The view around South 11th in downtown Tacoma has changed dramatically since this photograph of the Pierce County Courthouse, located at 1012 South "G" St., was taken in August of 1924. The lush trees are gone and the buildings altered or demolished, including the courthouse itself in 1959. The lawn on the left side of the street is now part of Bates Technical College and the wooden sidewalk directly across it transformed into ordinary cement. The wood building at the corner of South 11th & Altheimer remains but now houses the CJ Johnson Bail Bonds. Where the courthouse once stood is now parking for the County-City Building. TPL-3269; G17.1-081

Pierce County Courthouse (Tacoma); Courthouses--Tacoma; Streets--Tacoma--1920-1930;

View of the Pierce County Courthouse in 1924 featuring the 230-foot stone clock tower. The massive Romanesque structure was built in 1892 and was patterned after the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania courthouse designed by Henry Hobson Richardson. At the far left is the First Presbyterian Church, 1001 South "G," which would be acquired the following year and transformed into Central Lutheran Church. Both structures and surrounding trees would be demolished with the courthouse falling in 1959 and the church in 1955. G17.1-078; BU-10,713

Pierce County Courthouse (Tacoma); Courthouses--Tacoma; First Presbyterian Church (Tacoma);

Prohibition came to Washington State early, with its passage taking effect at 12:01a.m. on January 1, 1916. By 1920, local entrepreneurs were very savvy at brewing "moonshine" in homemade distilleries, or "stills." This pile was only the most recent installment of confiscated stills in Pierce County. (TDL 8/15/1920, pg B-5) G24.1-072

Prohibition--Tacoma; Stills (Distilleries);

Illegal stills at courthouse. Theodore Mohrbacher, Joe Desmond and Jack Bodaylea, left to right, of the county dry squad examine confiscated stills at the county courthouse on January 19, 1924. These are just a few of the dozens of huge liquor stills that will be converted into junk by jail trustees in the near future. The stills are now piled up in the lobby of the county jail. Stills can range in size from small tea kettle types to huge commercial boilers capable of holding hundreds of gallons of mash. The manufacture of alcohol was made illegal by the passage of the 18th amendment and the Volstead Act, which went into effect in January of 1920. Prohibition was abolished with the passage of the 21st Amendment to the Constitution in 1933. (TNT 1-19-24, p. 1) G24.1-074; TPL-9895

Stills (Distilleries); Mohrbacher, Theodore; Desmond, Joe; Bodaylea, Jack;

On August 4, 1925, John B. "Kelly" Carlton was photographed outside the Pierce County Courthouse while enjoying a refreshing Orange Kist soda. "Kelly" was the "keeper of the key to the county cooler" as he was the county jailer. Orange Kist, a new soda manufactured in Tacoma by the Columbia Brewing Company, was introduced to consumers in August, 1925, with a barrage of advertising and promotional stunts, including a free giveaway of thousands of cases of the soda. Prohibition had driven Tacoma's breweries out of beer and into other product lines. On August 3rd a big truck with 3,000 bottles of the new soda for free distribution had backed up to the Courthouse and unloaded its cargo right into Kelly's waiting, and thirsty, arms. G33.1-065; TPL-6208 (TNT 8/4/1925, pg. 7)

Carbonated beverages; Eating & drinking--Tacoma--1920-1930; Carlton, John B.; Columbia Brewing Co.--Associated objects; Pierce County Courthouse (Tacoma);