Silo and metal scaffolding at the Riegel Carolina Paper & Pulp Mill with a small brick shed and mounds of organic material in the distance.

Industrial piping at the Riegel Carolina Paper & Pulp Mill.

Large container for Hooker Chemicals with slightly pronounced lettering.

ca. 1956. Kaiser Aluminum plant. The Tacoma plant was a reduction plant, where treated ore (alumina) was subjected to an electrical current, dividing the oxygen from the pure metal (aluminum.) The plant employed approximately 500 workers, who worked on a 24 hour, around the clock basis. Its payroll was over $2,000,000 a year, and it purchased more than $1,300,000 of Northwest materials, supplies and services in a year. It was part of the Kaiser Industries conglomerate founded by Henry J. Kaiser, a diverse group of businesses that included paving, dam construction, ship building, the production of aluminum, steel, cement and other building materials, automobile production and Kaiser foundation heath care. (Kaiser Aluminum News, August 1956 and "The Kaiser Story")

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

ca. 1956. Kaiser Aluminum plant. Molten metal is being poured from a vat into a mold to form "pigs." The Tacoma plant was an aluminum reduction facility. It produced the pig aluminum from treated ore. Each "pig" weighs 50 pounds and contains higher that 99% pure aluminum. The Bonneville Power Administration provided the abundant power needed to produce the metal by electrolysis. (Kaiser Aluminum News, August 1956)

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

ca. 1956. Kaiser Aluminum plant. The Tacoma plant was located on the Tideflats, about 5 miles north of downtown Tacoma. Its proximity to the Bonneville Power Administration made it the perfect location for producing aluminum from ore by electrolysis. Dissolved in solution in long lines of reductions cells ("pots"), alumina is subjected to electrical current. Chemicals recombine, aluminum separates from its oxygen and settles as pure metal. Tacoma was part of a "mill to mill" operation, the alumina was shipped by rail in from Baton Rouge, La., and the finished aluminum was railed out to Kaiser's Trentwood rolling mill 300 miles to the East. (Kaiser Aluminum News, August 1956)

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

ca. 1956. In 1956, an employee at Tacoma's Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp. plant used an overhead crane to hold a crucible of molten aluminum and pour the liquid metal into a casting mold. The Tacoma plant was originally built in 1942 for the Olin Corporation. Kaiser took over the plant in 1946 and spent over $3 million to expand and modernize the facility in 1952. It was an aluminum reduction facility. It produced pig aluminum from treated ore. The pigs weighed either 50 or 1,000 pounds. Most were sent by rail to Kaiser's Rolling mill at Trentwood, near Spokane, where they were converted into sheets and products. Some went directly to the more than 500 independent aluminum fabricators in the Pacific Northwest, who consumed the pigs directly in the operation of their own remelt and rolling mills. Kaiser closed their Tacoma plant on the tideflats in 2000. (Kaiser Aluminum News, August 1956)

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

Kaiser Aluminum; new pot room building. Dumping anode paste, arc building. Kaiser's newest facility contained 18 large "pots" or electrolytic cells, which would add 10 million pounds annually to plant production. Power would be supplied to the cells by the Bonneville Power Administration on a interruptible basis. (TNT 4/16/1956, pg. 21)

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

Kaiser Aluminum; new pot room building. Checking cathode bus, arc building. The new building contained 18 new "super size" reduction pots or electrolytic cells. These cells would boost the plant's annual production by more than 10 million pounds and increase payroll by more than $100,000. This addition will bring the corporate primary aluminum capacity in the Northwest to 429 million pounds annually. As the 5th largest employer in the state, Kaiser paid more than 31 1/2 million dollars in wages in 1955 at their Spokane and Tacoma plants. (TNT 4/16/1956, pg. 21)

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

Kaiser Aluminum; exterior of new pot room building. This reduction plant will become the newest facility to receive power when the the switches are thrown to 18 new "super size pots" or electrolytic reduction cells. Power will be supplied by the Bonneville Power Administration on an interruptible basis. The 18 extra "pots" will boost the plant's production by 10 million pounds annually. (TNT 4/16/1956, pg. 21)

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

Company officials and contractors stand in front of a sign welcoming Reichhold Chemicals, Inc.'s Tacoma plant on February 15, 1956. Reichhold were manufacturers of chemicals for Pacific Northwest industries. In the background is the first train to run on a new railroad spur into Tacoma from the chemical plant. Those in the photograph are: Richard Rose, Tacoma representative for Reichhold, Ernie Skyeta, general manager of the Northwest Division of Reichhold, Harold Warner, Seattle plant manager in charge of construction, and Ed Ekrem, general contractor. Photograph ordered by Reichhold Chemicals, Inc.

