Exterior view of Pennwalt Corp. Formerly known as Pennsalt, the chemical producing company was located on 40 acres of land adjacent to the Hylebos Waterway. This view on December 26, 1969, shows one of the large piles of salt used by Pennwalt in daily operations. Doing business in Tacoma since 1929, Pennwalt had originally specialized in caustic soda and liquid chlorine for sale to the Pacific Northwest's pulp and paper industry before diversifying. Photograph ordered by Pennwalt Corp.

Chemical industry--Tacoma--1960-1970; Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Co. of Washington (Tacoma); Pennwalt Corp. (Tacoma);

Pennwalt plant. This is another view in early 1976 of the sprawling Pennwalt Corporation plant located in Tacoma's tideflats along the Hylebos Waterway. The company was formerly known as the Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Co. of Washington or Pennsalt. It had been producing chemicals including caustic soda and liquid chlorine in Tacoma since 1929. Photograph ordered by Pennwalt Corporation.

Chemical industry--Tacoma--1970-1980; Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Co. of Washington (Tacoma); Pennsalt (Tacoma); Pennwalt Corp. (Tacoma);

Offices of Stauffer Chemical Co. Two employees of Stauffer Chemical Co., 2545 Lincoln Ave., are pictured in July of 1976 at work in the company's offices. The woman is busily typing while the man is examining files from an open file cabinet. Modern office equipment including Pitney-Bowes and Western Union machines are located nearby. Photograph ordered by Stauffer Chemical Co.

Stauffer Chemical Co. (Tacoma); Chemical industry--Tacoma--1970-1980; Industrial facilities--Tacoma--1970-1980; Office workers--Tacoma--1970-1980; Office equipment & supplies;

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;

Hooker Electro-Chemical parking area. One of the buildings at the far end of the parking lot and the water tower remind workers of "Safety First". Hylebos waterway can be seen in the background as well as cranes used for loading and unloading materials from ships and barges.

Chemical industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Hooker Electrochemical Co. (Tacoma);

Hooker Electrochemical parking area. This view shows the Hylebos waterway and a ship moored at the company's dock. Railroad tracks run through the plant to make more transportation accessible. TPL-2489.

Chemical industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Hooker Electrochemical Co. (Tacoma);

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;

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);

A close-up of insulated caustic evaporation tanks and piping at Hooker Chemical. The Tacoma plant was expanded in 1950 and was fully operational by Januray 1951. The increase in production helped the company meet enlarged requirements of its current customers and to supply several important new consumers with caustic soda and liquid chlorine. (Hooker Electrochemical Company Annual Report, 1950)

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

The engineer leans out of a railroad engine that is pulling a Hooker Electrochemical tank car. TPL-6606

Chemical industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Hooker Electrochemical Co. (Tacoma); Railroad tank cars--Tacoma--1950-1960;

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);

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);

Hooker Chemical Company. The main gate of the Hooker Electrochemical Company and its brick buildings as they appeared in August, 1951. Hooker Electrochemical opened their Tacoma plant in 1928. Hooker, along with the Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Company, supplied the Pacific Northwest pulp and paper industry with the means to bleach and refine wood pulp. Hooker products were also used to manufacture soap and refine petroleum products. The Hooker plant on the Tideflats had several expansions before its sale to Pioneer Companies, Inc., in 1997.

Chemical industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Hooker Electrochemical Co. (Tacoma); Industrial facilities--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Tank cars are being loaded at the Hooker Electrochemical Company's main gate on Alexander Avenue on the Tideflats. Hooker began operations in Tacoma in 1929 and the plant underwent several large expansions before being sold to Pioneer Companies, Inc., in 1997. Along with the Pennsylvania Salt Company, Hooker Electrochemical was a large producer of chlorine and caustic soda, supplying the Pacific Northwest's pulp and paper industry. Low cost electricity, abundant water supply, and easily accessible transportation attracted several chemical plants to the area, and later drew companies making use of by-products from the original plants or new products developed for established firms. TPL-8685

Hooker Electrochemical Co. (Tacoma); Chemical industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Industrial facilities--Tacoma--1950-1960; Railroad tank cars--Tacoma--1950-1960;

ca. 1952. Interiors new anhydrous ammonia plant, Hooker Electrochemical. The new $2 million plant was completed in May of 1952. The plant had an output of 40 tons every 24 hours. Eighteen men were employed in the plant, which operated 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The plant began operation in June of 1952 with its entire production already contracted for. Plans were made immediately for a $6 million dollar expansion. (TNT 10-19-1952)

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

Exterior at new ammonia plant, Hooker Electrochemical. In the plant, hydrogen and nitrogen are mixed in the proper proportion for anhydrous ammonia, subjected to 5,000 pounds to a square inch pressure and then sent to a converter and combined to make the gas. The ammonia is placed in storage tanks outside the plant to await shipment. Shipment is done entirely by railroad tank car. Each car holds 26 tons. (TNT 10-19-1952)

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

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;

Purex-Trend (Purex Corporation LTD), exterior view of building. Large warehouse type building, rail cars and Purex tanks.

Chemical industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Purex Corp. (Tacoma); Storage tanks--Tacoma;

Exterior of the Purex-Trend (Purex Corporation LTD) plant. The large warehouse type building has been built using concrete block. Rail cars access the building via a railroad spur and three Purex tanks stand in the foreground.

Chemical industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Purex Corp. (Tacoma); Storage tanks--Tacoma;

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;

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;

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;

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;

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);

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;