In October of 1951, five female employees at Washington Steel Products were busily assembling hinges from parts they retrieved from a rotating bin at the center of their round work table. Washington Steel, located at 1940 East 11th Street, was the only Northwest manufacturer of builder's hardware. They manufactured a complete line of hardware for the home, including knobs, pulls, hinges and rolling door hardware, as well as special designs and attachments for kitchen cabinets. They began operation in Seattle in 1945, moving to Tacoma in 1948. In 1950, they announced the first of several expansions of the plant. They closed their manufacturing facilities in 1963. Ordered by Douglas Fir Plywood Association.

Washington Steel Products, Inc. (Tacoma)--Employees; Plywood; Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Tacoma); Women--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Several female employees at Washington Steel Products are boxing small metal spice shelves along an assembly line with a conveyor belt running down the center of a wide table. Another line of workers can be seen on the left. Ordered by Douglas Fir Plywood Association.

Washington Steel Products, Inc. (Tacoma)--Employees; Plywood; Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Tacoma); Women--Tacoma--1950-1960;

A woman is seated next to a large bin of small parts at Washington Steel Products using a machine to attach small rollers to a plate. Boxes of the completed assembly are shown on the left. The bin was made of plywood and has metal banding around the sides and from top to bottom. Ordered by Douglas Fir Plywood Association.

Washington Steel Products, Inc. (Tacoma)--Employees; Plywood; Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Tacoma); Women--Tacoma--1950-1960;

A female employee at Washington Steel Products is scooping small pieces of hardware from a bin made of plywood. A revolving stand used to display hardware stands beside her. Washington Steel Products was founded in 1945. However, many of the ideas behind the products were formulated in the early 1930's as reported in 1952. C.M. Johnson, President of Washington Steel in 1952, had specialized in kitchen cabinet hardware when he worked for the Washington Hardware Company in the 1930's. Washington Steel Products had a heavy demand for their enameled metal food drawers, revolving corner shelves and their complete line of interior sliding door hardware such as knobs, pulls and hinges. Ordered by Douglas Fir Plywood Association. (Prudential Western Scene, December 1953)

Washington Steel Products, Inc. (Tacoma); Plywood; Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Tacoma);

Three women work together at Washington Steel Products packaging small pieces of hardware in envelopes. The woman in the middle is stamping the envelopes with the name of the product. The woman on the left holds the open envelope at the end of a sloping sleeve ready to catch the pieces being loaded at the top of the sleeve by the woman on the right. Ordered by Douglas Fir Plywood Association.

Washington Steel Products, Inc. (Tacoma)--Employees; Plywood; Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Tacoma); Women--Tacoma--1950-1960;

A workman is drilling a hole for the door knob in a door using a specialized rack while another man on right is ready to move another door onto the rack at the new mill work plant in Mountlake Terrace. Ordered by Phares Advertising Agency, Times Square Building, Seattle.

Building materials industry--Mountlake Terrace; Building materials; Lumber--Mountlake Terrace;

The interior of the new mill work plant in Mountlake Terrace. Several men are working at machines with lumber stacked along the sides. Ordered by Phares Advertising Agency, Seattle.

Building materials industry--Mountlake Terrace; Building materials; Lumber--Mountlake Terrace;

The interior of the new mill work building in Mountlake Terrace is filled with stacks of wood and plywood. Several men are working with machines and wood. Ordered by Phares Advertising Agency, Seattle.

Building materials industry--Mountlake Terrace; Building materials; Lumber--Mountlake Terrace;

Two men are measuring shelves for two shelving units at the new mill work plant in Mountlake Terrace. Ordered by Phares Advertising Agency, Seattle.

Building materials industry--Mountlake Terrace; Building materials; Lumber--Mountlake Terrace; Shelving--Mountlake Terrace;

Man working on a fuse box attached to a wall filled with various sized fuse boxes at the new mill work plant in Mountlake Terrace. Ordered by Phares Advertising Agency, Seattle.

Building materials industry--Mountlake Terrace; Electrical apparatus;

The exterior of the new, very long, two-story mill work plant in Mountlake Terrace. Asphalt paving leads to two large doors on right and a three-wheeled vehicle is sitting in front of the building. Ordered by Phares Advertising Agency, Seattle.

Building materials industry--Mountlake Terrace; Industrial facilities--Mountlake Terrace;

This is the office of Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Co. (commonly known as Pennsalt), located in Tacoma's tideflats area, in January of 1952. The big chemical plant covered 40 acres on the Hylebos Waterway. The Ionic columns are believed to have been manufactured by the (Washington) Mutual Fir Column Co. who were neighbors of Pennsalt.

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

A "Sreen", a high bias installation at Penn Salt.

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

Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Company facilities, Portland. Exterior of office building, modern Colonial-style building with second story dormers and cupola on roof. Note: Lines in print due to diacetate film deterioration.

Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Co. (Portland, Or.); Chemical industry--Oregon--Portland--1940-1950;

Fred H. Gillmaster retired from Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Company. He is seen here tending his indoor plants as carefully as he tended the grounds and plants at Penn Salt. He and his wife, Ethel N. Gillmaster, lived at 501 East 43rd Street.

Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Co. of Washington (Tacoma)--People; Gillmaster, Fred H.; Plants--Tacoma;

A view of the exterior of Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Company's facilities showing the proximity of the railroad spur to one of the buildings. A stack is seen over the building. Pennsalt's expansion program begun in 1951 was to include four structures, the largest of which was to be an 80 x 120-foot section of the primary production room. (TNT, 7/29/1951)

Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Co. of Washington (Tacoma); Chemical industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Railroad tank cars--Tacoma--1950-1960; Railroad sidings--Tacoma;

The interior of the Portland plant of Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Company shows a row of tanks. A workman is seen connecting a hose to a valve.

Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Co. (Portland, Or.); Chemical industry--Oregon--Portland--1940-1950;

Tall tanks are shown in the interior of the Tacoma Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Company. Penn Salt began a $172,000 plant expansion program in 1951 where the biggest investment was in new equipment in the plant's chlorine and caustic soda departments. Some building modification was also included. Ordered by Penn Salt for their annual report. (TNT, 3/30/1951)

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

Transport tanks are shown loaded on railroad cars at the Tacoma Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Company's spur. President Fred C. Shanaman announced in April 1951 that the capacity of the Tacoma plant for production of chlorine and caustic soda was being increased 30 percent. (TNT, 4/26/1951)

Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Co. of Washington (Tacoma); Chemical industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Railroad tank cars--Tacoma--1950-1960; Railroad sidings--Tacoma;

Tanks are placed in lines in one of the buildings of Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Company's Tacoma plant. A workman is seen attaching parts to the tanks between the rows.

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

Two men are making specialized molds at the Portland plant of Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Company

Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Co. (Portland, Or.); Chemical industry--Oregon--Portland--1940-1950;

The exterior of one of the many buildings at Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Company's Tacoma plant

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

Two men are seen working on the railroad tank cars at the Tacoma Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Company's spur. It was reported at the company's annual shareholders' meeting in April 1951 that Pennsalt of Washington was expanding its production of DDT at Portland by about 70 per cent. (TNT, 4/26/1951)

Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Co. of Washington (Tacoma); Chemical industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Railroad tank cars--Tacoma--1950-1960; Railroad sidings--Tacoma;

The exterior of the two-story mill work plant in Mountlake Terrace showing the yard where materials were stored. Ordered by Phares Advertising Agency, Seattle.

Building materials industry--Mountlake Terrace; Industrial facilities--Mountlake Terrace;

Exposure of Holroyd Co.'s concrete block plant next to Meadow Park golf course. Round block building with square block entrance.

Cement industries--Tacoma; Holroyd Co. (Tacoma);

Exposure of Holroyd Co.'s concrete block plant next to Meadow Park golf course. The city directory does not give an address for this plant; advertisements of the time list it only as "gravel pit near Meadow Park." Picture is of a round block building with a square block entrance, possibly made of the same concrete blocks manufactured here. The use of this building is unknown.

Cement industries--Tacoma; Holroyd Co. (Tacoma);

Holroyd Co's concrete block plant next to Meadow Park golf course. Sheds filled with blocks, gravel piles, trucks and automobiles. Water in foreground. The address of this location is never given, it is referred to as the gravel pit in Meadow Park. The water body is manmade and probably used in the manufacturing process. The company also had a gravel pit at Nisqually.

Cement industries--Tacoma; Holroyd Co. (Tacoma);

Holroyd Co's concrete block plant next to Meadow Park golf course. Sheds, gravel piles, truck and automobiles. The address for this location is never given; it is referred to as the gravel pit in Meadow Park. The company also maintained a gravel pit in Nisqually. Holyroyd Co. manufactured building materials, concrete building units and mixed concrete. The structure in the left background is built into the mountain of gravel.

Cement industries--Tacoma; Holroyd Co. (Tacoma);

Witte & O'Flyng have housed their offices on the ground floor of this building while retaining apartments above. The building has been built of concrete block and the ground floor is faced with brick. Ray O'Flyng was president of the building contractors, commercial and residential construction, remodeling, prefabrication, development building and property management company. Walter C. Witte served as secretary-treasurer. Ordered by Holroyd Company.

Concrete products industry--Tacoma; Holroyd Co. (Tacoma); Building materials; Concrete--Tacoma--1950-1960; Witte & O'Flyng, Inc. (Tacoma);

Ordered by Holroyd Company. The residence of Captain William E. Farrarof the fire department was built in 1946 using concrete block and stucco. Lumber for home construction was scarce during and after the war. The veterans' emergency housing program absorbed all construction materials available for house construction. The one-story, single-family residence was modern in every way. Its design is reminiscent of an art deco style with a large, curved bay window in the front, a curved, glassed-in area off the corner at the far right, and a flat roof. A covering over the porch is supported with two poles. (TNT, 7/14/1946, p.1; 9/9/1951, p.B-14)

Concrete products industry--Tacoma; Holroyd Co. (Tacoma); Farrar, William E.--Homes & haunts; Houses--Tacoma--1950-1960; Building materials; Concrete--Tacoma--1950-1960;