Ludwig Nobel lived his life in Sweden. When he died on April 12, 1988 in France, newspapers around the globe mistakenly identified him as Alfred Nobel, Ludwig’s more famous brother. Alfred Nobel, known for bequeathing his estate to establish the Nobel Prizes, turned out to be alive and well. Alfred’s fortune came from his invention of dynamite.

The first commercial manufacturing of dynamite in the United States occurred on March 19, 1868, by the Giant Powder Company. The founder, Julius Bandmann, had obtained an exclusive license from Alfred Nobel after the two men were introduced (Bandmann was the brother of one of Nobel’s close associates). Ironically, Bandmann began producing dynamite two months before patents were awarded to Nobel.  Bandmann leased land in Glen Canyon from Rancho San Miguel resident LL Robinson, who became Giant Powder Company’s first president. The land was remote to downtown San Francisco at the time. Needless to say, their product was immediately in great demand mining companies, railroads, and the military. Bandmann and Robinson operated the factory for 15 months without incident until November 26, 1869, when an explosion destroyed the entire facility, killed a chemist and his driver, and injured 9 workers. The site of the destroyed factory was bought first by Adolph Sutro^[1], then by the Crocker family^[2], who built a park and zoo^[3]. The City bought the land in 1922 and converted it into a 70-acre open space with Islais Creek^[4] running through its center. 

Bandmann moved his factory to the deserted Sunset District sand dunes: 100 acres now bound by Kirkham, Ortega, 20^th and 32^nd. In 1872 there was an explosion with no injuries, but then a second explosion at the site killed two, and a third explosion in 1879 killed four. Public outcry forced Bandmann to move his company across the San Francisco Bay to Albany, now the site of the Golden Gate Racetrack. There were three explosions at this site, killing a total of 66, and two decades later, Bandmann made one more move to Point Pinole, now a regional park. Great Powder Company was ultimately bought by the Atlas Powder Company in 1915. The Point Pinole factory remained in operation until 1961. 

Today, there is a plaque at the entrance to Glen Canyon Park detailing the history of the Great Powder Company.

^[1] Adolph Sutro: see story coming March 14^th

^[2] Crocker Estate: see story coming July 16^th

^[3] Glen Park and Mission Zoo: See story coming September 17^th

^[4] Islais Creek: see story coming November 19^th