Aerial view of Hooker Chemicals Plant on the tideflats. A recent merger brought Hooker Electrochemical Company of Tacoma and Niagara Falls, New York and the Detrex Corporation of Detroit, Michigan together, bringing a new company in the chemical industry to Tacoma. The Hooker-Dextrex plant can be seen towards the the top of the image (north), just lower left of the ship yard's water tower. Hooker companies were spread throughout 47 acres in Tacoma (T. Times, 2/26/1947 3B).

Aerial views; Aerial photographs; Waterfronts--Tacoma; Industrial facilities--Tacoma; Hooker Detrex, Inc. (Tacoma); Hooker Electrochemical Co. (Tacoma);

This aerial photograph from November 1948 shows the Hooker Electrochemical Company located at 605 Alexander Avenue on the Tacoma tideflats. The waterway above the plant, dotted with log booms, is the Hylebos Waterway. Small houses and businesses line the shore on the other side of the waterway along Marine View Drive. Hooker changed its name to Occidental Chemical Co. in 1982. In 1997 the company was purchased by Pioneer Companies Inc.; the plant closed in 2002. TPL-7977

Aerial photographs; Hooker Electrochemical Co. (Tacoma); Chemical industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Logs; Hylebos Waterway (Tacoma); Harbors--Tacoma; Factories--Tacoma--1940-1950;

An aerial view of the plant facility for Hooker Electrochemical Company located at 605 Alexander Avenue on the Tacoma tideflats. The Hylebos Waterway provided excellent accessibility with a company dock and a railroad spur running through the facility enhanced transportation even further. The Port of Tacoma sold an additional 20-acre site to Hooker Electrochemical in December 1951 for $56,400 according to George Osgood, manager of the Port. The property, including a 1,200-foot frontage on the Port-Industrial waterway, was to be used for further expansion of the chemical firm's Tacoma plant. (TNT, 12/16/1951, p.1)

Aerial photographs; Hooker Electrochemical Co. (Tacoma); Logs; Hylebos Waterway (Tacoma); Harbors--Tacoma; Factories--Tacoma--1940-1950; Chemical industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;

An aerial photograph of the Hooker Electrochemical plant in the Tideflats was taken on July 24, 1957, for possible order by the company. Storage tanks appear to be loaded on railroad cars on two parallel tracks. Hooker was the second chlor-alkali plant in the United States and the first caustic soda plant in the Pacific Northwest. This was apparently an aerial view of an area of Hooker Electrochemical Co. on Industrial Waterway.

Aerial photographs; Hooker Electrochemical Co. (Tacoma); Chemical industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;

ca. 1960. Aerial photograph of Hooker Electrochemical plant on Alexander Avenue in the Tideflats ca. 1960 Richards stock footage. Built on the site of the old Foundation shipyard, the Hooker plant opened in February, 1929. It played a leading part in Tacoma's industrial history for over sixty years. Company name was changed without comment to Occidental Chemical Corp. in 1982.

Hooker Electrochemical Co. (Tacoma); Chemical industry--Tacoma--1960-1970; Aerial photographs;

ca. 1960. Richards stock footage. Aerial photograph taken in 1960 of the Hooker Electrochemical Co. plant located at 605 Alexander Avenue on the Tacoma Tideflats. A ship is docked at the company dock on the Hylebos Waterway, ready to transport and transfer Hooker products. A railroad spur running through the facility also made transportation of Hooker chemicals an easier task.

Aerial photographs; Hooker Electrochemical Co. (Tacoma); Chemical industry--Tacoma--1960-1970; Hylebos Waterway (Tacoma); Harbors--Tacoma;

1967 Richards Studio stock file. May 2, 1967, aerial view in color of sprawling Hooker Chemical plant, 605 Alexander Ave., in the Tacoma tideflats. A ship is docked on the Hylebos Waterway next to the facility, ready to load and unload Hooker products. Easy access to water, rail and roadways was a factor in locating the large plant in Tacoma in 1928. Hooker was one of the primary suppliers to Pacific Northwest pulp and paper companies of chemicals used to bleach and refine wood pulp. Later it would also manufacture soap and refine petroleum products.

Aerial photographs; Hooker Electrochemical Co. (Tacoma); Chemical industry--Tacoma--1960-1970; Industrial facilities--Tacoma--1960-1970; Hylebos Waterway (Tacoma);

Aerial view on May 26, 1970, of the Tacoma industrial Tideflats, featuring Hooker Chemical and Hylebos Waterway. By 1970, Hooker had been in Tacoma for 41 years. It had begun in 1929 with production of 13 tons of chlorine a day and a work crew of 40. In 1969, production had increased to 400 tons with the aid of 300 employees. Hooker was the first to produce caustic soda. Chlorine and caustic soda were sold mostly to the pulp/paper industry in the Pacific Northwest. By 1969, Hooker Chemical was a wholly owned subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum. (TNT 2-2-69, B-8 -article) Photograph ordered by Hylebos Industries, Inc.

Aerial views; Hooker Electrochemical Co. (Tacoma); Chemical industry--Tacoma--1970-1980; Industrial facilities--Tacoma--1970-1980; Hylebos Waterway (Tacoma);