On a hot summer evening in August of 1919, a visitor to Tacoma could stand at the intersection of Pacific Avenue and 9th, looking north, and see the names of two of the city's hotels and a theater light up the sky in electric signs suspended over the street. On the left is the Hotel Donnelly, 742-50 Pacific Ave. The hotel was built in 1887 and leased to John Donnelly, who gave it his name, ten years later. It was demolished in 1925 to make way for the Motoramp Garage. On the right is the Hippodrome Theater at 821-23 Pacific Ave., an office building at 819 Pacific and the Olympus Hotel at 815-17 Pacific. In 1978, the Olympus was converted to apartments. Pedestrians who became weary from walking could hire a taxi at the corner stand or catch a ride the Pacific Avenue streetcar. TPL-4446, BU-13429, Boland-B2166

Hotel Donnelly (Tacoma); Hotels--Tacoma--1910-1920; Street railroads--Tacoma--1910-1920; Streets--Tacoma--1910-1920; City & town life--Tacoma--1910-1920; Hippodrome Building (Tacoma); Olympus Hotel (Tacoma);

ca. 1918. The Puget Hotel Annex, circa 1918, in Port Gamble, Wa. Port Gamble, located in Kitsap County about 35 miles from Seattle, is one of the few surviving examples of a company town. It was founded in 1853 by partners Josiah Keller, William Talbot, Andrew Pope and Charles Foster who formed the Puget Mill Co. In 1907, the company built a luxury hotel called the Puget Hotel for visitors, but this did not solve the housing problems of transient workers; the loggers, sailors and longshoremen who did not work for the company and qualify for company housing but could at times make up 1/3 of the town's population. The Puget Annex was built to provide low cost rooms for these boarders. ("The Coast" magazine, Jan. 1909, Vol 17 No. 1, pg. 92; online Historylink.org Port Gamble cybertour) Boland #25

Puget Hotel (Port Gamble); Lumber industry--Port Gamble; Puget Mill Co. (Port Gamble);

ca. 1918. A view of the Puget Hotel (left), circa 1918, built in 1907 on a bluff above the Puget Mill. The Puget Mill, identified by the smoke in the background, was established in 1853 and closed in 1995, making it the longest continuously operating mill in the nation, clocking in at 142 years. The entire town of Port Gamble was owned by the mill company, including the hotel. In the center of the photograph is a band stand where concerts were played on Sunday afternoons. Boland #26

Puget Hotel (Port Gamble); Lumber industry--Port Gamble; Puget Mill Co. (Port Gamble);

ca. 1918. The rear and side view of the Puget Hotel, circa 1918, in Port Gamble. The hotel was constructed in 1907 by the Puget Mill Co., which owned the entire town of Port Gamble. It included a luxurious hotel, a restaurant, a tavern, stables for horses and carriages and an annex for longer term budget boarders. The structure was designed by Seattle architects Charles Bebb and Louis Mendel and it was operated as a concession. The hotel was closed December 22, 1962 and later demolished. In 1966, the entire town of Port Gamble was made a National Historic site in recognition of its being one of the last remaining lumber towns in the nation. ("The Coast" magazine, January 1909, Vol. 17, No. 1, pg. 92) Boland #20

Puget Hotel (Port Gamble); Lumber industry--Port Gamble; Puget Mill Co. (Port Gamble);

ca. 1918. The livery stable attached to the Puget Hotel in Port Gamble, circa 1918. The stable was also designed by the Seattle firm of Bebb & Mendel and constructed in 1907. It housed the horses and carriages used by the guests at the hotel. By 1920, the hotel was no longer boarding horses. The building was used successively as a garage, maintenance shop and a fire station. It is still standing. (Historylink.org) Boland #36

Puget Hotel (Port Gamble); Lumber industry--Port Gamble; Puget Mill Co. (Port Gamble); Stables;

In the summer of 1919 the building at 218-220 St. Helens Avenue was the home of Sam J. Kenyon's Marmon Service Station and Bartons Auto Laundry. Mr. Kenyon specialized in servicing and repairing luxury automobiles known for their speed and power. The Marmon was manufactured from 1903 - 1933. Signage on the glass window indicates that the Kenyon shop also serviced "Locomobiles." The Locomobile was also manufactured in the US, from 1899 (steam version) and 1902 for the gas engine version, until 1928. Both car companies also produced race cars. To provide maximum service to its customers, Barton's, in the same building, was open "day and night" according to their sign. BU-13095

Marmon Service Station (Tacoma); Barton's Auto Laundry (Tacoma); Automobile service stations--Tacoma--1910-1920; Vehicle maintenance & repair--Tacoma--1910-1920;

