Mary Elizabeth Morton, an attorney with the Tacoma firm of Dorsey, Ruff and Morton, was photographed trying on straw hats at the Rhodes Brothers Department Store, 950 Broadway, for the Spring Fashions section of the March 6, 1949 Tacoma Times. Miss Morton was a graduate of the College (University) of Puget Sound and the University of Washington School of Law. In June of 1950 she married Donald H. Wollett. (T.Times, 3/6/1949, p.22)

Rhodes Brothers Department Store (Tacoma); Morton, Mary Elizabeth; Hats--1940-1950; Lawyers--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Exterior of Rhodes Department Store, Tribune, E. Inveen. Rhodes Brothers department store undergoes modernization in 1949 with a new, stark, uncluttered facade. The new facade covers the windows in the second story of the building. A view of daytime traffic can be seen with a bus running up South 11th Street and cars stopped along Broadway. Fisher's Department Store is seen on the far side of South 11th.

Rhodes Brothers Department Store (Tacoma); Clothing stores--Tacoma--1940-1950; Remodeling--Tacoma--1940-1950; City & town life--Tacoma--1940-1950; Business districts--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Rhodes Brothers showing new sign above doorway. Coast Neon Displays, Carl Eckstein. Rhodes Brothers Department Store was built at the corner of 11th and Broadway in 1903. Over the years the front has been remodeled several times. Here is a view of the front as it appeared in June of 1950. Coast Neon Displays of Tacoma had just installed a new neon sign above the front entrance. Note that there is a parking meter next to the right front fender of the Cadillac convertible.

Rhodes Brothers Department Store (Tacoma); Clothing stores--Tacoma--1950-1960; Electric signs--Tacoma--1950-1960; Coast Neon Displays (Tacoma); Cadillac automobile;

Window display at Rhodes Brothers Department Store. The entire window display is filled with Soap Box Derby memorabilia in a photograph taken in July, 1950. A small mannequin is dressed in racing attire and stands in front of a "Soap Box Derby Tacoma, Wash." banner. In front of the #135 Tacoma News Tribune racer is a trophy and photograph of the 1949 winner, Duane Swanson. There is a 26 piece Stanley tool board on display which is to be awarded for the best constructed racer, donated by Shell Oil Co. The 1950 Soap Box Derby is to be held on Sunday, July 23, on South 38th St. Boys 11-15 are eligible to enter and Rhodes Brothers will award each contestant a pair of "Buck-o-Brand" jeans as shown in the window.

Coaster cars--Tacoma; Rhodes Brothers Department Store (Tacoma); Shell Oil Co., Inc. (Tacoma); Mannequins;

Miss Dorothy Molund and Stanley Tiedeman try on engagement rings at Rhodes Department Store. No date had yet been set for their wedding but the world would now know their engagement was official. Ordered by the Tribune for brides' layout, Harry Lynch. (TNT, 5/3/1950, p.38)

Rhodes Brothers Department Store (Tacoma); Courtship; Rings; Molund, Dorothy; Tiedeman, Stanley; Diamonds--Tacoma; Couples--Tacoma--1950-1960; Journalism--Tacoma--1950-1960;

New neon sign lights up the night over the entrance to Rhodes, Tacoma's largest department store at 11th and Broadway. Rhodes was founded in 1892 by Henry A. Rhodes as a tea and coffee shop. The small shop operated in various downtown locations until it opened at its Broadway location in 1903 as a grand department store, on the model of Wanamaker's or Marshall Fields. The store continued to expand until 1925 when Henry Rhodes retired and the family business was sold. The store eventually became part of the Western Department store chain, until it closed in 1974.

