ca. 1953. Launching of naval ship #445, the U.S.S. Force, with the skyline of downtown Tacoma in the background. The all wood craft was the fourth of nine contracted 171 foot Naval minesweepers to be built by J.M. Martinac Shipbuilding. Mrs. Thomas D. Wilson, wife of a Navy Captain, served as sponsor and christened the ship with the ceremonial champagne. The band from the U.S.S. Essex played "Anchors Aweigh" as the ship slid down the ways. (TNT 6/21/1953, pg. B-2 & 6/27/1953, pg. 1)

Launchings--Tacoma--1950-1960; Boat & ship industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; J.M. Martinac Shipbuilding Corp. (Tacoma);

ca. 1953. Launching of naval ship #445, named the U.S.S. Force, the fourth of a series of nine 171 ft. minesweepers to be built by J.M. Martinac Shipbuilding. Mrs. Thomas D. Wilson, wife of the Commander of the Bremerton Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet, was sponsor, assisted by Judith K. Ross as flower girl. M.S. Erdahl served as the master of ceremonies and Rear Admiral Charles D. Wheelock, inspector general for the Navy's bureau of ships, was the principal speaker. Other Naval dignitaries included Rear Admiral H.E. Haven, Commandant of the Puget Sound Naval shipyard, Capt. Linton Herndon, supervisor of shipbuilding Seattle, and Comdr. Lawrence MacKinlay, resident supervisor of shipbuilding Tacoma. The launching was followed by a reception and dinner at the Winthrop Hotel. (TNT 6/21/1953, pg. B-2, 6/27/1953, pg. 1)

Launchings--Tacoma--1950-1960; Boat & ship industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; J.M. Martinac Shipbuilding Corp. (Tacoma); Ross, Judith K.;

Bethlehem Pacific Coast Steel, steel in railroad boxcars being loaded onto Foss tugs for shipment to Alaska. This is the first shipment in a service announced jointly by Alaska Governor B. Frank Heintzleman and Henry Foss, president of Foss tugs. Foss will load railroad cars aboard the Foss 250, a car barge with transportation service to Alaska, at the Milwaukee Railroad's dock on the Milwaukee waterway. This marks the first time that railroad cars will come out of Alaska after discharging their cargo. The car barge will be towed by the tug Justine Foss. In the future, the car barges will leave every 8-10 days. (TNT 7/5/1953, pg. B-3)

Steel industry; Bethlehem Pacific Coast Steel Corp. (Seattle); Foss Launch & Tug Co. (Tacoma); Tugboats--Tacoma--1950-1960; Railroad freight cars--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Bethlehem Pacific Coast Steel, steel in railroad boxcars being loaded onto Foss tugs. The current service extends to Ward Cove, 8 miles north of Ketchikan, and site of the $47,000,000 construction project by Ketchikan Pulp & Paper Co. The eight 53 ft. cars, containing steel primarily, will be emptied at Ward Cove and returned to Tacoma. The Foss 250 can carry twenty 40 foot cars on her four sets of tracks and bulk tanks have been built in the barge hull to carry 1,000 tons of caustic soda north for paper plant production. The one way trip to Ward Cove takes 3 1/2 - 4 days. (TNT 7/5/1953, pg. B-3)

Steel industry; Bethlehem Pacific Coast Steel Corp. (Seattle); Foss Launch & Tug Co. (Tacoma); Tugboats--Tacoma--1950-1960; Railroad freight cars--Tacoma--1950-1960;

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;

Interiors of A.M.S. #113 (minesweeper) built at Tacoma Boat Building. Crew and Chief Petty Officer lavatory, looking to starboard. The #113 was scheduled to be the first of Tacoma Boat's 144 foot minesweepers to be delivered. The delivery was scheduled for November 6th, after outfitting at the Naval Station. The vessel would be delivered to the French Navy. (TNT 10/25/1953, pg. B-3)

Boat & ship industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Tacoma Boat Building Co., Inc. (Tacoma); Crew quarters; Warships--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Interiors of A.M.S. #113 (minesweeper) built at Tacoma Boat Building. Forward crew quarters, with bunks folded up. Space was at a premium on the 144 ft vessel and was utilized carefully, fitting as much into a small space as possible. The 113 was scheduled to be delivered in November to the French Navy as part of the mutual aid program. (TNT 10/25/1953, pg. B-3)

Boat & ship industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Tacoma Boat Building Co., Inc. (Tacoma); Crew quarters; Warships--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Interiors of A.M.S. #113 (minesweeper) built at Tacoma Boat Building. Pilot house. Portholes line the walls and the controls for maneuvering the vessel are at the right side of the picture. The 113 was scheduled to be the first of the 144 foot minesweepers to be delivered after outfitting at the Naval Station. The vessels would be delivered to foreign nations under the mutual aid program. The 113 was destined for the French Navy. (TNT 10/25/1953, pg. B-3)

