Kaiser Aluminum plant. This aerial view of the Kaiser Aluminum plant was taken on June 10, 1974. The plant was located in Tacoma's tideflats at 3400 Taylor Way. The wisps of smoke emerging from the plant's 500-foot stack appear to blend into the heavy cloud formation. Color photograph ordered by Kaiser Aluminum.

Aerial photographs; Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp. (Tacoma); Industrial facilities--Tacoma--1970-1980; Aluminum industry--Tacoma--1970-1980;

ca. 1974. Aerial photograph of Kaiser Aluminum plant in industrial tideflats area of Tacoma, probably taken during the summer of 1974. The plant's 500-foot stack dominates the landscape. A ship is docked nearby taking on shipments of logs. Photograph ordered by Kaiser Aluminum.

Aerial views; Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp. (Tacoma); Industrial facilities--Tacoma--1970-1980; Aluminum industry--Tacoma--1970-1980; Smokestacks--Tacoma; Logs; Shipping--Tacoma--1970-1980;

Permanente Metals was opening an Aluminum reduction plant in Tacoma in early spring. They were currently employing men to overhaul 240 furnace pots, install new design collector bars and other electrical equipment that would handle the flow of 32,400,000 kilowatt hours per month. Tacoma's inexpensive power rates has brought this industry that will employ over 300 men. View of men preparing the plant for its future official opening (T. Times, 2/12/47, p. 5).

Hoisting machinery; Machinery; Equipment; Laborers--Tacoma; Aluminum industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Aluminum; Permanente Metals Corp. (Tacoma);

Leo Olsen lost the use of his legs to infantile paralysis when he was 9 years old, but he was determined to be part of WWII. Although a tailor by trade, and a pianist, he found work at the Olin Coporation aluminum plant, on the tide flats, running one of the giant cranes that towered over the electric furnaces. This photograph of Mr. Olsen at the controls of his crane was taken in June of 1944 for the Tacoma Chamber of Commerce. (T. Times, 6/27/44, p. 2). Tacoma Chamber of Commerce Manpower publicity at Olin Corp.

Aluminum industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Handicapped persons--Tacoma; Olin Industries, Inc. (Tacoma); Olsen, Leo;

Interior at plant, Permanente Metals, Ted Schmidt. Interior view of the pot room, laborers are pouring the molten aluminum into a mold to form pigs. Pigs will weigh between fifty and one thousand pounds. The pigs are cooled, stacked on pallets and transported to the rolling mill at Trentwood, located near Spokane, Washington. The pigs from the Mead and Tacoma plant are later re-melted in furnaces where other metallic elements are added to form standard alloys (PMC Annual Report, 1947-1948).

Aluminum industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Aluminum; Industrial facilities--Tacoma; Laborers--Tacoma; Permanente Metals Corp. (Tacoma)--Employees;

There's nothing wrong with this chest, it's been x-rayed says Dave Schrader to Bill Courtney, employees at Permanente Metals Corp. As part of a U.S. Public Health Service campaign, all the employees at the Kaiser Aluminum plant in Tacoma received chest x-rays in 1949. In February of 1949, Permanente employed over 3,600 men in their three Washington plants with a combined payroll exceeding $12 million. (Publicity for Permanente News, and Times Industrial Page, Permanente Metals, Bill Gorman) (T.Times, 2/25/1949, p.37) TPL-3686

Permanente Metals Corp. (Tacoma)--Employees; Schrader, David A.; Courtney, William E.; Radiography; Health care--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Permanente Metals, producers of Kaiser Aluminum, bought the Olin plant and after rehabilitating and improving the facilities, they have started production. They began operating one pot line, but within a month they should be producing aluminum at full capacity. The Tacoma plant is one of the most modern aluminum producing facilities in the country. Aerial view of Permanente, which is located on the Tacoma Tideflats, covering more than 129 acres of land (PMC Annual Report, 1947-48).

