Giant Powder Company

Destruction of Two San Francisco explosives plants

On November 26, 1869, a terrific explosion destroyed the Giant dynamite factory, killing two and injuring nine people.^[2] A new facility was subsequently built at another site located in the western part of San Francisco, among the sand dunes and scrub that later became part of the Sunset District (in the vicinity of today's Kirkham, Ortega, 20th, and 32nd Avenues), but another accident destroyed that plant as well.

Plants in Albany and Berkeley

The public outcry that ensued from these two accidents prompted the Giant Powder Company to move across the bay to a more remote site in what was then West Berkeley (now Albany), between Fleming Point and Cerrito de San Antonio. The railroad station for the facility was named "Nobel".^[3] The Judson Manufacturing Co., whose founder and CEO Egbert Judson^[4] acquired an interest in Giant, established its chemical works adjacent to the Giant plant to supply it with the acids for manufacturing dynamite.^[5] Production was successful here for more than a decade before yet another accidental explosion occurred on July 9, 1892. The blast was widely felt, shattering windows for miles around, including those on the campus of the University of California. Several workers at the Giant plant were killed. The facility was entirely destroyed.^[6]

Point Pinole explosives plant

The Giant Powder Company moved once again, this time to a remote site near Point Pinole, northwest of the city of San Pablo.

In 1915, the Giant Powder Company was acquired by the Atlas Powder Company. Atlas, as well as the Hercules Powder Company, had been formed in 1912 as part of the settlement of the court-ordered breakup of the DuPont Corporation's explosives monopoly.^[7] The new management implemented more rigorous safety measures.

Giant's production facility remained at Point Pinole for decades without any further serious accidents, although there were a few incidents, producing a wide variety of explosives for commercial and military uses until 1960. The area where explosives were manufactured was named "Nitro"^[8] while the nearby company town was called "Giant".^[9] The area is still shown on maps as "Giant", and a principal thoroughfare through the area is called "Giant Highway".^[10] The site of the Giant Powder Company at Point Pinole Regional Shoreline is a California Historical Landmark, number 1002-1, marked with a monument and plaque.^[11]

On May 31, 1961, shortly after the Atlas Powder Company closed its Giant facility, it changed its name to Atlas Chemical Industries, Inc. as it started to move away from producing explosives. On July 21, 1971, Atlas was purchased by Imperial Chemical Industries Limited (U.K.) and became its American affiliate under the name ICI Americas Inc.