In July of 1919, the Ideal Tea Co. at 927-29 Tacoma Ave. So. made its deliveries with a horse drawn wagon. Milton H. Hoch, who had moved to Tacoma from Omaha around 1915, was manager of the tea and coffee shop. These buildings on Tacoma Avenue South were later demolished to make way for modern office buildings across from the County City Building. BU 12,939; Boland # B1998

Ideal Tea Co. (Tacoma);

ca. 1918. The Puget Hotel was constructed in 1907 by the Puget Mill Co. in their company owned and run town Port Gamble. It was designed by Seattle's most prominent architecture firm, Bebb & Mendel. It was a luxury hotel for visitors and company officials, later furnished with massive antique pieces of furniture made in Dresden, Germany and brought to the Puget Sound by sailing ship for the home of Cyrus Walker, first manager of the Puget Mill. Although part of the town, it was run as a concession. So although the town was dry, drinking and gambling were available at the hotel. It also housed the town's only restaurant. The hotel was damaged in the 1962 Columbus Day wind storm and was closed on December 22, 1962, a victim of that damage and declining use. It was later demolished. (Seattle Times 12/23/1962) Boland #10

Puget Hotel (Port Gamble); Lumber industry--Port Gamble; Puget Mill Co. (Port Gamble);

Candy shop at the Donnelly Hotel. Customers browsing in the candy shop at the Donnelly Hotel in 1919 had their choice of good chocolates, reading material, and a place to rest weary feet. Small tables with "ice cream parlor" chairs were placed close to racks of magazines such as "Sunset," "Photoplay," "Collier's" and "Modern Priscilla." A fine candy selection of Oriole, Mars, Imperial's and Sweet's could be purchased. John Donnelly had leased the Fife Hotel and transformed it into the Donnelly Hotel in 1898. The hotel would be demolished 27 years later to make way for the Motoramp Garage. G56.1-046

Hotel Donnelly (Tacoma); Hotels--Tacoma--1910-1920; Confectioneries--Tacoma--1910-1920;

In November of 1919, Marvin Boland photographed this elevated view of the triangular shaped block on the west side of Pacific Avenue bordered by Jefferson and South 17th. In the center of the photograph was the recently constructed Depot Service Station. A small wedge of a brick building was apparently still under construction to the right of the service station. Tires were on sale and Union gasoline could be purchased there. In the right background was the Carlton Hotel, 1552 Jefferson Ave., which was built in 1909. In the upper left corner was the Pacific Storage & Transfer Co., located in the Dougan Block at 1721-25 Jefferson Ave., whose ad in the 1920 City Directory stated that they were distributors of pool cars. Depot Service Station remained at this location, with various changes of ownership and remodeling, until it was demolished around 2002. TPL-244; G8.1-017

Depot Service Station (Tacoma); Automobile service stations--Tacoma--1910-1920; Commercial streets--Tacoma--1910-1920; Carlton Hotel (Tacoma); Pacific Storage & Transfer Co. (Tacoma);

Exterior view of the Hotel St. Helens, Chehalis, taken in September of 1919. The Hotel St. Helens, built in the classical revival style, was located at 440 N. Market Blvd. in Chehalis. It was located next to a Ford garage. The hotel, also known as the St. Helens Inn, was designed and/or built by Charles E. Troutman and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. G75.1-002

Hotel St. Helens (Chehalis); Hotels--Chehalis; Business districts--Chehalis; Commercial streets--Chehalis;

A visitor to Tacoma in 1919 could stand downtown on Pacific Avenue near 8th St., looking south and view this bustling scene. Pedestrians present a blurred image through the camera as they hustle across Pacific, pictured with its streetcar tracks running down the center of the street. Some automobiles maneuver down the street, while others wait parked for their drivers to return. On the left, front to back, are the Hotel Olympus (815-17 Pacific Ave.), an office building at 819 containing the offices of the Tacoma Times and the Hippodrome (821-23.) On the right, front to back, are the Havana Inn storefront and its delivery vehicle in front, Hotel Waldorf (a rooming house at 728 Pacific), Bowie and Love (electric supplies at 732), Hotel Revere (rooms to let above 732), Moose Candy & Confectionary and the Hotel Donnelly and Donnelly Cafe. G61.1-024, TPL-5769

Hotel Donnelly (Tacoma); Hotels--Tacoma--1910-1920; City & town life--Tacoma--1910-1920; Hippodrome Building (Tacoma); Olympus Hotel (Tacoma); Business districts--Tacoma--1910-1920; Commercial streets--Tacoma--1910-1920;

