Interiors of the Hunt & Mottet building. Hunt & Mottet were wholesalers of hardware. This appears to be the accounting office. The women on the right work at desks with thick upright books, possibly price lists. The women on the left work on adding machines with sheets of papers, possibly orders.

Hunt & Mottet Co. (Tacoma); Hardware stores--Tacoma;

Richards Studio copy exposure. This copy of a photograph from the early 1900s shows Pacific Avenue, looking north from the corner of South 13th Street. Electric streetcars run down the middle of the wide street while horse drawn buggies and carts stay close to the curb. Businesses along this section of Pacific included the California Wine House at 1150 Pacific, H.V. Roberts - Dentist, the Central News Co., and the Warwick Liquor Company at 1205 Pacific Ave. A laundry wagon can be seen in the lower right corner.

Commercial streets--Tacoma--1900-1910; Street railroads--Tacoma

Traffic flashes by on busy Pacific Avenue as this May 15, 1957, photograph shows a panorama of downtown Tacoma buildings and businesses. Looking northbound, Day's Tailor is on the right; further down on the right can be spotted Schoenfeld's furniture with the Washington Building furthest north. Billboards advertising mayonnaise, Atlas, Connie's Cafe and the National Bank of Washington are scattered on the left side of Pacific. Notable businesses such as Hunt & Mottet Co., F.S. Harmon Mfg. Co., and the Rust Building all have signage clearly visible from long distances. The Heidelberg Brewery is slightly farther away toward the left center of the picture on "C" Street; smoke is billowing from the plant's stacks. Photograph ordered by Heidelberg Brewing Co. TPL-9291

Commercial streets--Tacoma--1950-1960; Billboards--Tacoma--1950-1960; Heidelberg Brewing Co. (Tacoma);

ca. 1905. Copy from glass plate, Richards Studio. View of South 11th and Pacific Ave., circa 1905. Streetcars once ran up 11th Street, an additional source of transportation besides the horse & cart and the occasional automobile. A few pedestrians are spotted crossing carefully as there are no visible "stop" signs for oncoming traffic. United Cigars, Tacoma Oyster and the Union Dental Co. are some of the visible businesses in a building on the corner of 11th & Pacific. That building was later demolished and the Rust Building constructed in its place. The building at the left foreground is the Equitable Building, 1102-04 Pacific. The Fidelity Building is on Broadway at the northeast corner of 11th. Additional stories would be added later. The tower on the County Courthouse is dimly seen to the rear of the photograph. Copy from glass plate made on October 3, 1958. TPL-9912

Commercial streets--Tacoma--1900-1910; Street railroads--Tacoma--1900-1910; Equitable Building (Tacoma); Fidelity Building (Tacoma);

ca. 1928. Broadway in the late 1920's was already known as the "heart of the shopping and theatrical district." Businesses were crammed cheek by jowl up and down the street. The New York Building at 1117-19 Broadway still listed the Horgan-Parker Department Store's advertisement of "The new daylight department store" even though the store was no longer in existence; Hotels Ritz and Warburton were doors apart; Feltman & Curme sold wonderful $6.50 and $5.50 shoes, and the Blue Mouse theater sold tickets at a mere 25 cents. Kimball's sold guns and sporting goods. The Winthrop Hotel on the right in the distance had opened in 1925. The 12-story Fidelity Building at 949-55 Broadway was also open; it was near the much smaller Hotel Warburton. More people had cars and were using them, as well as public transportation, to visit downtown. (Copy of glass plate negative made on October 3, 1958.) TPL-8477

Commercial streets--Tacoma--1920-1930; Hotel Winthrop (Tacoma); Fidelity Building (Tacoma); Blue Mouse Movie Theatre (Tacoma);

Full front of Bernice Building, Pacific Avenue side. Located on the ground floor of the Victorian era Bernice Building was Bender's, women and men's clothing store owned by Jack R. Bender. Customers seem to be flocking to the ready-to-wear store, drawn by the low prices in the quitting business sale. The Bernice Building, as well as the adjacent Pacific First Federal Savings & Loan Assn. building, would be demolished to make way for a modern, expanded Pacific First Federal structure. The new building would open in September, 1964.

Bernice Building (Tacoma); Bender's (Tacoma);

Front of Anderson Building, located at 10th and Pacific. Knapp Business College was located on the second floor.

Anderson Building (Tacoma); Knapp College (Tacoma); Storefronts--Tacoma--1940-1950; Federal Insurance Group (Tacoma);

Federal Insurance Company office at South 10th Street and Pacific Avenue, also home to Knapp College, Gale's Rugs and the Lutheran Service Center.

Anderson Building (Tacoma); Knapp College (Tacoma); Storefronts--Tacoma--1940-1950; Federal Insurance Group (Tacoma); Gale's Rugs (Tacoma); Lutheran Service Center (Tacoma);

Federal Insurance office at 10th and Pacific, also home to Knapp College (second floor), Gale's Rugs and the Lutheran Service Center.