Reichhold Chemicals, Inc. (Tacoma); Railroad locomotives--Tacoma--1950-1960; Signs (Notices);

Reichhold Chemicals was constructing a new plant in the Tideflats in early 1956. It was a national company, based in White Plains, New York. A group of five railway employees stand in front of the Tacoma Belt Line #905 engine and boxcars. Reichhold would have rail transport directly from its plant, facilitating delivery of its products. Photograph ordered by Reichhold Chemicals, Inc.

Reichhold Chemicals, Inc. (Tacoma); Railroad locomotives--Tacoma--1950-1960; Railroad freight cars--Tacoma--1950-1960;

For their plant safety campaign, Kaiser Aluminum used this young unidentified bikini clad model to demonstrate the correct way to use a gas hole bar in December of 1955. Besides her swimsuit she wore fireproof covers over her shoes, thick gloves, safety glasses and a hard hat. Six metal poles labeled "pot rake, puddle rake, pot skimmer, smasher, stud straightener, gas hole bar" are on a cart behind her. A simplified painting of Kaiser's industrial facility on the tideflats, complete with Mt. Rainier, served as a backdrop. Photograph ordered by Kaiser Aluminum.

Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp. (Tacoma); Aluminum industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Equipment; Fashion models--Tacoma--1950-1960;

A swimsuit model may be demonstrating proper lifting techniques for Kaiser Aluminum's December, 1955, safety programs. She is in a squatting position attempting to pick up a hundred pound bag of Kaiser chemicals bagged in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Although she is not wearing much clothing, she does protect her hands and eyes with the proper safety equipment. Photograph ordered by Kaiser Aluminum.

Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp. (Tacoma); Aluminum industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Chemical industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Fashion models--Tacoma--1950-1960;

A Hooker Electrochemical Co. employee carefully monitors the gauges that demonstrate the company's automatic bleach liquor system on November 30, 1955. Hooker may have set up this equipment for a show of some kind. The apparatus is safely protected from the elements by a prefabricated patio cover. Photograph ordered by Hooker Electrochemical.

Hooker Electrochemical Co. (Tacoma); Chemical industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Machinery; Signs (Notices);

Kaiser Aluminum manufactured chemical products as well as aluminum and steel. In this November 18, 1955, photograph, a fashion model is shown raking Calcined Alumina with a long metal apparatus. Kaiser used models for their safety programs, possibly to ensure that employees would be paying attention to the warnings and instructions. This model, although wearing a regulation hard hat and sturdy boots, is dressed simply in a colorful two-piece swimsuit. Photograph ordered by Kaiser Aluminum. TPL-9097

Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp. (Tacoma); Fashion models--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Arms akimbo, this barefoot model stretches on tiptoes during a November 18, 1955, Kaiser Aluminum photo shoot. Kaiser employed models for their safety programs. This young model is only wearing a brief swimsuit although she is wearing a regulation Kaiser hard hat. Photograph ordered by Kaiser Aluminum.

Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp. (Tacoma); Fashion models--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Kaiser Aluminum used models to demonstrate safety programs. The model pictured in this November 18, 1955, photograph is wearing a hard hat but otherwise is barefoot and dressed only in a two-piece bathing suit. She is grasping a long metal apparatus which may have been used as a raking tool. Photograph ordered by Kaiser Aluminum.

Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp. (Tacoma); Fashion models--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp. At Kaiser's Tacoma reduction plant, ore is carefully analyzed. Dick Hildebrandt, plant chemist, performs an analysis of petroleum pitch, used in the production of carbon anodes for the electrolytic aluminum reduction process. One of the plant's largest regional purchases in 1954 was $214,000 worth of petroleum pitch. (TNT 5/16/1955, pg. 11)

Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp. (Tacoma); Aluminum industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Hildebrandt, Dick;

Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp. Pig aluminum, stacked and banded, is being loaded onto railroad cars for transportation to Kaiser's Trentwood, Wa. rolling mill to be made into a finished product. The Tacoma plant was an aluminum reduction facility. It produced the pig aluminum from treated ore. Each "pig" weighs 50 pounds and contains higher that 99% pure aluminum. The plant capacity in 1953 was 64 1/2 million pounds a year. (TNT 9/5/1955, pg. C-8)

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

Pennsalt, exposure of man reutering.

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

Hooker Electrochemical Company. Railroad barge and tug. Barge owned by Griffco loaded with Hooker chemical tanks. Tug "Mogul" out of Vancouver, B.C. in foreground. Railroad yard, shacks, waterway, roads, and bridges appear 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 of men connecting large hose lines which are spread along wharf and onto tank cars.

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;

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 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 "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;

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;

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;

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;