Even before the United States entered World War II in 1941, groups were collecting scrap aluminum and other metals for the industries supporting the war in Europe. Throughout the war, people all over the country turned in their extra metal items to help the war effort. One scrap metal depository was set up in downtown Seattle at University Place, a widened section of University Street between Fourth and Fifth Avenues.

This July 1941 photo shows a scrap aluminum drive at University Place in downtown Seattle. Members of the Teamsters Union toss pots and pans from the University Place scrap metal depository into nearby trucks which will take the metal to local industries. University Place was renamed Victory Square during World War II and was the site of many war bond rallies and other events.

Date photograph was filed at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer (date of photograph and file date may differ by a month or more): July 23, 1941