Historical Marker · No. 1002
Site of the First Dynamite Factory in United States
San Francisco, San Francisco County · California
Erected by Glen Park Neighborhoods History Project, Twin Peaks Parlor No. 214 of the Native Sons of the Golden West, the Historical Preservation Foundation of the Native Sons of the Golden West, and San Francisco Recreation and Parks, 2018
The bronze counts the damage in buildings and fences. The Daily Alta California counted people. The chemist, John Bussenius, and the teamster, John Cook, died outright. Eight Chinese workers lived on the site, in a shanty near the store of nitroglycerin and acids, and six of them were badly burned, one nearly blinded. The cause was never found. The company rebuilt west of Twin Peaks within months. The bronze went up only in 2018, after the Glen Park Neighborhoods History Project pressed to have the 1991 designation marked.
What the plaque says
The First Dynamite Factory in America Giant Powder Company, under personal license of inventor Alfred Nobel, began producing dynamite here on March 19, 1868. On November 26, 1869, a massive explosion leveled the complex's buildings and fences. Giant Powder soon resumed operations in west San Francisco, and moved to its final site at Pt. Pinole in 1892. As a pioneer company, Giant Powder was so influential that "Giant" became synonymous with "dynamite," a vital ingredient for California's early development. California Registered Historical Landmark No. 1002 Historic site designated May 3, 1991. Plaque placement approved August 17, 2017 as a result of a collaborative effort by the Glen Park Neighborhoods History Project, Twin Peaks Parlor No. 214 of the Native Sons of the Golden West, the Historical Preservation Foundation of the Native Sons of the Golden West, and San Francisco Recreation and Parks.
Where it stands
37.73623, -122.43994 · Directions