Boat & ship industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Tacoma Boat Building Co., Inc. (Tacoma); Warships--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Interiors of A.M.S. #113 (minesweeper) built at Tacoma Boat Building. Chief Petty Officers' stateroom. The officers' quarters were more spacious than the crew quarters and were designed to hold a smaller number of personnel. The 113 was the first of the 144 ft. minesweepers to be delivered after outfitting at the Naval Station. It was delivered to the French Navy, under the mutual aid program. (TNT 10/25/1953, pg. B-3)

Boat & ship industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Tacoma Boat Building Co., Inc. (Tacoma); Warships--Tacoma--1950-1960; Crew quarters;

Interiors of A.M.S. #113 (minesweeper) built at Tacoma Boat Building. Aft crew quarters. Cots fold up for more space or down for sleeping. Built in foot lockers stand at the rear of the bunks. The delivery of Tacoma Boat's first minesweeper, the 113, was scheduled for November 6th, 1953. The 144 foot minesweeper was outfitted at the Naval Station before its delivery to the French Navy under the mutual aid program. (TNT 10/25/1953, pg. B-3)

Boat & ship industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Tacoma Boat Building Co., Inc. (Tacoma); Crew quarters; Warships--Tacoma--1950-1960;

This aerial view of Tacoma shows the American Smelting & Refining Company's (ASARCO) smoke stack, plant and the surrounding area as it looked in July of 1953. The ASARCO smoke stack was a dominant feature in the Tacoma skyline from its construction in 1917 to its implosion in 1993. The plant stood near Point Defiance. Here large vessels can be seen pulled up to the dock to be loaded with metals to be shipped throughout the world. To the left can be seen part of the marina of the Tacoma Yacht Club and to the lower right, the city of Ruston. TPL-8483

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

Aerial view of American Smelting & Refining Co.'s (ASARCO) smokestack, smelter plant and surrounding area. ASARCO occupied a large area near Point Defiance and contributed greatly to Tacoma's economy in the fifties. As we know now, the by products of the smelting process were highly toxic, and qualified this area as a Superfund clean up area. TPL-9290

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

Aerial view of American Smelting & Refining Co's (ASARCO) smokestack, smelter plant and surrounding area. The plant occupied a large area near Point Defiance with its own docks for shipping. The smokestack at 562 feet dominated the skyline for miles around. Thousands lined up in 1993 to say goodbye to this landmark when it was imploded.

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

Aerial of Bethlehem Steel, Seattle. Located on a tract of 45 acres along West Spokane Stree, just west of Duwamish Waterway, the Seattle plant is a compact and highly efficient steelmaking unit. When operating at full capacity, the plant has a work force of about 1450. They represent a broad spectrum of skills and trades needed in the manufacture of steel.

Steel industry; Bethlehem Pacific Coast Steel Corp. (Seattle); Aerial photographs; Factories--Seattle;

Members of the staff of Heidelberg Brewing Co. and of Bona Fide Builders construction company inspect the scale model for the new 3/4 million dollar "Brew House" to be added to the brewing plant on So. C St. The construction of the four story storage cellar has been contracted with Bona Fide Builders Inc., a Tacoma construction company. The basic contract is for $350,000 for the construction of a reinforced concrete building to house the cellars. The building will cover an area 55 x 140 feet on So. C. The tank and refrigeration contracts bring the cost to $800,000. The glass lined tanks have a capacity of over 1,000 barrels each. The production of the new plant is estimated to be 750,000 barrels annually. Pictured, left to right, are Anders W. Erickson, Brewmaster, T.L. McCormick of the architectural designers, Michael M. Kneip, Assistant Brewmaster, Joseph Wohleb, Brewery architect, W. Boyd Dickson Jr., President of Bona Fide Builders, Hollis Kerr, Heidelberg construction superintendent, Nick Ockfen, Bona Fide superintendent of construction, L. Paul Marten, engineer for the brewing co., A.L. Waterbury, Chief Engineer of the brewing co. and Bailey H. Nieder, technical assistant and manager of engineering department of the brewing co. (TNT 7/16/1953, pg. C-13)

Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Bona Fide Builders Inc. (Tacoma); Erickson, Anders W.; Kneip, Michael M.; Wohleb, Joseph; Dickson, W. Boyd; Kerr, Hollis; Waterbury, A.L.; Heidelberg Brewing Co. (Tacoma)--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;

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;

The area surrounding Wenatchee Washington. Wenatchee is a city on the Columbia River, at the mouth of the Wenatchee River, in southeast Chelan County. It is primarily an agricultural area and is close to being the geographic center of the state. Here hay has been cut & stacked and waits to be baled. A barn and farm house sit on the rolling hills. This area was revitalized with the availability of irrigation after the construction of the Grand Coulee Dam.

