{"nrhp_refnum":"98000399","name":"Logans Ferry Powder Works Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Barking Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Plum Borough","county":"Allegheny County","state":"PA","lat":40.53879251300003,"lon":-79.76438390619299,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1998-05-07","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Industry"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 20-acre industrial district of 27 vernacular brick buildings and 8 structures at Logans Ferry in Plum Borough, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, built between 1918 and 1936 as a powder works for the Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa).","why_significant":"The nomination argues the district is significant for its association with aluminum bronze powder and paste manufacturing for Alcoa under the industry criterion, and for its vernacular industrial architecture under the architecture criterion. It states the works was built after a 1917 explosion at New Kensington and is the only one of its kind constructed by Alcoa.","narrative":"Logans Ferry Powder Works is a 20-acre industrial complex on the Allegheny River in Plum Borough, Allegheny County, built by the Aluminum Company of America beginning in 1918. Its 27 one- and two-story brick buildings and eight structures were laid out along a concrete spine road between the river and the Pennsylvania Railroad. The works was established after a November 1917 explosion destroyed the powder department at New Kensington, and it manufactured aluminum bronze powder used in paints, inks, and explosives. In 1935 it began producing albron paste, a process developed to reduce explosion hazards. Two explosions, in 1929 and 1932, and a further fatal blast in 1979 marked its operating history. Production ended in 1986 after the plant was sold to Silberline Manufacturing Company, which removed its equipment. The district is regarded as a representative example of industrial vernacular architecture tied to the aluminum industry and is valued for its association with the production of aluminum powder.","period_of_significance":"1918-1947","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Other: no style","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Most buildings are vacant and deteriorating; the current owner rents part of the facility for industrial storage.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:35.78767-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/98000399.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/98000399/6f39e097b5-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/98000399/6f39e097b5-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Lee Paxton","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LogansFerryPowderWorksHistoricDistrict.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Lee Paxton</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LogansFerryPowderWorksHistoricDistrict.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71992238","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logans_Ferry_Powder_Works_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6667288"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/allegheny-county/logans-ferry-powder-works-historic-district-98000399/"}