Penn State New Ken's Alcoa exhibit lets company history, products shine
To many, Alcoa aluminum is known for its use in the aerospace, automotive and construction industries, and, of course, in the soda pop can.
But the largest U.S. maker of aluminum has more than dabbled in other product ventures during its 121-year history.
The ability to produce a magic metal that is flexible yet strong and weighs one-third as much as steel, fired the imagination of Alcoa scientists to produce a range of housewares, a violin, an Oscar de la Renta designer dress and the aluminum Christmas tree.
Several hundred of those beautiful and quirky artifacts are on display at Penn State New Kensington in Upper Burrell during a special two-week exhibit, free to the public, running through July 20. Part of the exhibit will be extended to the end of the month.
The University's New Kensington campus has enjoyed a long-standing relationship with Alcoa, at one time headquartered in Pittsburgh, with a technical center in close proximity to the college campus in Upper Burrell. Among other things, the company donated the acreage for the local campus.
"The exhibit shows the diversity of Alcoa products and what can be done with aluminum and the inroads the company made while experimenting with the material," says Bud Gibbons, an art professor at the college who helped organize the exhibit.
On display are artifacts on loan from the Senator John Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh, the Allegheny-Kiski Valley Heritage Museum in Tarentum and the Northern Westmoreland Foundation, which is headquartered in New Kensington. Many of the items are from a 3,000-piece collection amassed by Marilyn Sullivan Bonatti, who currently resides in Florida.
"This is the only place where you'll get to see all of these items together," Gibbons says.
And what a lineup of historical treasures: Aluminum playing cards, comb sets, dinnerware, artistic sculptures, jewelry and more.
"You really do get to travel back in time with the exhibit," Gibbons says.
For example, one installation features a writing table with all the tools of years gone-by, such as an inkwell, blotter, letter opener, letter holder, picture frame and a cigarette box.
All made of aluminum, of course.
Also on display is a 25-by-15-foot mural of aluminum mosaics illustrating the popular uses of the metal in planes, soda-pop cans and other products. Artist Iris Tiberio created "Mosal" as a re-positionable aluminum mosaic that makes it possible to compose any type of texture and image.
An expert engineer in aluminum, Tiberio worked at Alcoa's operations in Fusina, Italy, where she searched for artistic ways to use the beauty of the material. The mosaic features the pointillism style and was intended to show the variety of ways in which Alcoa touches people's everyday lives.
The exhibit also features 10-foot-tall aluminum doors embossed with intricate details. "Mosal" and the doors are on loan from the neighboring Alcoa Technical Center.
On display is the company's first cooking utensil -- an aluminum tea kettle -- which first was produced in the late 1800s, according to Jim Thomas, president of the board of the Allegheny-Kiski Valley Historical Society.
"They were always looking for new markets, new places to use aluminum and cooking utensils were a natural," Thomas says.
The company, then known as the Pittsburgh Reduction Co., was founded by Charles Martin Hall in 1888 with a pilot plant in Pittsburgh's Strip District.
At the turn of the century, aluminum was considered a "miracle metal" that weighed much less than other metals and didn't rust. And Hall discovered a method to produce the highly desirable material cheaply. The company grew and established its first manufacturing plant in New Kensington, dubbed as "Aluminum City," the birthplace of the precious metal.
Locally beloved is Kensington Ware, known as "the poor man's silver," and was used as fancy giftware given at weddings and other special events and often displayed prominently in the dining rooms of many Alle-Kiski Valley homes.
Kensington Ware was produced locally from 1934 to 1970, according Kevin Guida of New Kensington, a local historian familiar with Alcoa artifacts.
"What made Kensington Ware different was that it maintained its fine finish. The pieces were 'anodized,' which prevented oxidation and tarnishing," he says.
Alcoa wasn't just looking to sell its products solely to American consumers, but to other manufacturers, according to Guida.
For example, one of Alcoa's subsidiaries, WearEver, developed aluminum chairs which later were manufactured by another company, he says.
And the Kensington Ware product lines were meant to showcase domestic products that other companies could produce using Alcoa aluminum.
Featured in the exhibit is Kensington Ware's Contemporary Line, including decorative pieces in a matte aluminum finish such as trays, water pitchers, desk sets, cocktail shakers, vases, smoking items, dinner and luncheon plates and more.
"These pieces were not for use everyday," Guida says. "If you were having company, this was your nice set," he adds.
The Steamship Line includes serving pieces bearing the crest of the Alcoa steamship (Yes, Alcoa has a steamship company) and was given as favors to executives or prizes on the company's steamship cruises, according to Guida.
The Altar Appointments Line featured candle holders, crosses and vases for churches and pieces still can be found in houses of worship throughout the Valley.
"Everybody has a piece of Kensington Ware," Guida says. "We grew up with it, and we don't value it like people who don't live around here. It brings strong prices at auction."
"The Deco style and retro look of Kensington Ware fits so well with today's modern, sleek style. It has a timeless beauty that is captured in the pieces on display."
After the exhibit, Alcoa artifacts still can be viewed at the Alle-Kiski Valley Heritage Museum and the Heinz History Center.
Additional Information:
Alcoa Artifacts Exhibit
What: Artworks on loan from the Senator John Heinz History Center, Pittsburgh; Northern Westmoreland Foundation, New Kensington; Allegheny-Kiski Valley Heritage Museum, Tarentum; and Alcoa Technical Center, Upper Burrell
When: through July 20. Gallery hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays and noon-5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays
Where: Penn State New Kensington, campus art gallery, 3550 Seventh Street Road, Upper Burrell
Admission: Free
Details: Web site