Anderson Building (Tacoma); Knapp College (Tacoma); Storefronts--Tacoma--1940-1950; Federal Insurance Group (Tacoma); Gale's Rugs (Tacoma); Lutheran Service Center (Tacoma);

Interior of Broadway Branch, Puget Sound National Bank. Wooden counter with Glass partitions marked "Savings and Exchange" and "Notes and Collections". Fancy wall coverings and light fixtures, terrazzo flooring and countertops. Fueled by the wartime economy and the able leadership of bank president Reno Odlin, Puget Sound Bank began to grow dramatically. With the increased business, the bank needed additional help as well as replacements for those men serving in the war. The bank could not find enough employees to cover both the Broadway and the Lincoln branches, as well as the main branch. The Broadway branch was closed and the main branch remodeled in 1942.

Commercial facilities--Tacoma--1940-1950; Puget Sound National Bank (Tacoma); Banks--Tacoma;

Exterior exposure of intersection at 24th and Commerce. For use in court by Metzger, Blair & Gardner.

Commercial streets--Tacoma--1940-1950;

ca. 1941. Detail view of Puget Sound National Bank (National Realty Company) building showing elaborate doorway featuring carved figures. Heath and Twichell, Architects, 1910.

Commercial facilities--Tacoma--1940-1950; Business districts--Tacoma--1940-1950; Puget Sound National Bank (Tacoma); Banks--Tacoma;

Two buildings in 900 block of Pacific, containing four storefronts, as photographed in December of 1940. Ground level remodeled to match with new tile storefronts. Tenants, L to R: Hy (Henry) Mandles & Son, Men's Clothiers (948 Pacific); Chappell and Grimes, Cigars & Lunch (946 Pacific); Oregon City Woolen Mills (942-44 Pacific); and the fourth storefront was apparently vacant at the time.

Commercial streets--Tacoma--1940-1950; Business districts--Tacoma--1940-1950; Oregon City Woolen Mills (Tacoma); Chappell & Grimes (Tacoma); Hy Mandles & Son (Tacoma);

Stairwell and alcove of Provident Building, for Hansen and Rowland, Inc.

Office buildings--Tacoma--1940-1950; Stairways; Provident Building (Tacoma);

Exterior of Rhodes Store, Olympic Ice Cream. A five-story brick department store. Window displays of women's clothing are shown. Miller's Furs and Olympic Ice Cream stores are up one block. Corner of 11th and Market.

Commercial buildings--Tacoma--1940-1950; Rhodes Brothers Department Store (Tacoma); Department stores--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Independent Insulation Corporation, exterior of Pacific Carbide. This is an exterior view of several warehouses and storage facilities. The buildings farther in the distance are made of brick and a pile of 500 gallon drums in behind one of them. A narrow tower with exterior stairways is more in the foreground. Telephone and electric poles have bring many wires to this facility and it appears that railroad access available.

Commercial facilities--Tacoma--1940-1950; Warehouses--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Refrigerator Supply - interior of retail store. A man and a woman are ready to assist customers from behind the counter. Supplies are stacked on open shelves.

Commercial facilities--Tacoma--1940-1950; Appliances--1940-1950;

The Warburton Building. The Warburton, built in 1905, was the first concrete building to be constructed in Tacoma. It was designed by Frederich Heath, architect, and built by Stanton Warburton. In 1943, it was home to the Owl Drug Co., Mannings Market and "Painless Parker," the dentist.

Business districts--Tacoma--1940-1950; Commercial streets--Tacoma--1940-1950; Owl Drug Co. (Tacoma); Manning's Market (Tacoma); Warburton Building (Tacoma); E.R. Parker System (Tacoma);

By 1949, when this photograph was taken, the Bradley Block Building, which still stands at 701-3 Pacific Ave., had seen better days. Built in 1890 by William Bradley as a saloon and boarding house, over the years it was home to the Hotel Bradley, the Lawler Apartments, the Grayson Apartments, and the Holland Furnace Company. It was saved from likely destruction in 1964 when it was purchased by the architectural firm of Liddle & Jones. (TNT, 10/20/1968)

Commercial buildings--Tacoma--1940-1950; Bradley Block (Tacoma); Puget Sound Battery Co. (Tacoma); Holland Furnace Co. (Tacoma);

Exterior of Westinghouse Building. View from west side of two story building shows low relief terra cotta frieze near cornice of brick building. A neon sign hangs below the wooden sign board. TPL-6387

Commercial facilities--Tacoma; Westinghouse Electric Supply Co. (Tacoma); Signs (Notices);

This photograph of the recently completed million dollar F.W. Woolworth Co. building, 955 Broadway, was taken from across Commerce St., for the Roy T. Earley Co., engineers in January of 1951. The Woolworth store replaced the Fidelity Building that had stood at the corner of 9th and Broadway from 1890 until it was demolished in 1949. The News Tribune called the new building "the most up-to-date beautiful store of its kind in the world." After the store closed in 1993, it was sold and transformed into a giant telephone switching station with no public access, and its people-oriented uses limited to the art gallery space created in its street level windows.

