The interior of the new pre-fab plant of Bethlehem Pacific Coast Steel Corporation. Ordered by Mr. Morse.

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

Seven men are working at drafting tables at the new pre-fab plant of Bethlehem Pacific Coast Steel Corporation at 8501 East Marginal Way, Seattle. Ordered by Mr. Morse.

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

The interior of the new pre-fab plant of Bethlehem Pacific Coast Steel Corporation at 8501 East Marginal Way, Seattle. Ordered by Mr. Morse.

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

Exposure of large machinery dwarfing the laborers at Ace Furnace & Steel Co. This machine is either a shear press or a brace press. The company was built in 1930 and was owned by Alvin T. Davies. Ace produced steel and sheet metal products- furnaces, tanks, stacks and did electrical welding.

Ace Furnace & Steel Co. (Tacoma); Iron construction--Tacoma; Iron & steel workers--Tacoma; Metalworking--Tacoma;

Photo of a worker running a sheet of metal through a large piece of machinery at Ace Furnace & Steel Co. This machine is either a shear press or a brace press. The company was built in 1930 and was owned by Alvin T. Davies. Davies also owned North End Lockers and was the president of Birchfield Boiler Inc. and Tacoma Boiler Works. He and his wife Ellen lived on Day Island. Ace Furnace produced steel and sheet metal products- furnaces, tanks, stacks and did electrical welding.

Ace Furnace & Steel Co. (Tacoma); Iron construction--Tacoma; Iron & steel workers--Tacoma; Metalworking--Tacoma;

The Tacoma Smelter, American Smelter and Refining Company (ASARCO), held a dinner party for their "Old Timers" in April of 1952. View of six men and one woman at banquet table.

American Smelting & Refining Co. (Tacoma)--Employees; Banquets--Tacoma--1950-1960;

An elevated view of the huge crane being built at Star Iron and Steel Company shows the opening in the crane over which the upper trolly can move. Enormous rolls of cable on top of the crane would be used to lift heavy materials vertically and the trolly could transfer the material horizontally.

Star Iron & Steel Co. (Tacoma); Steel industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Hoisting machinery; Factories--Tacoma--1940-1950;

A huge crane is being built at Star Iron and Steel Company to be installed from the roof of a welding shack. The Star Iron and Steel Company manufactured heavy cranes and logging machinery. They made some of the largest and heaviest cranes used by the US navy and industry. Roy N. Allen was president and manager of the company at this time.

Star Iron & Steel Co. (Tacoma); Steel industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Hoisting machinery; Factories--Tacoma--1940-1950;

A new type of tire chains were made of heavy castings by Fick Foundry Company. Fick Foundry Company manufactured machine castings for many machinery manufacturers in the Northwest. Castings were made of grey iron, steel, bronze and aluminum. Fick Foundry was owned by Joseph M. and Samuel Fick.

Fick Foundry Co. (Tacoma); Cast ironwork--Tacoma;

Steel and aluminum fabricating at George R. Marvin Company. The George R. Marvin Company advertised as manufacturing bridge cranes, gantry cranes, floating cranes, hammerhead cranes, special hoists and machinery of fabricated structural steel. The large, open building has railroad tracks running through the length of it. Men and equipment are working along both sides.

George R. Marvin Co. (Tacoma); Steel industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;

A tire with a new type of tire chains attached to it. The castings for the chains' components were made by Fick Foundry Company.

Fick Foundry Co. (Tacoma); Cast ironwork--Tacoma; Tires;

A view of the yard at George R. Marvin's plant on the Tacoma tideflats was taken on August 14, 1952. Stacks of materials used in the manufacture of cranes, special hoists and machinery of fabricated structural steel are stacked around the yard and a man is operating a mobile crane near the center. A long tank truck is seen at the rear.

George R. Marvin Co. (Tacoma); Steel industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Hoisting machinery;

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;

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); ;

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 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;

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;

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;

The American Smelting and Refining Co. had celebrated its 50th anniversary as a business in 1949. It was one of the largest employers in Tacoma with well over a thousand employees. As its name indicates, it was primarily involved in the smelting of ore and refining of copper. View of storage tanks at smelter, with truck parked alongside fence. Photograph ordered by David Somerville.

