Tacoma: Electric City of the Pacific Coast, 1904Pratt, Louis W.
History
Tacoma: Electric City of the Pacific Coast, 1904
Pratt, Louis W.
Tacoma (Wash.) -- Description and travel
In this connection the fact should be mentioned that TACOMA is not only
the great mart for Washington fir, spruce, hemlock, pine and cedar—soft
woods, but has command also of abundant supplies of hard woods, such as
maple, oak and ash, which are also found in Western Washington. Among the
new TACOMA industries of 1904 is a large plant for the manufacture of
parlor furniture from hard woods such as are obtainable in this vicinity
or will be brought from the tropical forests of the Philippine Islands by
steamships plying between this port and Manila.
RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION AND REPAIR PLANTS.
The second largest manufacturing plant in TACOMA which is also the
largest plant of its description in the Pacific Northwest, is the
railway construction and repair plant of the Northern Pacific Railway
at South TACOMA. This enormous plant furnishes employment for 800 men
and manufactures and repairs everything in the line of motive power or
rolling stock for railroad use. A $60,000 building for an additional
boiler shop is now being erected to enlarge the facilities for locomotive
work. The shops of the Tacoma Eastern railroad and the Tacoma Railway &
Power Company are also located at TACOMA. Adjoining the Northern Pacific
plant is a large plant of the Griffin Car Wheel Works, and not far
distant from South TACOMA is the largest rolling mill in the State, the
plant of the Western Iron & Steel Works at Lakeview. Allied to this class
of industrial enterprises are numerous foundries and machine shops for
the manufacture of stationary and marine engines and boilers, machinery,
saws, architectural iron, bridges, and other products of brass, tin,
copper, iron and steel. The Puget Sound Dry Dock & Machine Company, of
TACOMA, operates the largest private drydock north of San Francisco.
[Illustration:
1—Washington Pipe & Foundry Company.
2—Tacoma Warehouse & Elevator Company.
3—Carstens Packing Company.
4—Elevator A and Tacoma Grain Company’s Flour Mill.
5—Pacific Starch Company.
]
LARGEST SMELTER ON THE COAST.
Still another line of industry in which TACOMA takes the lead, is in the
reduction of ores of gold, silver, lead, copper and other metals. The
Tacoma Smelting Company’s plant on the waterfront at the north end of
the city is the largest smelter on the Pacific Coast. In 1902 the plant
was enlarged by the addition of huge copper reduction works which began
operations in September, 1902, and a copper refinery, the only plant of
its kind west of Great Falls, Montana, is now in course of construction.
The Tacoma Smelter began operations in September, 1890. In 1891 an
average of fifty-eight men were employed, and the value of the output was
$781,133.38. Five hundred men are now employed at the smelter and the
output of the plant for the year 1903 was as follows:
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