An aerial view of Philadelphia Quartz' plant on the Tacoma tideflats. Philadelphia Quartz, with its plants in Berkeley, Los Angeles and Tacoma, was the leading producer of soluble silicates. Its products were used in paper mills, soaps, detergents, high octane gasoline, plywood, corrugated boxes and television sets. Silicates were the unknown product that made modern conveniences possible.

Chemical industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Minerals; Philadelphia Quartz Co. of California (Tacoma); Aerial photographs;

An aerial view of Philadelphia Quartz' plant on the Tacoma tideflats. Philadelphia Quartz was one of the leading producers of soluble silicates. The company had plants in Berkeley, Los Angeles and Tacoma. The silicates were components of the adhesives used in plywood production and corrugated paper board for the container industry. They were used in city and industrial waterways to clarify raw and waste water and stop rusting.

Chemical industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Minerals; Philadelphia Quartz Co. of California (Tacoma); Aerial photographs;

Aerial view of Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Company facilities in Portland, Oregon. President Fred C. Shanaman reported that with the addition of the new facilities for manufacture of chlorine, caustic soda and technical DDT, production at the Portland plant increased substantially in 1947; photo ordered by John Baker, Superintendent of Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Company of Washington, Tacoma plant.

Chemical industry--Oregon--Portland; Chemicals; Industrial facilities--Oregon--Portland; Aerial photographs; Aerial views; Waterfronts; Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Co. (Portland, Or.);

Progress photograph, new building at Stauffer Chemical Company. Stauffer Chemical Company was just getting into production on the tideflats, manufacturing superphosphate fertilizer. The new plant would serve a market area of 200 miles with approximately 30,000 tons of its product a year. The Barthel Chemical Construction Company had installed lined acid tanks for Stauffer Chemical at this time. The plant was built on a 40 acre tract on the tideflats at the location of the old Rainier Steel facility. (TNT, 2/14/1950, p.A-7; 9/13/1949, clipping)

Stauffer Chemical Co. (Tacoma); Chemical industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Progress photographs; Building construction--Tacoma--1950-1960; Barthel Chemical Construction Co. (Tacoma);

Stauffer Chemical Co. opened a half million dollar plant in the spring of 1950 for the production of super phosphate fertilizer. The big chemical plant, erected on 14 acres of a 40 acre tract on the Tideflats, utilized phosphate rock from Wyoming and sulphuric acid from the newly constructed American Smelting and Refining acid plant to create super phosphate commercial fertilizer for a Pacific Northwest market area of 200 miles. The plant included a tank farm, mixing building, bulk storage facilities, finished product warehouses and office building. Phosphate storage towers and rail delivery system shown to the left of this picture. The original plant employed 20-30 and was capable of turning out 250 tons of fertilizer daily. The plant was expanded in 1955 to produce liquid aluminum sulphate.

Stauffer Chemical Co. (Tacoma); Chemical industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Fertilizer industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Opening of Stauffer Chemical Company. Dignitaries attending the opening ceremonies were given lab coats to keep clean while thery toured the chemical facilities. Tacoma was a phosphate fertilizer plant. Stauffer Chemical had two other phosphate fertilizer plants in Richmond and Vernon, California. Ordered by Wilson & George Meyer & Company.

Stauffer Chemical Co. (Tacoma); Chemical industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Opening of Stauffer Chemical Company. Ordered by Wilson & George Meyer & Company. Visiting dignitaries attending the opening of Stauffer Chemical's Tacoma plant are greeted by a young woman. A large bouquet stands beside the guest book on the wooden table.

Stauffer Chemical Co. (Tacoma); Chemical industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Opening of Stauffer Chemical Company. The exterior of the loading dock can be seen where a truck from the Tacoma Feed Company has backed in for loading. Dignitaries are being given a tour of the facilities. A railroad car sits next to the building and railroad tracks are seen crossing the yard. Materials could be delivered to and from the plant easliy. Ordered by Wilson & George Meyer & Company.

Stauffer Chemical Co. (Tacoma); Chemical industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Railroad freight cars--Tacoma; Railroad tracks--Tacoma;

Opening of Stauffer Chemical Company. Several men are visiting one of the labs at the new Tacoma plant. Quality control was maintained with frequent tests. Research and development of the company's products was mainly carried out at their Los Altos, California, and Chauncey, New York, research centers. Ordered by Wilson & George Meyer & Company.

Stauffer Chemical Co. (Tacoma); Chemical industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Laboratories--Tacoma;

Opening of Stauffer Chemical Company. Three men are enjoying a reception that was part of the opening of the new Tacoma fertilizer plant. Ordered by Wilson & George Meyer & Company.

