ca. 1956. Aerial view of Washington Steel Products Inc. at the intersection of 11th Street and Milwaukee Way. The company was the only manufacturer of builders' hardware in the Pacific Northwest. This plant was constructed in 1948, with additions in 1950, 1952 and a million dollar expansion in 1953. In 1956, the plant occupied 120,000 square feet and turned out more than 450 products for national and foreign markets. The company manufactured small hardware such as drawers, knobs, pulls and hinges. Also pictured on 11th Street is Blake, Moffitt and Towne at 1157 Thorne Rd. Blake, Moffitt & Towne were wholesale distributors of printing and wrapping paper and stationery and were formerly located on Jefferson Avenue. (TNT 9/3/1956)

Washington Steel Products, Inc. (Tacoma); Blake, Moffitt & Towne, Inc. (Tacoma); Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Hardware;

ca. 1956. Aerial view of Washington Steel Products Inc. at 1940 E. 11th St. 11th Street is shown intersecting with Thorne Road. The larger building on Thorne is Blake, Moffitt and Towne at 1157 Thorne Rd. The body of water at the bottom of the picture is the Sitcum Waterway. The railroad tracks run between the waterway and 11th Street. At the left hand side of the intersection of Thorne and 11th Streets is the Tideflats Texaco gasoline station, beside the station is B & M Distributing Co. Washington Steel Products was the only Northwest manufacturer of builder's hardware, including rolling door hardware and Kitch'n-Handy cabinet attachments. The company began operation in Seattle in 1945 and moved to Tacoma in 1948. The company was sold to Ekco Products Company of Chicago in October of 1959. At the time of the sale, the company had 475 workers, with 200 in manufacturing, and a payroll of 1 1/2 million. (TNT 09-03-1956)

Washington Steel Products, Inc. (Tacoma); Blake, Moffitt & Towne, Inc. (Tacoma); Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960

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;