Rhodes Brothers Department Store (Tacoma); Department stores--Tacoma; Electric signs--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Originally built as a three story building in 1903, the Rhodes Brothers Department Store at 950 Broadway had two stories and a roof garden added in 1911; the building continued to undergo considerable remodeling through the years. To modernize the front of the store, a new facade was added at the end of the 1940s. The facade was removed in 1980 when the building was bought by the University of Puget Sound and became home to the Norton Clapp Law Center. In the early days, in an effort to bring more trade into Tacoma from the outside, the Rhodes brothers came up with the idea of highway signs, Washington's first. The signs claimed "All Roads lead to Rhodes" and gave the number of miles to Tacoma. These signs were erected as far south as the Columbia river and into southwest Washington and the Grays Harbor areas. In the days when there were few automobiles, these signs became landmarks.

Rhodes Brothers Department Store (Tacoma); Department stores--Tacoma--1950-1960;

One of the best loved features at the Rhodes Brothers Department Store at 950 Broadway was the miniature Milwaukee Railroad train, the "Hiawatha". During the Christmas shopping season children could ride the "Hiawatha" to the North Pole to visit Santa. This photo from November 1951 shows a train load of children, including Janet Meyer in lead train, leaving the Hiawatha Ville station while five Rhodes employees, including the train conductor and the engineer pose for the camera. The Hiawatha train was built by the Miniature Train and Railroad Co. in Rensselaer, Indiana.

Miniature railroads--Tacoma; Rhodes Brothers Department Store (Tacoma); Passengers--Tacoma; Railroad tracks--Tacoma; Meyer, Janet;

Children attentively listen to the "engineer" while on board the Milwaukee Railroad's toy train, the Hiawatha, on November 17, 1951. The train was set up to run in Rhodes Bros. Department Store; view of train and passengers, "engineer" and "conductor". Apparently the train stopped at Hiawatha Ville, pop. 18, which had an elevation of 63 feet. A banner above the "depot" indicated that it was a treat when you traveled east on the Olympian Hiawatha, with stops ranging from Spokane to Great Falls, Montana. TPL-1713

Miniature railroads--Tacoma; Rhodes Brothers Department Store (Tacoma); Signs (Notices); Railroad tracks--Tacoma;

Children and adults are lined up at Milwaukee Road ticket booth set up in the Rhodes Bros. Department Store in order that the youngsters can catch a ride on the miniature train, the "Hiawatha", which would travel through part of the store. A blackboard indicates that the next scheduled train would depart at 10:00 am at the Hiawatha Ville station. TPL-2475

Miniature railroads--Tacoma; Rhodes Brothers Department Store (Tacoma); Queues--Tacoma; Signs (Notices); Ticket offices--Tacoma;

Tacoma News Tribune's 1951 "Christmas Gifts" layout. Nelson Davis' daughters, Diana, 10, and Jill, 8, looking at vases and figurines at Rhodes Department Store's Gift Department to get ideas for the Christmas season. The girls, with braids, are dressed in matching coats and hats.

Davis, Diana; Davis, Jill; Davis, Nelson--Family; Shopping--Tacoma--1950-1960; Gifts; Children--Clothing & dress--Tacoma--1950-1960; Rhodes Brothers Department Store (Tacoma); Department stores--Tacoma--1950-1960;

A small group of children eye the stuffed Santa standing outside the toy department of Rhodes Brothers Department Store in late November, 1952. Behind them, a large sign with a cutout of a smiling monkey proclaims the store to have the city's biggest toyland. Rhodes also offered miniature train rides for the little tykes. Left to right are Jimmy Newkirk being held by Lawrence Walker, Santa, Kathy Hall, Brenda Newkirk, and Santa's helper, Donna Walker. The Independent Order of Foresters would be holding a Christmas party at Normanna Hall on December 20th; Santa is expected to attend. Photograph ordered by Independent Order of Foresters. (TNT 12-12-52, C-5) TPL-8109

Christmas--Tacoma; Children--Tacoma--1950-1960; Rhodes Brothers Department Store (Tacoma); Signs (Notices); Independent Order of Foresters 327 (Tacoma); Newkirk, Jimmy; Newkirk, Brenda; Hall, Kathy; Walker, Donna; Walker, Lawrence;