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;

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;

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);

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;

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;