In January of 1948, Pierce County residents were lined up in the second floor hallway of the old Pierce County Court House trying to meet the deadline for registering their vehicles. Auditor Joseph E. Ford and his staff were prepared to work long hours to ensure that everyone could get their car licenses renewed before the January 10th deadline. There was a $3 penalty and an additional fine if arrested while operating a vehicle without a new sticker. (T.Times 1-3-48, p. 7)

Licenses--Tacoma--1940-1950; Recording & registration--Tacoma--1940-1950; License plates--Washington (State)--1940-1950; Vehicles--Tacoma--1940-1950; Queues--Tacoma; Crowds--Tacoma--1940-1950; Pierce County Courthouse (Tacoma);

Long lines of Pierce County residents filled the second floor hallway of the old Pierce County Courthouse on January 2, 1948 outside the Auditor's office. Motorists had until January 10th to register their vehicles, or a $3 penalty would be attached to their registration fees. Anyone choosing to drive without a 1948 license sticker could be arrested and heavily fined.(T. Times, 1/3/48, p. 7).

Licenses--Tacoma--1940-1950; Recording & registration--Tacoma--1940-1950; License plates--Washington (State)--1940-1950; Vehicles--Tacoma--1940-1950; Queues--Tacoma; Crowds--Tacoma--1940-1950; Pierce County Courthouse (Tacoma);

View of Pierce County Sheriff's office new medicine kit, kit is shown both opened and closed. Medicine kit has analgesic balm, liniment, Olympic Trainer athletic liniment, Red Cross bandages, ammonia inhalant, tweezers, scissors, swabs, gauze and other first aid items. Richard's Studio has combined two images, photo ordered by Gordon Hill, Pierce County Deputy Sheriff's Officer.

Sheriffs--Tacoma; Law enforcement--Tacoma; Law enforcement training--Tacoma; First aid--Tacoma; Emergency medical services--Tacoma; Pierce County Sheriffs (Tacoma);

Port of Tacoma for Times Special Edition, studio stock, B of R. The exterior of the Old Pierce County Court House showing one of the entryways to the building. The arched doorway is set between two pilasters. Attached columns are set immediately adjacent to the doorway which is topped with decorative windows while separated by a frieze from casement windows.

Pierce County Courthouse (Tacoma); Courthouses--Tacoma; Architectural elements--Tacoma; Doors & doorways--Tacoma;

Port of Tacoma for Times Special Edition, studio stock, B of R. The exterior of the Old Pierce County Court House. The ornate building, patterned after the Courthouse in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that was designed by Henry Hobson Richardson, was built in 1892. Proctor and Dennis served as architects and John T. Long was the contractor. It was built of Wilkeson and Pittsburg grey freestone and finished with Tenino bluestone. The clock tower stood 230 feet while the building's three stories measured 226 feet by 102 feet. The building was demolished in 1959. The building had turrets with conical spires and tall finials, round-arched windows, and a steeply pitched roof with hipped roof projections. A balustrade marks a balcony over one of the building's arched entryways.

Pierce County Courthouse (Tacoma); Courthouses--Tacoma; Clock towers--Tacoma--1940-1950; Roofs--Tacoma; Spires--Tacoma; Architectural elements--Tacoma;

ca. 1915. A photographic copy of a customer's photograph showing a large group of approximately 78 people in front of one of the entrances to the Pierce County Courthouse.

Pierce County Courthouse (Tacoma); Courthouses--Tacoma; Architectural elements--Tacoma; Doors & doorways--Tacoma;

Pierce County Courthouse. Three men sitting at tables in court room. This photograph was taken on November 26, 1951. On that day, one of the sessions at the Courthouse involved a decision by the Pierce County Commissioners whereby they voted to ban fireworks sale and use in the county except in supervised displays. Commissioner Harry Sprinker is possibly the first man at left. (TNT 11-26-51, p. 1-article)

Pierce County Courthouse (Tacoma);

The Pierce County Courthouse was built in 1892 and served for 70 years until it was abandoned and demolished following the construction of the current County-City Building on Tacoma Ave. Constructed at a cost of $743,000, the Romanesque building of Wilkeson and Pittsburgh grey freestone finished with Tenino bluestone was almost an exact duplicate of architect Henry Hobson Richardson's courthouse in Pittsburgh, Pa. The building was three stories and the central tower was 230 feet tall. The tower's clock, added in 1907, was four feet in diameter and faced on all four sides. The plans for the building included secret stairways, hideouts and a hanging room, reportedly used to hang two prisoners. The cathedral type building was demolished in 1959. (TNT'S "Tacoma Landmarks by Thompson" reprints from the TNT Calendars and Sunday Magazine")

Pierce County Courthouse (Tacoma); Historic buildings--Tacoma;

Three women switchboard operators at the switchboard at the Court House. The two women who are seated wear head sets with ear phones and microphones together. They are busy with the cords connecting and disconnecting phone calls. A 1950 calendar from Great Northern Railway hangs on the wall behind them. Ordered by Llewelyn Advertising Agency.

