ca. 1893. Tacoma smelter. This photograph of the Tacoma Smelting & Refining Co. (previously named the Ryan Smelter) was taken for the New England Magazine and published in their February, 1893, issue. The smelter was owned by prominent businessman William R. Rust who had purchased it four years before. The smelter was originally built to produce lead but in a few short years, would become a major supplier of copper. A comparison of an earlier view of the smelter, taken circa 1888, now shows a completed pier on the right and an additional large building on the property. In 1905 the American Smelting & Refining Co. (ASARCO) bought the company and it remained an important part of Tacoma's economy until its closure in 1985. (New England Magazine - February, 1893 p.800) (See Rutter, image 01, for view of smelter circa 1888)

American Smelting & Refining Co. (Tacoma); Smelters--Tacoma; Industrial facilities--Tacoma;

ca. 1893. Tacoma smelter. This photograph of the Tacoma Smelting & Refining Co. (previously named the Ryan Smelter) was taken for the New England Magazine and published in their February, 1893, issue. The smelter was owned by prominent businessman William R. Rust who had purchased it four years before. The smelter was originally built to produce lead but in a few short years, would become a major supplier of copper. A comparison of an earlier view of the smelter, taken circa 1888, now shows a completed pier on the right and an additional large building on the property. In 1905 the American Smelting & Refining Co. (ASARCO) bought the company and it remained an important part of Tacoma's economy until its closure in 1985. (New England Magazine - February, 1893 p.800) (Scan of original print - no negative or print on file)

American Smelting & Refining Co. (Tacoma); Smelters--Tacoma; Industrial facilities--Tacoma;

ca. 1888. Tacoma smelter. This smelter on Ruston's waterfront was established as the Ryan Smelter in 1887 by Dennis Ryan. It was sold to William R. Rust in 1889 who then changed its name to the Tacoma Smelting & Refining Co. This photograph was taken around 1888 when the smelter was still in its early stages. Pilings jut out into the water at the right, tree stumps are abundantly scattered on the grounds, and the chimney in the photo's center was the first of three succeedingly larger smokestacks. The smelter would be sold to the American Smelting & Refining Co. (ASARCO) in 1905. (Print owned by Thomas Martin. Copy on file)

American Smelting & Refining Co. (Tacoma); Industrial facilities--Tacoma; Smelters--Tacoma;

Industrial building with laborer in hardhat working in the foreground.

An enormous Brute Crane manufactured by the Star Iron & Steel Co. of Tacoma balances both men on board and heavy loads of plywood in this customer print copied in September, 1963. The presence of other piles of plywood near the building under construction seem to indicate that the Brute Crane has already been put to good use. Photograph ordered by Star Iron & Steel Co.

Star Iron & Steel Co. (Tacoma); Hoisting machinery; Plywood; Building construction;

Damaged negative showning view of American Smelting & Refining Co. (ASARCO) looking toward Tacoma.

Smelters--Tacoma; American Smelting & Refining Co. (Tacoma);

Four tall smokestacks on an industrial building.

The American Smelting & Refining Co. (ASARCO Incorporated) Tacoma Plant. TPL-2353. Areas of the plant are labelled with arrows and typed notations. Typed notations read, left hand side, top to bottom: Main Stack, Silos, ESP'S (Hoppers), Flue, Metallic Arsenic Area, Arsenic Kitchens, Arsenic Roasters (Hoppers, Roaster Baghouse Hoppers, Herreshoff Roasters), Acid Plant Bldg (Settling Tanks & Basin), Fine Ore Storage (Settling, evaporation and neutralization impoundment Waste Piles), Liquid SO2 Plant. Across the top, left to right: Laboratory Container Storage, Reverberatory Furnaces, Oil Tanks, Refineries, Settling & Evaporation Basins. Right hand side, top to bottom: Slag Dump, Casting Furnace, Anode Furnaces, Nickel Plant, Converters, Unloading Dock, Crushing & Sampling Mill, Incinerator, and Ore Piles. TPL-2353, TPL-6246

American Smelting & Refining Co. (Tacoma); Smelters--Tacoma--1950-1960; Copper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Bushnell Co. of Jacksonville, Florida, supplied crane service to this tower under construction at an unspecified harbor in this undated photograph. Customer print was copied on September 17, 1963, for Star Iron & Steel Co. of Tacoma.

Star Iron & Steel Co. (Tacoma); Hoisting machinery;

A Brute Crane manufactured by the Star Iron & Steel Co. of Tacoma is in the process of hoisting lumber at the Seattle Export Lumber Co. There are piles of lumber on both sides of the crane. Date of original photograph is unknown; copy made on September 17, 1963.

Star Iron & Steel Co. (Tacoma); Hoisting machinery; Lumber; Seattle Export Lumber Co.;