There are not many businesses in the county that can boast of providing the same service to Marin residents from the same location for more than 100 years. The Fairfax Garage is one of those concerns. Even though there have been numerous proprietors over the decades, the garage on Sir Francis Drake Blvd. in downtown Fairfax has been servicing automobiles and trucks since 1916. The first owner, Ermengildo Pordon is pictured above in front of the garage bearing his name. According to a ship manifest passenger list, Mr. Pordon immigrated to the United States from Italy in 1899 at the age of thirteen with his brother, Fortunata, and $20 in his pocket. By 1913, Pordon, a self-taught toolmaker, owned and operated the Montgomery Garage on Jackson St. in San Francisco. Three years later he opened the Fairfax Garage in a building constructed by the Rocca Brothers real estate and construction firm. The Rocca’s had built the Cascades, Fairfax Heights, Fairfax Manor, and Fairfax Park developments and several buildings in downtown Fairfax.
1916 was a banner year for the 33-year-old Pordon as he entered a partnership on his garage in San Francisco, got married on November 30th and opened the Fairfax garage by the end of the year. The San Francisco Call newspaper announced the wedding of Ermengildo to Rose Boles of Alameda. The couple took up residence in Berkeley and had a son, Ferris, born in July of 1918. The Fairfax Garage not only serviced and repaired cars and trucks but was also the county agent for the REO automobile company. R. E. O. were the initials of its founder, Ransom E. Olds who was a pioneer and innovator in the early automobile industry. The Pordons sold the business by 1920 and Ermengildo was listed in the census of that year as being a toolmaker at a foundry and still living in Berkeley with Rose and Ferris.
From 1921-1926 the garage changed hands often. One L.A. Sharrow was the owner in 1921, M. Williams in 1922, and A. Martinelli and L. L. Shimmer in 1923. In 1926 they sold it
to Earnest A. Ford who had previously run the Valley Garage in San Anselmo. Ford continued as owner for 15 years until selling it to his manager and shop foreman, L. A. Macleod in 1941. A subsequent owner, Anthony Costello sold the business to Attilio ‘Babe’ DeMaestri in 1963 and the DeMaestri family ran the business until selling to Daniel Costa in 2016. Mr. Costa operates Marin Automotive repair shop and leases space in the building to Chris Collins for his Fairfax Garage Autobody business. Both have been long-time Fairfax automobile specialists.
And the Pordons? Ermengildo and Rose moved to Contra Costa County in the late 1920s and bought a farm which they worked for over two decades. Their names continued to appear in Bay Area society papers throughout the 1930s and 1940s. Ermengildo died at age 87 in 1972 and Rose in 1983 at the age of 88. They are buried together at the Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Lafayette, CA.
(Originally appeared as History Watch article in the Marin Independent Journal)