Farms--Wenatchee; Farmhouses--Wenatchee; Barns--Wenatchee; Hay; Haystacks;

Columbia Breweries. Brew kettle being dismantled. The kettle was used for brewing beer. Ingredients were added on the upper level of the kettle- barley malt, hops and water. The brewery had two enormous copper kettles with a capacity of 330 barrels each and made an average of 6 brews each day. Two deep artesian wells on the property supplied the water, pumping 66,000 gallons per day. The company was known as Columbia Breweries from 1900-1949. It was purchased by Heidelberg Brewing Co. in 1949 but continued to do business as Columbia. On July 15, 1953, the brewery officially changed its name to Heidelberg Brewing Company. They sold in 1958 to Carling Brewing Co. of Canada and closed their doors in Tacoma in 1979, after 3/4 of a century of brewing.

Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Heidelberg Brewing Co. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Kettles;

St. Paul and Tacoma Lumber Company milled lumber used by 20th Century Construction Company in building DeLong School. View from off-site of building under construction with rough framing and roof beams in place.

St. Paul and Tacoma Lumber Company milled lumber used by 20th Century Construction Company in building DeLong School. Interior view of office building or house. Plan for school on panel; signs leaning against wall describing concrete subfloors.

St. Paul and Tacoma Lumber Company milled lumber used by 20th Century Construction Company in building DeLong School. Worker placing lumber on top of wood beams. Early construction phase.

St. Paul and Tacoma Lumber Company milled lumber used by 20th Century Construction Company in building DeLong School. View of wood beams in early construction phase.

Bethlehem Pacific Coast Steel Corp. A variety of bars and structural shapes are rolled on the 12 inch and 8 inch finishing mills. The hot steel is looped by hand from one set of rolls to the next, until it is rolled to finished size and shape. Three finishing mills at the Seattle plant turn out bars and structural shapes in hundreds of different sizes and shapes. Hot steel billets are fed directly into these mills were grooved rolls transform them into angles, channels, I-beams, rounds, squares, flats, strip, reinforcing bars and special sections. ("Bethlehem Coast Steel, in the Northwest" - brochure)

Factories; Steel industry; Bethlehem Pacific Coast Steel Corp. (Seattle); ;

Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Co. Family Day; employees' picnic and open house. An unidentified group of employees stands in front of a display case set up for the open house. Wives, husbands and children of employees were invited on this day to tour the plant. A brief program was devoted to safety measures practiced at the plant. Lunch for 300 employees and their visitors was followed by a tour of the plant. The manufacturing facility opened on the Tideflats in June of 1929 as Tacoma Electro-Chemical Co. Despite its deceptive name, Pennsalt manufactured industrial chemicals, some of which were used in the manufacture of pulp and paper. (TNT 9/6/1953, pg. A-12)

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

Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Co. Family Day; employees' picnic and open house. Photograph labelled, left to right, Sgt. Bob Marshall, Mr. Fred Shanaman & Ed Sorger. Sgt. Marshall was the head of the Tacoma Police Department's Safety Division, Fred Shanaman was president and general manager of the company and Ed Sorger was Washington State's Safety Supervisor. The trio stand in front of a display case containing a trophy, certificates and memorabilia of the company's safety record. In 1950 & 52, Pennsalt won the National Safety Council's Award of Merit for no "lost time accidents" and the Pennsalt national award for best yearly safety record. Pennsalt opened on the Tideflats in June of 1929. The 40 acre plant manufactured industrial chemicals. (TNT 9/6/1953, pg. A-12)

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

A young man, with the assistance of his family, is building a 20 ft. cabin cruiser in his back yard. The young man saws the plywood that he is using for the frame of the boat while listening to his tow headed son. Photo series ordered by the Douglas Fir Plywood Association to promote the use of plywood in boat building. The Association was a group formed to promote the use of plywood as the world's number 1 building material. TPL-9921

Boat & ship industry; Carpentry; Woodworking;

A young man, with the assistance of his family, is building a 20 ft. cabin cruiser in his back yard. He is building the boat out of plywood. Photograph series ordered by the Douglas Fir Plywood Association to promote the use of plywood for boats. TPL-9920

Boat & ship industry; Carpentry; Woodworking; Plywood;