lock and unlock it.)
1903 MacNeale & Urban Company Safe (in Don Samuels' words)
Owner-Donor of the Artifact: Don Samuels, Diamond Bar, California
Donor's Connection to Monrovia: I was born and raised in Monrovia. My father and grandfather owned and operated Monrovia Van and Storage Company from the early 1940s to 1979.
How I Acquired this Item: From time to time the Telephone Company, on the 100 block of East Lime Avenue would call on Monrovia Van and Storage to move the safe from office to office. At some point in the mid-1950s the safe was no longer needed by the Telephone Company and it was offered to Monrovia Van and Storage for the cost of removing the safe from the premises. The safe was housed in the office of Monrovia Van and Storage at 141 East Colorado until 1979 when my father sold the business. The safe was not included in the sale and my father had no room for it at his home. So I "inherited" the safe and it has served as a conversation piece in my home for the last 45 years.
Description of the Safe: The safe is 36 inch tall by 24 inch wide and 24 inch deep and weighs around 800 pounds. The safe was manufactured by The MacNeale & Urban Company of Hamilton, Ohio. The MacNeale & Urban Company made their last safe in 1903. Therefore, the safe was made sometime between 1888 when the company moved to Hamilton, Ohio and 1903 when it ceased making safes. The safe has the words Monrovia Tel & Tel Co. painted in red and gold across the top.
Historical Background: The earliest reference to the Monrovia Telephone and Telegraph Company on the Monrovia Legacy site was 1914. The safe was probably purchased by the Telephone Company soon after it opened offices in Monrovia. The story I was told as a child by my father and grandfather was that in the early years of the Telephone Company, employees were paid in cash and that the safe was used to store the weekly payroll. I was also told that at sometime in the past, someone attempted to blast a hole in the bottom of the safe. A steel plate attached to the bottom of the safe Is evidence that there is some truth to this story. The safe was disposed of once the Telephone Company no longer needed it to safely store cash.
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Owner-Donor of the Artifact: Don Samuels, Diamond Bar, California
Donor's Connection to Monrovia: I was born and raised in Monrovia. My father and grandfather owned and operated Monrovia Van and Storage Company from the early 1940s to 1979.
How I Acquired this Item: From time to time the Telephone Company, on the 100 block of East Lime Avenue would call on Monrovia Van and Storage to move the safe from office to office. At some point in the mid-1950s the safe was no longer needed by the Telephone Company and it was offered to Monrovia Van and Storage for the cost of removing the safe from the premises. The safe was housed in the office of Monrovia Van and Storage at 141 East Colorado until 1979 when my father sold the business. The safe was not included in the sale and my father had no room for it at his home. So I "inherited" the safe and it has served as a conversation piece in my home for the last 45 years.
Description of the Safe: The safe is 36 inch tall by 24 inch wide and 24 inch deep and weighs around 800 pounds. The safe was manufactured by The MacNeale & Urban Company of Hamilton, Ohio. The MacNeale & Urban Company made their last safe in 1903. Therefore, the safe was made sometime between 1888 when the company moved to Hamilton, Ohio and 1903 when it ceased making safes. The safe has the words Monrovia Tel & Tel Co. painted in red and gold across the top.
Historical Background: The earliest reference to the Monrovia Telephone and Telegraph Company on the Monrovia Legacy site was 1914. The safe was probably purchased by the Telephone Company soon after it opened offices in Monrovia. The story I was told as a child by my father and grandfather was that in the early years of the Telephone Company, employees were paid in cash and that the safe was used to store the weekly payroll. I was also told that at sometime in the past, someone attempted to blast a hole in the bottom of the safe. A steel plate attached to the bottom of the safe Is evidence that there is some truth to this story. The safe was disposed of once the Telephone Company no longer needed it to safely store cash.
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