Undated photograph of the Port of Tacoma grain elevators, taken for the Tacoma Chamber of Commerce.

Foundation Co., Yard #4, located on the Tacoma Tideflats - Rigger Storage and Water Tank, May 10, 1918. The Riggers Store House measured 32' x 27'6", 14' high, 880 sq. feet and built at a cost of $250. The water tank cost $1241 to build and consisted of a 25' diameter tank 16' high and a 26 x26 platform, 18' high. Due to the fact that most of the machinery was steam driven, an abundance of water was very important.

Women are pictured hard at work at their sewing machines in this undated photograph by photographer Chapin Bowen of the Shull-Day, later Day's Tailor-d, Clothing Co. They are surrounded by piles of the finished product, men's trousers. The company, founded by Frank Eugene Day in 1902, became the Northwest's largest manufacturer of trousers. The company perfected the assembly line where over 33 different types of sewing machine performed one function each, with the pants product being passed between the machines until completed. TPL-9501, BOWEN 2657

A Medosweet milkman, carrying a load of bottles, is on his way to deliver milk on this sunny morning in this undated Chapin Bowen photograph. He has parked his small insulated truck and left the door ajar. Medosweet Dairies, a merger of the Royal Ice Cream & Milk Co. and the Producers Dairy, had a modernized plant located at South 25th & Pacific Avenue. It emphasized its pure milk products and adherence to strict standards of cleanliness as far back as 1928. Medosweet had a laboratory, the first of its kind in Tacoma, to guarantee the highest quality of their products, including milk, cream and buttermilk. The company's pasterurized milk was delivered to home and chosen grocers the same day it was brought in by the firm's selected producers. Customers could be assured that their milk was fresh.

ca. 1948. This photograph, taken in 1948, shows Engine No. 903 of the Tacoma Municipal Beltline Railway. In January of 1948, Tacoma bought two almost new 65-ton diesel locomotives through the War Assets Administration. The Beltline Railroad was able to buy both locomotives from the federal government for only $41,000. They had originally cost over a quarter of a million dollars. (TNT 01/14/1948 p.14)

This photograph from the 1940s shows a man welding a seam in a large pipe section. He is inside the open pipe. Neither the man's name nor his employer's was given. TPL-9514

ca. 1948. This photograph, taken in 1948, shows Engine No. 903 of the Tacoma Municipal Beltline Railway pulling freight cars on the Tacoma Tideflats. In January of 1948, Tacoma bought two almost new 65-ton diesel locomotives through the War Assets Administration. The Beltline Railroad was able to buy both locomotives from the federal government for only $41,000. They had originally cost over a quarter of a million dollars. (TNT 01/14/1948 p.14)

ca. 1943. Originally built for the Tacoma Biscuit & Candy Co. in 1904, this building at 17th & Jefferson Ave. was sold to the Union Pacific Railroad two years later. After stints as a spice factory and many years as the Tacoma Paper & Stationery Co., it was taken over by Blake, Moffitt & Towne, Inc. in January of 1943. The firm was a wholesale distributor of printing paper, wrapping paper and stationery and remained at the Jefferson address until 1954 when it moved out to the industrial Tideflats. Since 1971, The Old Spaghetti Factory restaurant has been the primary occupant.

Pioneer Beer display. TPL-8149

ca. 1931. boys looking at ASARCO smokestack

ca. 1933. Retiring Northern Pacific Stationmaster at office Union Station with his hand on the lever of the switchboard. Photograph ordered by the News Tribune.

ca. 1936. Actress Lucille Lund shares a moment with girls in her hometown of Buckley during a visit in 1936. Lund had a long career in motion pictures and television after leaving Buckley for Hollywood in 1933, starring in "Saturday's Millions" with Robert Young, "The Black Cat" with Boris Karloff, several Charlie Chase comedies and numerous television commercials. She later became Mrs. Kenneth Higgins.

