The roots of Palace Art & Office Supply reach back to 1949 when the Trowbridge family purchased their first small gift and stationery shop located on Pacific Avenue in Santa Cruz, California. At that time there were two Palace stores – one in Santa Cruz and another in Monterey.

Colonel Frank Trowbridge, the patriarch of the Trowbridge family, operated the Santa Cruz Palace with his family and a few loyal employees who “came with the store,” specializing in personal care and small-town sensibilities. Over the years, the small store developed a loyal customer base. As his children grew, they worked in the store as well -- sweeping floors, stocking shelves and working the counter.

In the 1970s, a second Palace store was opened on 41st Avenue in Soquel. Both locations prospered and grew, and were remodeled several times to increase floor space and service capacity. The Commercial Sales Division began in the back room of the Soquel store -- eventually growing into an adjacent warehouse.

In 1988, the Commercial Sales Division (including corporate offices, warehouse and our shipping department) moved into a new 11,500 square foot facility off of Soquel Drive in Santa Cruz. The Soquel retail store subsequently moved further down 41st Avenue to Capitola, into a beautiful new 12,000 square foot “superstore.”

Palace and the Trowbridge family were instrumental in the development of some of the first organized office supply buying groups. These co-ops helped independently owned office supply companies pool their financial resources and distribution framework; giving them the buying power and infrastructure to remain competitive with the ever-growing corporate office supply companies while retaining their local ownership and community connections. Today, Palace is a member of the Independent Stationers Buying Group and B.P.G.I. International, with a combined end user sales of over $11 billion at 500 plus locations nationwide.

In May 1999, Palace began serving the entire central coast of California with the purchase of Office Warehouse commercial accounts from Morgan Hill to Soledad, and Santa Cruz to Carmel. In July, fifty years after the original purchase, Trowbridge Enterprises acquired the commercial business accounts of the Monterey Palace store, closing the circle and reuniting the two businesses.

In November 2000, the Palace store on Pacific Avenue in downtown Santa Cruz moved “up the avenue” into a larger and newly renovated facility. This relocation was the third move since 1949 – each move affording Palace more space to meet customer needs for art and office supplies.

The Commercial Sales Division welcomed 2001 with the acquisition of over 600 customer accounts from Office Warehouse located in San Benito County. This addition has increased Palace’s commercial accounts by over 20% to make Palace the largest, independent office supply company on the central coast.

"It is particularly rewarding to watch our business grow and continue to meet the needs of the community. It would be difficult to live in the Monterey Bay area and not feel uniquely blessed by the beauty of the natural environment, and the unique and diverse individuals living here. We appreciate the contribution that our employees and customers have made to our growth and success. Now, more than ever, we feel Palace is an integral part of the business landscape on the central coast - easily recognized and appreciated for the quality service and commitment we give our customers.

“We are proud that Palace has been family owned and operated for 50 years. As we move into the next century, the same family of people will be standing firmly behind Palace to insure its success; not just the Trowbridge family, but the growing family of dedicated and talented Palace employees. We are looking forward to the future as the Palace tradition continues.

“We thank you for the past 50 wonderful years ... and the 50 yet to come."

The Trowbridge Family