Alcoa Wenatchee Plant, Washington

The Aluminum Corporation of America (Alcoa) opened this central Washington aluminum plant in 1952, one of several smelters the company operated in the United States. Washington produced more aluminum than any other state, a situation which started in World War Two when aircraft companies like Boeing required the material for aircraft production, and the government supported the construction of massive hydroelectric plants along the Columbia, providing ample electricity for this tremendously power-consumptive industry. This plant is located next to its Columbia River power source, the Rock Island Dam. It produced around 360 million pounds of billet per year, and employed around 1,000 people, until it was mothballed in 2016.