Commercial facilities; F.W. Woolworth Co. (Tacoma); Variety stores--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Exposure from Lloyd Suiter Tire Co., 1955 Pacific Ave., looking each way down Pacific Ave. On the right hand side is Union Station (1735 Pacific Ave.), Schoenfelds and the Eleventh Street bridge. On the left hand side is Harry Brown Confections Inc. Wholesale (1932-34), Westinghouse Electric Corporation (1930), Webster-Robinson Machinery and Supply Co. (1924), Johnson Brush Co. (1920), American Plumbing and Steam Supply Co. (1908-16) and Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. is on the corner of Pacific and 19th. Streetlights are on either side of the wide thoroughfare. TPL-9382

Commercial streets--Tacoma--1950-1960; Business districts--Tacoma--1950-1960; Union Station (Tacoma);

Looking north on Jefferson Avenue at South 25th Street, Pacific Refrigeration Company Ice Plant in right foreground, Columbia Brewing Company in right background. This view of a well-traveled city street was taken on June 5, 1951.

Commercial streets--Tacoma--1950-1960; Pacific Refrigeration Co. (Tacoma); Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Automobiles--Tacoma--1950-1960;

The Equitable Building appeared in the magazine "Interiors" December 1949 edition, in a "Postwar Architecture" section. The building had a fireproof reinforced concrete frame, covered in sparkling aluminum and panels of green tinted glass. View of elevators and telephone located in lobby area, in Portland's Equitable Building, now known as the Commonwealth Building.

Commercial facilities--Oregon--Portland; Office buildings--Oregon--Portland; Architecture--Oregon--Portland; Architects; Belluschi, Pietro; Equitable Building (Portland, Or.); Commonwealth Building (Portland, Or.);

The Equitable Building was Oregon's first International style commercial office building. International style features include a flat roof, a smooth continuous wall surface, an absence of decorative elements, and use of modern building materials such as aluminum and tinted glass. Exterior view of Portland's Equitable Building, now known as the Commonwealth Building, taken in January of 1949.

Commercial facilities--Oregon--Portland; Office buildings--Oregon--Portland; Architecture--Oregon--Portland; Architects; Belluschi, Pietro; Equitable Building (Portland, Or.); Commonwealth Building (Portland, Or.);

Portland's Equitable Building cost approximately $4,000,000 to construct, it is one of the nation's few skyscrapers built since the end of World War II. Pietro Belluschi was the architect, Ross B. Hammond was the general contractor. Exterior view of the Equitable Building, now known as the Commonwealth Building in Portland, Oregon.

Commercial facilities--Oregon--Portland; Office buildings--Oregon--Portland; Architecture--Oregon--Portland; Architects; Belluschi, Pietro; Equitable Building (Portland, Or.); Commonwealth Building (Portland, Or.);

Aerial view of Mobilgas sign on the Washington Building, Rust Building, and Puget Sound National Bank building in downtown Tacoma. The South 11th Street bridge is on the right side, it connects downtown Tacoma to the Port of Tacoma, over the City Waterway; photo ordered by Columbia Breweries, possibly to display in their newly remodeled buildings.

Business districts--Tacoma; Cityscapes; Aerial photographs; Office buildings--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Aerial view of Tacoma's downtown business district, Shaffer Terminals, City Waterway, waterfront area and South 11th Street bridge on right side; Market Street on left side, photo is looking south from South 15th Street.

Business districts--Tacoma; Waterfronts; Office buildings--Tacoma--1940-1950; Cityscapes; Piers & wharves--Tacoma; Cities & towns--Tacoma; Aerial photographs;

Tacoma had two insurance brokers for Fireman's Fund Insurance Company, Mitchell & Erdahl and Busselle & Company. View of Tacoma Avenue South and South 9th Street intersection; Ballou and Wright, a wholesale auto parts store is located on left side, Radio Service Engineers is located on right, Tacoma Public Schools administration building in background; automobiles are parked along Tacoma Avenue. Photo ordered by Firemen's Fund, possibly for a traffic accident. TPL-1672

Commercial streets--Tacoma--1940-1950; Business districts--Tacoma; Automobiles--Tacoma--1940-1950; Insurance; Insurance companies--Tacoma; City & town life--Tacoma; Firemen's Fund Insurance Co. (Tacoma);

Roy Woods (left) and Joe McGovern stand on a platform outside the 17th floor of the Washington Building at 1019 Pacific Ave. in this photograph from September 1948. The Earl Painting Company, owned and managed by Earl Gallmeyer, had been contracted to paint the sashes and frames of the 900 windows in the 237 foot building. (T.Times, 10/11/1948, p.5)

Washington Building (Tacoma); Buildings--Tacoma--1940-1950; Earl Painting Co. (Tacoma); Painting--Tacoma--1940-1950; Architectural elements--Tacoma; Capitals (Columns)--Tacoma; Cornices--Tacoma; Pilasters--Tacoma; Sash windows--Tacoma;