San
Joaquin County
Biographies
LOUIS CALESTINI
An enterprising realtor of Stockton,
Louis Calestini, as a former member of the firm of Triolo & Calestini, and
more recently of the Louis Calestini Real Estate Company, has become one of the
active promoters of country and city property in this locality. A native Californian, he was born in San
Francisco, California, on November 15, 1884, a son of Luige and Clementina (Reboli) Calestini, both natives of Italy. Luige Calestini came to California in early
days and conducted a grocery store in Stockton.
At the age of six, Louis Calestini
was taken back to Italy to be educated, and for eight years attended the
grammar and high schools of Parma. After
finishing high school, he became a special writer on a weekly newspaper in
Spezia, writing special articles on the “Life of the Students.” In 1902 he returned to America and located in
New York City, where he worked for the Butterick Pattern Company for two
years. At the end of this time he came
to California and became the receiving clerk for the Italian-Swiss Colony
Company in San Francisco, which position he occupied until 1908, when he became
a real estate salesman. Close attention
to business and hard work brought him considerable success, and three years
later, in 1911, a partnership was formed with John P. Triolo in the real estate
and insurance business under the firm name of Triolo & Calestini. Success crowned their intelligent efforts;
and many large real estate deals, in city and country property, were
consummated by them. During the past
five years, they erected and sold twelve business blocks, among them being the
following: the Realty Building, the
Japanese Theater, a four-story Japanese lodging house, the Nippon
Hospital. They have also built thirty
fine residences and a number of apartment houses throughout the city. They erected seven buildings on Lafayette
Street between Hunter and Center streets.
Some of their buildings they have sold the second time at a handsome
profit. The J. C. Penney block on East
Main Street netted the owner a profit of $9,000 in two years. They sold the Bronx Hotel and the Masonic
Temple building, and the Hodgkin block on the southeast corner of El Dorado and
Weber. They also sold over 200 lots in
the business section of Stockton on which business blocks have been
erected. The two-story business block on
South California Street, where their office was located, was owned by them. Country property also received their
attention, as they bought, developed and sold many dairy and fruit ranches
throughout the county. At one time they
owned a seventy-acre dairy ranch on the Calaveras River near Linden, which was
stocked with one of the best herds of Holstein cows in the county. The firm ranked among the first in the city
and county. Recently Mr. Calestini
withdrew from the firm, and is now doing business under the firm name of Louis
Calestini Real Estate Company.
Mr. Calestini’s
marriage united him with Miss Mary Gianelli, a native Californian, and they are
the parents of two children, Leo and Elma.
Mr. Calestini has recently returned from a fifteen-month trip to
Italy. He was accompanied on the trip by
his family, visiting places of interest throughout Europe.
Transcribed by V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Pages
1482-1483. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2012 V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Golden Nugget Library's San Joaquin County Biographies
Golden Nugget Library's San Joaquin County Genealogy
Databases