Although photographer Marvin Boland's notes stated that this was the United States "Marine" Band posed on the lawn of the Hotel Tacoma on July 24, 1919, it is believed that this was actually the United States Navy Recruiting Band or The Great Lakes Band. They were there to play for the Tacoma Rotary Club for a luncheon held at the ivy-covered south end of the porch. The United States Navy Recruiting Band would perform later that evening in the Stadium Bowl along with Metropolitan Opera's prima donna Marie Rappold. G71.1-034 (TDL 7-24-19, p. 3 (ad); TNT 7-24-19, p. 1-articles on concert)

Tacoma Hotel (Tacoma); Military bands--United States;

View of Market Blvd. in Chehalis, Washington, in September of 1919 which features the elegant Hotel St. Helens in the foreground. The four-story brick hotel was designed and/or built by Charles E. Troutman. Numerous cars are parked outside the hotel and adjacent businesses. G72.1-056

Hotel St. Helens (Chehalis); Hotels--Chehalis; Commercial streets--Chehalis; Business districts--Chehalis;

This photograph from November 1920 shows one of the huge 32 ton beams of the framework for the Scandinavian -American Bank nearing its resting place. The erectors stand on top of the beam, ready to secure it in position. The design for the bank called for 16 stories with 22 rooms per floor with 5,000 feet of rentable space. The 11th Street entrance would open on a 26 foot wide court with a huge colored glass dome forming the ceiling for the massive banking room below. The bank failed in January of 1921 and construction was halted. The building, after a re-design, was completed in 1925 and was renamed the Washington Building. (TDL 11/14/1920, pg. B-7) BU 10, 759, Boland B 3235

Scandinavian-American Bank (Tacoma); Building construction--Tacoma--1920-1930; Construction industry--Tacoma--1920-1930;

By March 1st, 1924, Tacoma's old Chamber of Commerce Building at 773 Broadway had been demolished and work had begun on the foundation of the future Hotel Winthrop. The eleven story hotel, built by the Citizen's Hotel Corporation, was dedicated in May of 1925. With the chamber building gone, and the new hotel not yet built, this photograph provides an excellent view of the Bostwick Block, 755-71 Saint Helens, as it looked in March of 1924. At that time it was undergoing extensive remodeling; in July the exterior was covered with Duralite.

Hotel Winthrop (Tacoma)--Construction; Hotels--Tacoma--1920-1930;

J.R. McKinnell opened the new Rose Theater at 514-16 South 11th Street in late December of 1920. The original Rose Theater was located at 905 South Tacoma Avenue (now Tacoma Avenue South) in the Lucerne Building. On the 28th of December the feature at the new Rose was "Ruth of the Rockies" starring Ruth Roland, one of the Queens of the early silent serials; she specialized in westerns and comedies. "Ruth of the Rockies" was one of her later films. The new movie house had been built by Tacoma contractors Wick and Johnson at an estimated price tag of $8,000 for a California client. It was constructed of reinforced concrete and was 22 feet high with a 35 x 65 foot footprint. The building was demolished July of 1996. (TDL 1/2/1921, pg. B6- photo, 12/12/20, pg. B-5 article) Boland B3470, BU-13,339, TPL-2394

Rose Theater (Tacoma); Motion picture theaters--Tacoma--1920-1930;

On June 13, 1924, five usherettes, all with the latest in bobbed hair, posed in their new summer uniforms, blousy top and slacks in combinations of black and orange, in front of the Colonial Theater, 916-18 Broadway. The women were identified by the News Tribune as, left to right, Evelyn Durrin (head usher,) Mary Marko, Isobelle Pallis (assistant head usher,) Mildred Barnes and one unidentified usherette. The marquee advertised "The Last Hour" with Milton Sills, Carmel Myers, Walter Long and Pat O'Malley, which opened June 14, 1924 and ran at the Colonial for one week. "The Last Hour" was issued in 1923 by Mastadon Films. The Colonial Theater was designed by Roland Borhek and built in 1914. In the thirties, it became the Beverly Theater and in the 40's the Telenews Theater. It has since been demolished. Boland B10313, BU 11,145 (TNT 6/19/24, pg. 8)

Colonial Theater (Tacoma); Motion picture theaters--Tacoma--1920-1930; Ushers--Tacoma--1920-1930; Motion picture industry--1920-1930;

In September of 1924 the Sprague Building and its extension took up the whole block between South 15th Street and South 17th on the east side of Pacific Avenue. Built in 1888, the original Sprague Building was home to the Hotel Savoy in the 1920s when this photograph was taken. Later it was home to many businesses including the Croft Hotel in the 1930s, the Lutheran Welfare Mission & Service Club in the 1940s and the Full Gospel Tabernacle in the 1960s. It was torn down in the late 1960s. The Sprague Building Annex, now simply known as the Sprague Building, still stands at the corner of South 15th and Pacific. It is listed on both the city and national registers of historic buildings. Boland B10931, BU-10735;