Aerial views; Industrial facilities--Tacoma; Aluminum industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Permanente Metals Corp. (Tacoma);

The Pacific Northwest offered Permanente Metals, the producers of Kaiser aluminum, inexpensive hydro-electric power. In order to produce one pound of aluminum approximately 10 kilowatts of electricity is needed, therefore the Northwest is the ideal location for the Tacoma and Mead, near Spokane, plants. Interior view of the pot room, the white powdery substance is alumina, which is discharged into the reduction pots, the molten aluminum is siphoned from the pots into one and a half ton ladles (PMC Annual Report, 1947-1948).

Aluminum industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Aluminum; Industrial facilities--Tacoma; Laborers--Tacoma; Permanente Metals Corp. (Tacoma)--Employees;

Permanente Metals took over the Olin Aluminum facilities, that had shut down in November 1945, these facilities had not been in use until now. Kaiser bought the plant from the United States War Assets Administration, they then invested over one million dollars to modernize the plant. The Tacoma plant featured many self cleaning machines and a knowledgeable staff (T. Times, 10/31/47, p. 1).

Aluminum industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Industrial facilities--Tacoma; Control rooms--Tacoma; Permanente Metals Corp. (Tacoma)--Employees;

View of new pot line at the Tacoma reduction plant of the Permanente Metals Corp. It is the first reduction plant in the world to be thoroughly equipped with a scrubber system. This equipment is able to automatically wash away the fumes that are given off in the reduction process. The system consists of individual collectors connected to each pot and several washing stations. Permanente staff can be seen in the center area of the reduction plant.

Aluminum industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Industrial facilities--Tacoma; Equipment; Machinery; Control rooms--Tacoma; Permanente Metals Corp. (Tacoma);

Permanente Metals was an aluminum producing plant, the demand for aluminum and aluminum made products had dramatically increased since the end of World War II. Aluminum products could be found in kitchens, automobiles, airplanes, luggage, homes and many other areas; aluminum offered durability yet was extremely light weight and versatile. View of Permanente Metals employee oiling a machine, photo ordered by United Steel Workers of America.

Laborers--Tacoma; United Steel Workers of America Union Local No. 2626 (Tacoma); Aluminum industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Industrial facilities--Tacoma; Labor unions--Tacoma; Permanente Metals Corp. (Tacoma)--Employees;

Permanente Metals had started operations in Tacoma in late October of this year. Permanente Metals employees in plant's pot room, the white powdery substance is alumina, which is discharged into the reduction pots, the molten aluminum is siphoned from the pots into large capacity ladles, photo ordered by United Steel Workers of America.

Laborers--Tacoma; United Steel Workers of America Union Local No. 2626 (Tacoma); Aluminum industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Industrial facilities--Tacoma; Labor unions--Tacoma; Permanente Metals Corp. (Tacoma)--Employees;

Permanente. The white, powdery alumina was discharged from bins into electrolytic cells known as reduction pots where it was periodically stirred. After heating in the reduction pots the molten aluminum was siphoned from the pots into 1 1/2 ton ladles. The ladles would be transferred by crane to the end of the potroom buildings where the molten metal was poured into molds forming pigs weighing 50 to 1,000 pounds. (Permanente Metals Corporation 1947-1948 Annual Report) TPL-4541

Permanente Metals Corp. (Tacoma)--Employees; Aluminum industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Aluminum; Laborers--Tacoma--1940-1950; Founding--Tacoma--1940-1950; Foundries--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Permanente. An employee of Permanente at the Tacoma plant looks very grateful for the medical assistance received from a nurse in the medical unit. He is now wearing a large, gauze bandage on his thumb. In 1947-1948 Permanente reported having nearly 5,000 employees in their several locations in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Owens Lake, Natividad, Oakland, and Moss Landing, California; and Mead, Trentwood and Tacoma, Washington. (Permanente Metals Corporation Annual Report 1947-1948)