Stauffer Chemical Co. (Tacoma); Chemical industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Receptions--Tacoma--1950-1960; Business people--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Opening of Stauffer Chemical Company. Dignitaries attending the opening of the Tacoma plant were given an opportunity to view the bag filling operations. Once a bag was filled at an upper level it was sewn shut and delivered to workers via a conveyor system. Bags were stacked on pallets and several bags are seen stacked against the far wall. Ordered by Wilson & George Meyer & Company.

Stauffer Chemical Co. (Tacoma); Chemical industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Conveying systems--Tacoma;

Opening of Stauffer Chemical Company. Several of Stauffer's leaders pose for a group portrait during the opening festivities of the company's new Tacoma fertilizer plant. The company manufactured agricultural chemicals including soil sterilants, insecticides, soil conditioners, and NPP fertilizer combinations based on superphosphate. Ordered by Wilson & George Meyer & Company.

Stauffer Chemical Co. (Tacoma); Chemical industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Business people--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Opening of Stauffer Chemical Company. Ordered by Wilson & George Meyer & Company. Tacoma Feed Company have backed their Diamond T delivery truck up to the loading dock to receive a load of superphosphate.

Stauffer Chemical Co. (Tacoma); Chemical industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Trucks--Tacoma--1950-1960; Diamond T trucks; Tacoma Feed Co. (Tacoma);

Opening of Stauffer Chemical Company. A workman is dwarfed by the huge piles of raw materials and a crane for moving the materials. The Tacoma plant made superphosphate using phosphate rock from its Leef, Wyoming, location and sulphuric acid from the Tacoma Smelter. The plant was capable of turning out 250 tons of fertilizer daily. Ordered by Wilson & George Meyer & Company. (TNT, 5/9/1950, clipping)

Stauffer Chemical Co. (Tacoma); Chemical industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Opening of Stauffer Chemical Company in Tacoma. A workman standing on a pile of phosphate rock directs another workman in moving the overhead crane. Various fertilizers made at the Tacoma branch were stored for curing and moved by the large clamshell to the milling units during shipping seasons. Both bulk and bagged material moved out during spring and fall seasons to farmers and mixers throughout the state of Washington and Oregon via truck and rail. Stauffer Chemical manufactured Captan fungicide, Vapam soil sterilant, herbicide and insecticide formulations, aluminum sulphate, titanium tetrachloride and pelleted mixed fertilizers. As of 1956 they had plants in 44 locations. Ordered by Wilson & George Meyer & Company. (TNT, 5/16/1955, clipping)

Stauffer Chemical Co. (Tacoma); Chemical industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Opening of Stauffer Chemical Company. Ordered by Wilson & George Meyer & Company. Two men are admiring the quality of the superphosphate manufactured at Stauffer Chemical. Superphosphate is a soluble mixture of phosphates used as fertilizer and is made from insoluble mineral phosphates by treatment with sulfuric acid.

Stauffer Chemical Co. (Tacoma); Chemical industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Fertilizers--Tacoma;

Directors' Meeting, Hooker Chemical Company. Attendees of the Hooker Chemical Company's directors meeting stand on a whart in front of a moored boat. This may be the company dock on the Hylebos Waterway. Plant manager John D. Rue has been identified as the third man from the left in back row. Plant superintendent A.J. Rosengarth is the fifth from left, back row.

Hooker Electrochemical Co. (Tacoma); Chemical industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Meetings--Tacoma--1950-1960; Rue, John D.; Rosengarth, A.J.;

Directors' Meeting at Hooker Chemical Company on Halloween, 1950. Group of men including Tacoma executive staff standing on railroad tracks next to Hooker, Tacoma, tank car. This is probably at the Hooker Co. plant at 605 Alexander Ave. Not only did the company have a dock on the Hylebos Waterway but they also had a railroad spur running through the facility to make transport of Hooker chemicals easier and more efficient. Plant manager John D. Rue is extreme left in front row, sales manager Albert Hooker, Jr., is fifth from left in front and plant superintendent A.J. Rosengarth is on the extreme right, front row. This photograph appears in the book "Salt & Water, Power & People," a short history of the Hooker Electrochemical Co., and names of the individuals are listed within. (Thomas: Salt & Water, Power & People, p. 94) (Additional information provided by a reader)

Hooker Electrochemical Co. (Tacoma); Chemical industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Meetings--Tacoma--1950-1960; Railroad tank cars--Tacoma--1950-1960; Rue, John D.; Hooker, Albert H.; Rosengarth, A.J.;

Philadelphia Quartz Company, established in 1942, was the only sodium silicate plant in the Tacoma area. Belgian silica sand and California soda ash were chemically combined to obtain the product sold largely in Tacoma but marketed also in other Northwest cities. Silicate of soda, water-glass to farm households, was used in adhesives for the plywood industry and corrugated paper-board for the container industry. Televisions of the time required potassium silicates to produce the phosphor screen in the picture tubes. Philadelphia Quartz was headquartered in Berkeley, California. (TNT, 2/17/1948, p.6-A; 5/17/1954; 5/16/1955)

Chemical industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Minerals; Philadelphia Quartz Co. of California (Tacoma);

Smokestack, storage tanks at Hooker Chemical Co., Tacoma, on September 10, 1951. Part of series taken that date concerning Hooker Chemical and conveyor link belt system.

