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# Out with the old, in with the new
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/out-with-the-old-in-with-the-new/
- Published: 2005-12-31T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T08:28:50.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Business, Santa Monica, #archive-import

The end of an era in the construction world ended in February when Fisher Lumber & Hardware closed its doors after 82 years in business. It was the only lumberyard left in the city.

Opened in 1923 by John W. Fisher and Dean Swartz, Santa Monica’s last remaining lumber yard was bought by City Hall in 2004 for $18.5 million. The three-acre property will be turned into open space adjoining Memorial Park.

John W. Fisher never owned the property his hardware store was built on. He rented it from the railroads. The business was sold to Tom Fox, namesake of the development north of San Vicente Boulevard and later to Bob Sievers, who in 1980 sold it to Weyerhaeuser Co., a major lumber company, Jorgensborg said. Weyerhaeuser bought the land from the railroads in 1994 and three years ago sold it off to developer K.C. Riverstone Ltd. Then City Hall took over.

But Eric Jorgensborg, the former general manager of the lumberyard, recognized the niche needed to be filled and reopened a smaller version of the lumberyard in November at a new location on Lincoln Boulevard.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 31, 2005.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/123105.pdf?ref=smdp.com)