Then and Now: Kaiser Trentwood

The Trentwood mill opened during the war effort in the 1940s, and still operates off Trent Avenue. The smelting plant in Mead, also purchased by Henry J. Kaiser, has closed.

Section:Gallery

Mon., Feb. 1, 2021

1946: This aerial photo shows the Kaiser Aluminum Trentwood rolling mill after it was taken over by industrialist Henry J. Kaiser at the end of World War II. Government financing built the plant in 1942 and it produced the sheet aluminum for the aircraft that won the war, including the B-17 bomber and the P-51 fighter. The complex covers 53 acres of ground, situated between the Spokane River, Trent Avenue, and Evergreen and Sullivan roads. The plant was financed by the Defense Plant Corp., a government agency that supported wartime manufacturing. After the war, it became Kaiser Aluminum, a staple industry of Spokane ever since.

The Spokesman-Review Photo Archi
The Kaiser Trentwood aluminum plant is shown in 2021. Negotiations broke down this week over an attempt to reopen an aluminum smelter in Ferndale.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review Buy this photo