Permanente Metals Corp. (Tacoma)--Employees; Aluminum industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Infirmaries--Tacoma--1940-1950; Nurses--Tacoma--1940-1950; Wounds & injuries--Tacoma; Accidents--Tacoma;

Permanente's First Anniversary, Permanente Metals, Bill Gorman. A family enjoys hot dogs during the celebration at Permanente on October 27, 1948. The older girl sits on a stack of aluminum pigs that have been produced at the plant. The woman holds a baby with one arm and her hot dog in her other hand. The weiners for the event were fried on one of the hot 500 pound pigs of aluminum at the plant. (T.Times, 10/28/1948, p.1)

Permanente Metals Corp. (Tacoma)--Employees; Aluminum industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Laborers--Tacoma--1940-1950; Families--Tacoma--1940-1950; Frankfurters--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Crust breaking machine at Permanente, Bill Gorman. Workmen are using a new machine to break the crust that developed on the molten aluminum in the reduction pots at the Permanente aluminum plant. This had been a manual process before development of the specialized machine.

Permanente Metals Corp. (Tacoma)--Employees; Aluminum industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Laborers--Tacoma--1940-1950; Machinery;

Publicity shots at Permanente Metals, Bill Gorman. Two workmen from the Permanente plant shake hands. One of the men is older, wearing coveralls, a stripped shirt and a hat. The other man is younger wearing a plaid shirt, work pants and a hat. They look at each other and smile. It looks like they already like each other and will work well together. The plant facilities are seen in the background. TPL-4555

Permanente Metals Corp. (Tacoma)--Employees; Aluminum industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Laborers--Tacoma--1940-1950; Employees--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Kaiser Aluminum, Tacoma Works rectifier station addition. Exterior of building with train tracks beside it. The Kaiser plants were taken over from the federal government in 1947 by Henry J. Kaiser. The plant in Tacoma was an aluminum reduction plant; it produced pig aluminum from treated ore and then sent it to a fabricating plant to be made into a finished product. The plant underwent a expansion and modernization program in 1952, at a cost of $2,850,000, to increase capacity by 1/3, an annual production of 66, 400,000 pounds.

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

Kaiser Aluminum's Tacoma plant near the southeasterly edge of Tacoma's tideflats was expanded at a cost of $2,850,000 in 1952, increasing by one third the plant's aluminum output. November 1952 marked the fifth anniversary of the operation of the Tacoma plant. Four alumina storage towers are seen in front of the plant facilities. Mount Rainier is seen rising majestically over the Tacoma tideflats. (TNT Supplement, 11/2/1952, p.3) TPL-9617

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

Storage tanks at Kaiser Aluminum are massive in nature; they dwarf the Canadian National Railroad boxcars that are motionless in front of them. Olin Corporation Aluminum Plant was the first occupant of the 3400 Taylor Way site; it was sold to Kaiser Aluminum in late 1946. Kaiser spent nearly three million dollars in 1952 to expand its plant, thereby increasing aluminum production accordingly. Easy access to rail transportation made delivery of its product fast and efficient. Photograph ordered by Kaiser Aluminum.

Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp. (Tacoma); Aluminum industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Storage tanks--Tacoma; Railroad freight cars--Canada;

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;

Another view of the large American Wheelabrator machine that handled studs at the Kaiser Aluminum plant; this September 20, 1955, photograph shows the Kaiser employee with his cart nearly full of the metal studs. He appears to be inserting the stud onto the long extension of the large machine. Photograph ordered by American Wheelabrator & Equipment Corporation.

