Across the river from the Renton Community Center, is a large open area where the Cedar River Trail starts. This was the location of a huge factory that produced brick and clay products and employed hundreds of workers. The factory started in 1901 as Renton Clay Company, but grew quickly and merged with Denny Clay Works to become Denny-Renton Clay & Coal in 1905.
The "then" photo is from around 1912. It's been colorized and shows the west end of the factory from the trailhead (second photo is original B&W). The river is on the left (not visible) and Renton Hill is on the right. A small office building is in front of 10 brick kilns, which are partially underground with chimneys about 40 feet high. The factory extended beyond the kilns with more buildings and a large clay quarry (third photo).
In the "now" photo, almost all evidence of the factory is gone. It ceased operations in the early 1980s and the buildings were demolished. The only thing I found still present was the concrete floor of the office building. The far end of the site is now the Cedar River Dog Park, created by volunteers and donors in 2009, and now managed by the City of Renton.
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