ca. 1900. German immigrant Henry Mahncke, with partner Charles Muehlenbruch, built the Berlin Building in 1892. It was the American dream come true for Mahncke who had toiled in his Tacoma bakery since 1882. Losing everything but his dignity in the economic Panic of 1893, Mahncke became a janitor and elevator operator in the building he once owned. The Berlin Building was demolished in 1920 to make way for the present Washington Building. Mahncke went on to a successful career in real estate and died in 1937.

Office buildings--Tacoma--1900-1910; Berlin Building (Tacoma); Mahncke, Henry;

ca. 1898. Copy of an 1898 photograph of the R.E. Anderson Insurance and Real Estate office. The office was then located on the first floor of the Berlin Building, 1021-23 Pacific Ave. Its street address was 117 So. 11th St. Mr. Anderson, the founder of the company, was seated in the private office on the left. The remaining group consisted of, left to right, an unidentified Western Union messenger boy, an unidentified female secretary, W.H. Van Horn, William H. Miller (later president of the company) and A.Gehri, contractor and head of a roofing firm. Originally Anderson & Co. handled mortgage loans and insurance; they got into the real estate business in the aftermath of the panic of 1893. The room decor featured a wood stove with its pipe running across the ceiling, unshaded light globes, marble paneling and art glass. Copy made for Mr. Short, columnist for the Tacoma Times. (Argentum) (T. Times 4/23/1937, pg. 11)

R.E. Anderson & Co. Inc. (Tacoma); Anderson, R.E.; Van Horn, W.H.; Miller, William H.; Gehri, A.;