ca. 1931. Built in 1901 by J.E. Bonnell for the Sunset Telephone Co., this building was later occupied by Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Co. It is on the list of City and National Registry sites. This photograph was taken about 1931.

The March 21st, 1956 opening of the Pacific Telephone & Telegraph's Hobby Show, sponsored by the Tacoma Council of Telephone Pioneers. One man holds a braided leather whip, while John Svoboda, from the sponsoring group, holds a double barreled shotgun. To Svoboda's right stands Eric O. Brown, district commercial manager for Pacific Telephone and Telegraph. The displays behind the three men are of firearms. In front and to the right of the men is a table holding open literature on tying flies. More than 100 participants displayed over 400 individual entries. The entries included hobbies, handicraft, art work and collections of a wide variety. Exhibits included coins and tax tokens, silver and chinaware, dolls, churns and coffeemills, embroidery, crochet and lace, early American firearms, a lapidary's table for amateur geologists and fly making. The show was open to all telephone workers and their families. The chairman was Arthur Dahlberg. (TNT 3/20/1956, pg. 4, 3/21/1956, pg. A-11, 3/22/1956, pg. A-4)

Telephone companies--Tacoma; Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Co. (Tacoma); Firearms; Whips; Hobbyists--Tacoma; Collectors--Tacoma; Svoboda, John; Brown, Eric O.;

On April 4, 1924, the Bell System Telephone company celebrated the 40th anniversary of telephone service in Tacoma by holding a luncheon for the surviving original subscribers to Tacoma's first telephone exchange. Five female employees, dressed in the manner of 1884, welcomed the guests. They are, left to right, Icle McDowell, Lucille Croxall, Eva Mollett, Mrs. Signe Hultgrew and Mrs. Mildred Sinclair. Their guests are, left to right, A.E. Dean, R.F. Radebaugh, I.W. Anderson, Major C.O.Bates, E.W. Melse, Judge John Arthur, Arthur Patrick, John Schlarb, W.P. Bonney, W.G. Rowland, Walter J. Ball, J.M. Ashton, W.J. Thompson, Henry Drum and Stuart Rice. The first telephone company office was located in Rebard's Cigar Store, and the owner acted as "central", dropping his work at the cigar counter to work the switchboard. The group is standing outside the Bell Telephone building at 1101 Fawcett Ave. Built in 1901 by J.E. Bonnell, it was added to the National and Tacoma historic registries in 1985. Boland B9815, BU-13,178

Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Co. (Tacoma); Telephone companies--Tacoma;

Pacific Tel & Tel Co. at 1101 Fawcett Ave., interior. A long row of women are seated before their switchboards in this June of 1925 photograph while the women standing behind them are perhaps giving instruction. Telephone operators for decades were primarily women. (scan from negative, no print on file) TPL-10529

Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Co. (Tacoma)--Employees; Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Co. (Tacoma); Telephone operators--Tacoma--1920-1930; Telephone companies--Tacoma--1920-1930;