Hotel Savoy (Tacoma); Hotels--Tacoma--1920-1930;

The usherettes at the Colonial Theater, 916-18 Broadway, wore gingham dresses for the opening on February 28,1920 of the silent version of "Pollyanna" starring Mary Pickford. A slightly different version of this photograph appeared in the March 3rd News Tribune; the girls are believed to be (l to r) Edna Fitzmaurice, Fern Chantler (the theater cashier), Nellie Mason, Rosa Fair, Lillian Buth, Stella Church, and Ruth Harkness. Mary Pickford was 27 when she played the film's 12 year old title character; the picture grossed one million dollars for United Artists, the film company owned by D.W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford and her husband Douglas Fairbanks. The Colonial Theater was designed by Roland Borhek, architect, and opened in 1914. It was demolished in 1988. (TNT 3/3/1920 p.9) TPL-5877, BU-10014, Boland-B2760

Colonial Theater (Tacoma); Motion picture theaters--Tacoma--1920-1930; Ushers--Tacoma--1920-1930; Motion picture industry--1920-1930;

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;

ca. 1921. Ole B. Lien, pioneer pharmacist on Tacoma Avenue since 1894, and partner Harry B. Selvig opened this drug store in 1901 in the 1888 Greer Building. The Queen Anne-style structure was designed by architects Farrell & Darmer and built by contractor H. M. Matheson. It was torn down in 1951 to make way for a modern addition to the Tacoma Public Library. B8252.

Drugstores; Pharmacists; Lien & Selvig (Tacoma);

This aerial view of Tacoma is what the photographer Marvin Boland saw from the top of the 11th Street (Murray Morgan) Bridge in May of 1924. The elegant Tacoma Hotel at 913 A Street is positioned right-center. A covered walkway winds its way down the bluff that separates the Tacoma Hotel from the waterfront. To the left side is the Hotel Lawrence at 1011 1/2 A Street and the Washington Hardware Company warehouse. The Tacoma Municipal Dock is in the foreground. BU-11,931

Tacoma Hotel (Tacoma); Hotel Lawrence (Tacoma); Warehouses--Tacoma--1920-1930; Tacoma Municipal Dock (Tacoma); Aerial views; Aerial photographs;

Construction of the Winthrop Hotel. This photograph has been labeled "seat of col. #27." By May of 1924, the hotel's foundation had been poured and other exterior work begun. The hotel would be dedicated in May of 1925.

Hotel Winthrop (Tacoma)--Construction; Hotels--Tacoma--1920-1930; Building construction--Tacoma--1920-1930;

This column has been labeled #38 to be used in the construction of the Winthrop Hotel, Tacoma's new showcase. Built on the site of the old Chamber of Commerce Building, the eleven story hotel had been funded by 2300 citizens, making it truly the "citizen's hotel." It would open in May of 1925.

Hotel Winthrop (Tacoma)--Construction; Hotels--Tacoma--1920-1930; Building construction--Tacoma--1920-1930;

First aid teams from various Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Co. departments are pictured on May 19, 1924, at the Odd Fellows Hall. Maintenance from Aberdeen, outside repairmen, cable splicers, construction, installers and central office repairmen were represented. G64.1-005

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

Progress photograph of the construction of the Hotel Winthrop. Work continues on the building of the eleven story hotel by Pratt & Watson contractors in July of 1924. It appears that construction has reached the fourth floor. A notice has already been posted that the stores in the hotel will be under the management of the W.H. Opie & Co. (photograph has been stained)

Hotel Winthrop (Tacoma)--Construction; Building construction--Tacoma--1920-1930; Signs (Notices); Progress photographs;

Unidentified men and machinery at the Olympic Ice Co., 612-14 E. 25th, on July 8, 1924. The plant had undergone expansion the previous summer. G34.1-149

Olympic Ice Co. (Tacoma); Machinery;

Harry's Billiard Parlor. Two employees stand ready to assist customers at the refreshment bar located within Harry's Billiard Parlor, in the 700 block of Pacific Avenue, on July 11, 1924. Vases filled with flowers are placed on the wood countertop. The open doorway invites entry into the establishment. Harry's Billiard Parlor was celebrating its grand opening in the Donnelly Hotel. Harry Winesburg was the proprietor. TPL-7183; G53.1-095

Harry's Billiard Parlor (Tacoma); Bars (Furniture)--Tacoma--1920-1930;

Construction - Winthrop Hotel. This steel column has been labeled #5 and would be used in the building of the Winthrop Hotel at 9th & Broadway in 1924. The column is believed to have been manufactured by the Star Iron & Steel Co. of Tacoma.

Hotel Winthrop (Tacoma)--Construction; Building construction--Tacoma--1920-1930;