Machinery; American Wheelabrator & Equipment Corp. (Tacoma); Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp. (Tacoma); Aluminum industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Kaiser Aluminum; Arc building, looking southeast. The Kaiser Aluminum plant was located about 5 miles north of downtown Tacoma. It had been obtained in 1947 by the huge Kaiser business conglomerate built by Henry J. Kaiser. It was purchased from the Defense Plant Corporation. Kaiser modernized the closed plant and began a series of expansions. In 1956, a $2,000,000 expansion was complete with the creation of 18 new "super size" reduction cells. The improvement also included the erection of a mill-type building to house the 420 ft. potline, office and laboratory buildings, an added electric substation and installation of aluminum bus bars and auxiliary electrical equipment. (Kaiser Aluminum News, August 1956)

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

Kaiser Aluminum; new pot room; Interior view, Arc building. A man drives a modernistic piece of equipment, a mechanical arm with a tractor base. This new 420 foot potline at the Tacoma plant has 18 "super-size" reduction cells, increasing primary aluminum production by 15%. The Tacoma plant is a reduction plant, it uses power from hydro electric sources to reduce alumina to aluminum. In 1947, Kaiser bought the Tacoma plant from the Defense Plant Corporation which had operated it as a war emergency plant and closed it after VJ day. Its proximity to plentiful electric power, supplied by the Bonneville Power Administration, made it the perfect location for creating aluminum "pigs" by electrolysis. The plant on the Tideflats ran on a 24 hour, around the clock basis. (Kaiser Aluminum News, August 1956)

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 new 420 foot potline at the Tacoma reduction plant; the result of a $2,000,000 expansion. The line contains 18 new "super size" reduction cells that will increase aluminum production by 15%. The Bonneville Power Administration will provide the power to reduce the ore to pure metal by electrolysis. Dissolved in solution in long lines of reduction cells ("pots",) alumina ore is subjected to electrical current. The chemicals recombine, the aluminum separates from the oxygen and settles as pure metal, aluminum. (Kaiser Aluminum News, August 1956)

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

Smoke drifts from the new 500-foot stack at the Kaiser Aluminum plant on Tacoma's Tideflats in late October, 1968. Kaiser was undergoing a period of expansion that would see a new aluminum rod mill open for production in December of 1968. Hylebos Waterway is adjacent to the plant on left side of photograph. Photograph ordered by Kaiser Engineers.

Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp. (Tacoma); Aluminum industry--Tacoma--1960-1970; Industrial facilities--Tacoma--1960-1970; Hylebos Waterway (Tacoma); Aerial views;

1967 Richards stock footage. Another view of Kaiser Aluminum plant in Tacoma Tideflats, taken in the fall of 1967. Kaiser had reopened its Tacoma plant in 1964 after being closed for six years. It planned an expansion of the plant facilities and in 1968, a new aluminum rod mill was ready for operation. A second alumina dome with a 100,000 ton capacity, would be completed on Pier 7 in 1969.

Aerial photographs; Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp. (Tacoma); Aluminum industry--Tacoma--1960-1970; Industrial facilities--Tacoma--1960-1970;

1967 Richards stock footage. Aerial view of Kaiser Aluminum plant featuring Kaiser Dome. Tankers brought alumina from Australia to be manufactured into aluminum. The finished product was then shipped out of Tacoma by water, highway, or rail. Thousands of tons of aluminum were processed each year at Kaiser Aluminum's Tideflats plant, about five miles north of downtown Tacoma. The dome in the center of this October 28, 1967, photograph was used to store ore. It, along with a later dome, was dismantled in March, 2005. Kaiser Aluminum, after reopening the Tacoma plant in 1964, finally closed its doors permanently in 2002. (Olsen: First 100 Years: Tacoma Beginnings, p. 115)

Aerial photographs; Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp. (Tacoma); Aluminum industry--Tacoma--1960-1970; Storage tanks--Tacoma;

New aluminum rod mill under construction. Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp. was building a new rod mill in 1968; it would be ready for operation in December of that year. Once fully functional, the completely automated mill would produce rod at a rate of 1,800 feet per minute. Kaiser was undergoing a period of expansion where a new 500-foot stack and the rod mill were built, a second alumina dome with 100,000-ton capacity would be completed in 1969. Photograph ordered by Kaiser Engineers. (TNT 12-13-68, C-18)

Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp. (Tacoma); Aluminum industry--Tacoma--1960-1970; Industrial facilities--Tacoma--1960-1970;