Here is the Frisco Standard Shop in Oakland, California, circa 1912. The Standard Gas Engine Company was prospering when this photograph was taken. This is the South half of the assembling floor, which was 240 feet long and 40 feet wide. This was just part of the factory. A similar-size area housed the stock and packing room while the floor above contained machinery and small engine assembly areas. In common with other California-built engines, the 'Frisco Standard was a heavy-duty, four-cycle, equipped with make-and-break ignition.

The Standard Gas Engine Company of San Francisco is not to be confused with the Standard Motor Company of Jersey City, New Jersey, another early manufacturer of marine engines.

You can read more about these companies and their engines in Engines Afloat, From Early Days to D-Day.

Water conditions were just about ideal on the Mighty Mississippi when Miss Detroit II sped to victory in the 1917 Gold Cup event. The boat was powered by a remarkable 8-cylinder Sterling marine engine, and you'll find the fascinating story of this company told in detail in the chapter "Faster" in Engines Afloat Volume 1.

All the marvels of a West Coast, four-cycle, make-and-break ignition marine engine are present in the immaculately restored 'Frisco Standard. An entire chapter of Volume 1 of Engines Afloat is devoted to the history of California engine companies.