Los Angeles
County
Biographies
COSTANZO (JOE) COSTAMAGNA
A
rapidly rising young terrazzo business, C. Costamagna and Son, Inc., of which Costanzo (Joe) Costamagna is
president, was found in 1956 and is now approximately third in volume in
California. Terrazzo dates back to the
Egyptian tombs, and was perfected by the Italians, who brought the art to the
United States. In 1961 the company received
an award from the Pasadena Chapter of the American Institute of Architects for
outstanding excellence of craftsmanship in terrazzo.
Mr.
Costamagna was born on February 28, 1928, in Los Angeles, the son of Costanzo and Mary (Ferrero)
Costamagna, who both live in Alhambra.
The senior Mr. Costamagna is a native of Piedmont, Italy; his wife was
born in Los Angeles. Joe Costamagna
attended Emery Park Elementary School and Alhambra High School, graduating in
January of 1945. He served in the United
States Navy from 1945 until 1947, spending nineteen months overseas. At the time of his discharge he was a
quartermaster 2nd class.
After
completing his tour of duty with the Navy, Mr. Costamagna began a thorough
preparation for the position he holds today.
He worked for the Venetian Terrazzo Company for seven years, and in 1954
became superintendent for the terrazzo firm of J. Colavin
and Son. Mr. Costamagna applied for a
state license and started his own business in 1956; it became incorporated in
1960, and now employs close to thirty people.
Its yard and warehouse is in Alhambra. Mr. Costamagna’s
father, who is vice president in the company, has had forty-seven years’
experience in terrazzo work, starting with the original Consolidated Terrazzo
Company in Los Angeles soon after his arrival from Italy. The firm of C. Costamagna and Son has done
terrazzo work on the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, El Poche Restaurant in San Gabriel, and Wilson, Marshall and
Washington Junior High Schools. Their
largest finished contract is El Capitan High School in Lakeside; now in the
process of completion is their most ambitious project, Los Angeles State
College. Mr. Costamagna is a member of
the National Terrazzo and Mosaic Association.
Mrs.
Costamagna, the former Miss Sylvia Smith, came to California from Pennsylvania
with her parents in 1943, for her father’s health. In February of 1948, the secretary at the
Venetian Terrazzo Company, who was a friend of the Smith’s, introduced the
young ex-sailor, Joe Costamagna, to Miss Smith, who was then seventeen. They were married on September 11, 1948, in
All Saints Church in Los Angeles. Mrs.
Costamagna is secretary-treasurer of her husband’s firm, as well as a
stockholder. The Costamagna’s
are the parents of a daughter, Deborah Lynn, an outstanding student, and a
young son, Rick. Both children attend
Emperor Elementary School in San Gabriel, where Mrs. Costamagna is active in
the Parent-Teachers’ Association.
A
member of the San Juan Capistrano Beachcombers’ Club and the La Quinta Club in
Palm Springs, Mr. Costamagna enjoys outdoor activities: hunting, fishing, camping and boating as well
as bowling.
Transcribed by
V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Source:
Historical Volume & Reference Works Including Alhambra, Monterey Park,
Rosemead, San Gabriel & Temple City, by Robert P. Studer,
Pages 540-542, Historical Publ., Los Angeles, California. 1962.
© 2013 V. Gerald Iaquinta.
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NUGGET'S LOS ANGELES BIOGRAPHIES