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

Publicity shots at Permanente Metals, Bill Gorman. A view of one of the switchboard operators at the Permanente plant in Tacoma and the switchboard panel. She is wearing a headset to enable her to use both hands when operating the cords on the switchboard. A telephone dial is seen beyond her right arm and other office machinery is in the background. The young woman is wearing a two piece suit, a white blouse and a plaid scarf. Permanente acknowledged the high value of each employee in their annual reports. TPL-4555

Permanente Metals Corp. (Tacoma)--Employees; Aluminum industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Telephone switchboards--Tacoma--1940-1950; Telephone operators--Tacoma--1940-1950; Women--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Publicity shots at Permanente Metals, Bill Gorman. Two workmen from the Permanente plant stand side-by-side, the older man has his arm around the shoulder of a younger man. The older man is wearing coveralls, a heavy shirt and a hat. He has goggles hanging around his neck. The other, younger man is wearing a jacket, a plaid shirt, and a hat. They are both smiling. 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;

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;

Publicity shots at Permanente Metals, Bill Gorman. One of Permanente's employees sits at his desk checking lists of figures and order forms. A map of the United States hangs on the wall behind him. Clip boards of additional data also hang on the wall along with schedules. A telephone sits to his right on the desk. The man is wearing a sports jacket, a sweater vest and a tie. He also wears a large ring on his left hand. A pencil protrudes from his jacket pocket. TPL-4555

Permanente Metals Corp. (Tacoma)--Employees; Aluminum industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Employees--Tacoma--1940-1950; Paperwork; Maps; Telephones;

Publicity shots at Permanente Metals, Bill Gorman. Two of the staff at Permanente are checking the pressure through a hose and narrow pipe on the arm of the young man in a chemical lab. Glass containers and tubing are set up on the counter in front of them. They both wear aprons with bibs. The woman has her goggles lifted up onto her forehead. TPL-4555

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

Publicity shots at Permanente Metals, Bill Gorman. Three men are caught playing craps in the storage yard at Permanente Metals. A man using a piece of lumber as a club is coming up behind them. The dice are still in mid-air creating shadows in front of the man who has just released them. There's plenty of money on the play. Aluminum pigs are stacked up all around the players. TPL-4555

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

Fick Foundry for Industrial page of Times, George Beckingham. The building was built in 1925 for Walstad Machine Company. Fick Foundry opened at this location in 1942. This view includes the traveling craneway that was employed to handle large flasks used for making molds for large castings similar to the one being moved here. Two workmen are handling this operation. Fick advertised that they were manufacturers of iron, steel, brass, and aluminum castings for machine, marine and general usage. (T.Times, 2/26/1948, p.28 and p.41)

Fick Foundry Co. (Tacoma); Foundries--Tacoma--1940-1950; Hoisting machinery; Factories--Tacoma--1940-1950; Laborers--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Tacoma Smelter for Industrial Page, Times, George Beckingham. This was called the anode where molten copper was poured into molds. Each copper ingot was 500 pounds and had to be jacked out by hand and picked up by a crane. The crane had to be attached manually and then guided to a cooling rack. The crew doing that also helped to purify the molten copper before it was poured by shoving logs into the melting pot to oxidize the impurities. Built and established as the Ryan Smelter by Dennis Ryan in 1887, the smelter was sold to William R. Rust in 1889, who changed the name to the Tacoma Smelting and Refining Company. It was sold again in 1905 to the American Smelting & Refining Company (ASARCO). Originally built to produce lead, by 1911 the smelter became a major supplier of copper and lead was no longer produced. The company smelted gold and silver and refined electrolytic copper and arsenic. (T.Times, 2/26/1948, p.35) (Additional information provided by a reader)

American Smelting & Refining Co. (Tacoma); Smelters--Tacoma--1940-1950; Copper industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Industrial facilities--Tacoma;

Lumber Grappel being made for Weyerhauser Timber Company, Star Iron and Steel, George Buckingham. This lumber grapple was built to be operated by one man. It could run on direct or alternating current. It handled 7 1/2 tons of packaged lumber, to be picked up in any position and placed exactly where required. Leslie E. Jensen, Star's Chief Engineer (left) and Arthur Teabo, shop superintendent, are discussing construction details. (T.Times, 1/26/1948, p.5)

Star Iron & Steel Co. (Tacoma); Steel industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Jensen, Leslie E.; Teabo, Arthur; Machinery; Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Crane in shop for Times annual edition, Star Iron & Steel, Mr. Anderson. Star Iron and Steel had just completed this Gantry crane for the Bureau of Reclamation. It had a capacity of 13 1/2 tons and a total lift of 222 feet. The crane was to be used to handle the bulkhead gates at the Marshall Ford Dam, Colorado River Project, Texas. A similar crane, with 325 ton capacity, was being built at this time for the Davis Dam on the Colorado River. (T.Times, 2/26/1948, p.32)

Star Iron & Steel Co. (Tacoma); Steel industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Hoisting machinery; Factories--Tacoma--1940-1950;