Hooker Electrochemical Co. (Tacoma); Chemical industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Smokestacks--Tacoma; Storage tanks--Tacoma;

Industrial sections of the City of Tacoma. Hooker Electrochemical Company. Artistic exposure of brick buildings framed by the massive wrought iron gates of the plant. The plant was built on the site of the old Foundation Shipyard and opened in February of 1929. Photograph was taken on February 15, 1938, nearly nine years from its establishment.

Hooker Electrochemical Co. (Tacoma); Chemical industry--Tacoma--1930-1940; Gates--Tacoma;

Pennsalt; Plant & employees for magazine. This appears, from the large number of adding machines, to be the accounting department. Construction of the Pennsylvania Salt plant began in 1928; production of chemicals began in 1929. The 40 acre Tacoma plant was the western headquarters for the Philadelphia, Pa., parent company. Raw materials were brought to the plant by ship and rail. Pennsalt was the major consumer of city water and power.

Chemical industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Co. of Washington (Tacoma)--Employees;

Pennsalt; Plant & employees for magazine. President and general manager Fred C. Shanaman sits at the desk. Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Co., with 40 acres on the Hylebos Waterway, was one of the larger plants in the Tideflats industrial section of Tacoma. It was the Western headquarters for its parent company, the world's largest chemical manufacturing firm. The company had other branches at Portland and Bryan, Texas. Together, the three branches produced an estimated 6 million dollars worth of products annually. The main products were sodium arsenate, hydrogen & sodium hypochlorite, chlorine salt, caustic soda and DDT. These products were used in pulp, paper, plywood and soap manufacturing and in sanitation.

Chemical industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Co. of Washington (Tacoma)--Employees; Shanaman, Frederick Charles, 1901-1982;

Pennsalt; Plant & employees for magazine. As the western headquarters for Pennsylvania Salt, the Tacoma plant also employed a large office staff. This group may have been attached to the sales department. The chemicals produced at Pennsalt were sold mainly to pulp, paper, plywood and soap manufacturers.

Chemical industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Co. of Washington (Tacoma)--Employees;

Kaiser Aluminum Chemical Plant at Trentwood, near Spokane. Photographed is what was, in 1953, the world's largest aluminum plate stretcher. The giant stretcher allowed the company to produce enormous sizes of stretched plate for the aircraft, and other, industries. The Trentwood plant, at 53 acres, was the largest facility of its kind in the west.

Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp. (Spokane); Aluminum industry--Spokane--1950-1960;

Kaiser Aluminum Chemical Plant at Trentwood, near Spokane. The Trentwood aluminum plate and sheet rolling mill covered 53 acres, the largest facility of its kind in the west. Almost all metal produced in Tacoma was shipped by rail to Trentwood. The machine pictured was, in 1953, the world's largest aluminum plate stretcher. The giant stretcher permitted the company to furnish aircraft and other industries with stretched aluminum plates in sizes never before available.

Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp. (Spokane); Aluminum industry--Spokane--1950-1960;

Hooker Electrochemical Company. Railroad barge and tug "Mogul". Barge loaded with Hooker chemical tanks. Waterway in the foreground.

Chemical industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Hooker Electrochemical Co. (Tacoma); Barges; Shipping--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Hooker Electrochemical Company. Railroad barge owned by Griffco and tug "Mogul" moored side by side at wharf. Barge loaded with Hooker chemical tanks. Railroad yard in background.

Chemical industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Hooker Electrochemical Co. (Tacoma); Barges; Shipping--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Hooker Electrochemical Company. Railroad barge and tug. Barge loaded with Hooker chemical tanks. Night scene. Man walking along barge with waterway in background.

Chemical industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Hooker Electrochemical Co. (Tacoma); Barges; Shipping--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Hooker Electrochemical Company. Railroad barge and tug "Mogul." Barge loaded with Hooker chemical tanks. Scene from waterway with railroad yard in background. Photograph is from September of 1953.

Chemical industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Hooker Electrochemical Co. (Tacoma); Barges; Shipping--Tacoma--1950-1960; Tugboats--Tacoma--1950-1960;