ca. 1936. Walker Cut Stone Co. outcropping, Wilkeson, Washington, circa 1936. Walker Cut Stone operated a sandstone quarry in Wilkeson from 1914-1959. Sandstone was commonly used in building and paving projects. The Walker company used Wilkeson sandstone in constructing the major state Capitol buildings in Olympia. Walker Cut Stone's offices and plant were located in Tacoma at 2403 Center St. (photograph copied for TPL by Mary Randlett)

ca. 1935. Workers coming through the gate at the St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co. mill in Tacoma, 1220 Saint Paul Ave., around 1935. The mill was established in 1888 on a tideflat island called the "Boot," which lay between the two principal outlets of the Puyallup River. The mill began operation in April of 1889. Production rose until, by 1940, the mill claimed the largest daily production in the world.

ca. 1932. South end of Pacific Ave. just south of the Union Station. Goodrich Silvertown, Inc. (1955 Pacific ) and the Bone-Dry Shoe Co. (2113-15 Pacific) are neighbors as evidenced in this circa 1932 photograph. The tire store, Goodrich Silvertown, utilized Hollowstone concrete and tile in its construction. Throngs visited the store when it opened in June of 1931. The Bone-Dry Shoe factory was designed by architects Hill, Mock & Griffin and opened in 1919. It manufactured top quality boots for nearly 40 years mostly handcrafted by skilled workers.

ca. 1931. Dennison & Company, chicken canners, Fern Hill. Belle and Lee Dennison founders of food line. This circa 1931 photograph depicts five women working at an assembly line of glass jars full of Dennison chicken.

ca. 1931. Dennison & Company, chicken canners, Fern Hill. Belle and Lee Dennison founders of food line. This view of equipment at the cannery was taken circa 1931. See series 310, image 069 for exterior view of Dennison & Company.

A spectacular five-hour blaze gutted the Day Island plant of the Clear Fir Lumber Co. on the evening of October 18, 1934. It was the fifth major industrial fire in the Tacoma area in the past 24 days. The sawmill and dry kilns were destroyed but the door factory adjoining the sawmill was saved. Losses were conservatively estimated at $300,000 which included 3,000,000 feet of finished lumber and 170,000 feet of valuable ship decking. Six Tacoma fire companies and the city fireboat battled the blaze of undetermined origin which had begun near the boiler room. The reddened skies made the fire visible for many miles and attracted a crowd of about 10,000 on the hillside roads on three sides of the flaming plant. Another 15,000 viewed the fire from a variety of locations. The mill had begun operations in 1912 and was incorporated in 1916 as Clear Fir Lumber Co. Lately 250 men had worked there. Plans to rebuild were not immediately announced. BU-12606 (T.Times 10-19-34, p. 1-article; TNT 10-19-34, p. 1,11- alt. photograph)

ca. 1931. Dennison & Company, chicken canners, Fern Hill. Belle and Lee Dennison founders of food line. Glass jars filled with Dennison's Tender Chicken on display circa 1931.

ca. 1931. Dennison & Company, chicken canners, Fern Hill. Belle and Lee Dennison founders of food line. Unidentified Dennison employee stands near canning equipment circa 1931.

An unidentified man contemplating whether to enjoy his last bottle of pre-prohibition beer.

On April 15, 1931, after spending two weeks loading lumber and timber at the Defiance Mill, 4601 Ruston Way, the four masted "Commodore" left port in Tacoma for the Hawaiian Islands. It was towed to the Straits of Juan de Fuca by the tug Goliath. The last of the off shore sailing fleet in regular service on Puget Sound, it was the first sailing vessel to visit Tacoma in more than two years. The wooden four masted topsail schooner of 1,500 tons was built in 1919 by the JH Price Construction Co., a Lake Washington yard, for Norwegian owners and was named "Blaatind." By 1920, it was owned by a Seattle company and was renamed "Commodore." She sailed with lumber to Hawaii long past the demise of the remainder of the west coast sailing fleet. By 1942, she had passed through many hands to South African owners. They had her towed to South America and knocked apart for lumber to build houses. Bowen 05-761 (TNT 4/16/1931, pg. 20; "Marine History of the Pacific Northwest" H.W. McCurdy) TPL-9411