Pierce County Courthouse (Tacoma); Telephone switchboards--Tacoma; Telephone operators--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Claude R. "Shorty" Doran (at right, holding a microphone), the Pierce County Agricultural Agent, and an unidentified man were photographed using a reel-to-reel tape recorder in Mr. Doran's office at the old County Court House, 1012 South G Street, on June 15, 1950. They were probably recording a program to be broadcast on KMO radio during the Farm Show which was on the air Monday through Friday at 12:45 p.m. "Shorty" Doran became the agricultural agent in 1949. He had been active in promoting dairy practices in Pierce County for several years, and as superintendent of the Dairy department of the Western Washington Fair had successfully developed an outstanding 4-H dairy program. ( Ordered by Llewelyn Advertising Agency.)

Pierce County Courthouse (Tacoma); Sound recordings; Communication devices;

Republican candidates for 28th District. Because no G.O.P. candidates from the 28th District filed for the primary, Republican Central Committee chairman Clarence Sather had to persuade Elmer L. Eddy and Frank A. Glassy to run as "sticker" candidates. Voters would have to write their names in on the ballots in the November general election. Both men have labor ties; Eddy belongs to the boilermaker and barber unions and Glassy owns and operates Glassy Electric, a union shop. They will be opposing Democrats Arthur R. Paulsen and A. L. (Slim) Rasmussen. From left to right in the photograph are Don Perry, Supt. of Elections, Elmer L. Eddy, and Frank A. Glassy at the courthouse. (TNT 9-27-50, p. 12)

Political elections--Tacoma--1950-1960; Eddy, Elmer L.; Glassy, Frank A.; Perry, Don;

Blocks used for sidewalks on Consumer's Central Heating System at Pierce County Court House, Holroyd Company, Jim Holroyd. A workman is laying concrete blocks on either side of the pipe that provided steam throughout much of downtown Tacoma using an underground distribution system. The central generating plant used hogged fuel (mill refuse) from local sawmills. (TDL, 5/26/1931)

Holroyd Co. (Tacoma); Consumer's Central Heating Co. (Tacoma); Building materials--Tacoma; Concrete products industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Heating & ventilation industry--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Blocks used for sidewalks on Consumer's Central Heating System at Pierce County Court House, Holroyd Company, Jim Holroyd. A workman is backfilling the trench for the Consumer's Central Heating Company pipe that had been lined with concrete blocks to provide easy access to the pipe. The area where the pipe ran is covered with a sturdy material.

Holroyd Co. (Tacoma); Consumer's Central Heating Co. (Tacoma); Building materials--Tacoma; Concrete products industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Heating & ventilation industry--Tacoma--1940-1950;

A view of the exterior of the Pierce County Courthouse built in 1891-1893 of brick and sandstone. The tower was damaged by the April 13, 1949, earthquake and controversy had begun over whether it should be dismantled. It served as the courthouse for 70 years until it was abandoned and torn down following the construction of the present County-City Building along Tacoma Avenue. Constructed at a cost of $743,000, the cathedral-type building was an almost duplicate of architect Henry Hobson Richardson's courthouse in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The central tower clock was 230 feet high. (TNT, 7/24/1949) TPL-154

Pierce County Courthouse (Tacoma); Courthouses--Tacoma; Historic buildings--Tacoma;

The Pierce County Treasurer's office was located on the first floor of the Pierce County Court House, at 1012 South G Street. In 1949 The Pierce County Treasurer was Leander R. Johnson. Interior view of the treasurer's office, county employees are reviewing county treasury information; the man behind the three men in foreground, is looking through a city directory. TPL-8391

County government--Tacoma; Government employees--Tacoma; Government officials--Tacoma; Treasuries--Tacoma; Civil service--Tacoma--1940-1950; Pierce County Treasurer (Tacoma);

Copy of drawing, architect's sketch of design for lowering the tower of the Pierce County Courthouse which was damaged in the 1949 earthquake. Lance, McGuire and Muri, Architects. As of July 31st county commissioners revealed that structural weaknesses necessitated the removal of the tower. Estimates showed it would cost at least $60,000 to reinforce the tower sufficiently to allow it to remain. The Tacoma Architects' Society had petitioned the commissioners to spare the tower as it was "a noble example" of the Romanesque style. Removal of the tower and substitution of an ornamental peaked roof just above what would be the sixth floor level was estimated at $35,000. (TNT, 7/31/1949, p.1)

Pierce County Courthouse (Tacoma); Architectural Drawings; Lance, McGuire & Muri (Tacoma); Courthouses--Tacoma; Towers--Tacoma;

In late November 1949 workers dismantled the upper 27 feet of the Pierce County Courthouse tower which had been severely damaged in the earthquake of April 13, 1949. The open part of the topmost part of the tower was taken down stone by stone, lowered to the ground with a specially built exterior elevator, and the stone was hauled away. This view from inside the tower, through the broken face of the clock once housed there, looks across Central School and downtown Tacoma towards Commencement Bay and Browns Point. The clock had a 10-foot face and the glass cover was about 3/8" thick. (TNT, 11/20/1949, p.A-5)

Pierce County Courthouse (Tacoma); Courthouses--Tacoma; Towers--Tacoma; Clocks & watches; Historic buildings--Tacoma; Earthquakes--Tacoma--1940-1950; Damage to property; Demolition--Tacoma--1940-1950;