New Kensington Production Works Historic District

Along the Allegheny River in New Kensington and Arnold, Pennsylvania, the district covers more than 60 acres of aluminum manufacturing buildings erected between 1899 and 1947. Most are brick or corrugated metal on steel frames, ranging from one to six stories, with flat, gable, clerestory or sawtooth roofs chosen for their production uses. The Pittsburgh Reduction Company moved its operations here in the early 1890s, after receiving land and cash incentives from the Burrell Improvement Company. The plant produced sheet, rod, wire, tubing, foil, cookware and bronze powder, and later the Kensington-Ware line of Art Deco aluminum pieces. It is regarded as the first aluminum production works of its kind in the United States and as the original Alcoa plant, where methods were developed and then passed on to other plants. The buildings also show the layout and equipment of early twentieth century aluminum manufacturing, which is why the district is listed.