Mess tents pitched on the old Central School playgrounds across from the Armory as cooks prepare to feed the men of the second battalion of the Washington National Guard 161st Infantry called out to control the violence associated with the 1935 Lumber workers' strike. In June of 1935, the mills in Tacoma and surrounded areas attempted to reopen with workers willing to return to work. Violence erupted between the returning workers and the strikers. Governor Clarence Martin ordered the Guard in on June 23rd, 1935 after reports that local authorities were unable to handle the situation. It was the second time the Guard was ordered out since the World War, the other two times being in 1919 and 1933. (TNT 6/24/1935, pg. 1 & 2)

Soldiers from the 161st Infantry of the Washington National Guard patrol the Tideflats during the Lumber worker's strike of 1935. In June of 1935, the mills of Tacoma and surrounding areas were attempting to reopen after petitions circulated stating that over 60 % of the work force was willing to return. Governor Clarence Martin promised protection to the mills and workers and called in the Guard to patrol the Tideflats and guard the entrances into the industrial area. They also accompanied returning workers on the main thoroughfares into the area. The troops totalled over 500 by June 25th and came from Yakima, Prosser, Pullman and Walla Walla. (TNT 6/24/1935, pg. 1 & 2)

Members of the 2nd battalion of the Washington National Guard 161st Infantry lounge on the ground, or stand in line with their mess kits, preparing to eat at the temporary mess tents set up on the old Central School playground. The Guard was called into Tacoma by Governor Clarence Martin on June 23rd, 1935 to control the violence associated with the lumber workers' strike. The soldiers were stationed at the Armory and their mess tents set up in this nearby playground. The lumber and sawmill workers' strike started on May 6th and was settled August 2nd, 1935. (TNT 6/24/1935, pg. 1 & 2)

When the attempts in June of 1935 of workers to return to the striking mills erupted in violence, Governor Clarence Martin ordered in the Washington National Guard late Sunday night, June 23, 1935. The guards were whisked from Camp Murray to Tacoma in 16 trucks. Their job was to protect the returning workers and the mills. (TNT 6/24/1935, pg. 1 & 2)

A young boy poses by the chain link fence of the old Central School playgrounds where mess tents have been erected to feed the more than 500 members of the 2nd battalion of the 161st Infantry of the Washington National Guard called out to Tacoma to restore peace during the 1935 Lumber workers' strike. The Guard was stationed at the nearby Armory. The troops had been in training at Camp A.H. Hankins at Camp Murray for the past two weeks when they were deployed to Tacoma. (TNT 6/24/1935, pg. 1 & 2)

Chief of Police Harold Bird poses with an officer of the Washington National Guard, deployed to Tacoma by Governor Clarence Martin to restore the peace during the 1935 lumber workers' strike. In June of 1935, as some workers prepared to return to the reopened mills, their efforts were met with violence. Returning workers were threatened, beaten, their homes and vehicles bombed and vandalized. Local authorities were unable to stop the violence. The Guard was called in to protect the workers and the mills. The strikers and sympathizers were joined in their protests by those who resented the armed troops in their midst. (TNT 6/24/1935, pg. 1 & 2)

Mill workers, accompanied by Washington National Guardsmen, stand at the side of the road preparing to cross the Eleventh Street Bridge into the Tideflats to report to work. A second group of men appears to be standing just ahead, possibly strikers gathering to heckle the workers. In June of 1935, workers attempting to return to work at the reopening mills were subjected to extreme violence and threats. Governor Clarence Martin ordered the second battalion of the Washington National Guard 161st Infantry to Tacoma on June 23, 1935 to protect the returning workers and the mills. The guardsmen were armed with smoke, tear and nausea gas bombs, rifles, bayonets and ammunition. (TNT 6/24/1935, pg. 1 & 2)

Members of the Washington National Guard are loaded up in trucks and preparing to return to downtown Tacoma from the industrial Tideflats across the Eleventh Street Bridge. The second battalion of the Guards' 161st Infantry was mobilized to Tacoma by Governor Clarence Martin when workers attempting to return to work during the Lumber workers' strike met with violence. Their job was to protect the workers and the mills. They were stationed at the Armory and patrolled the Tideflats and all bridges and roads into the area. The Eleventh Street bridge has roadblocks on all but one lane, so that vehicles could be searched. (TNT 6/24/1935, pg. 1 & 2)