Prohibition actually began early in Washington state where saloons were ordered to close at midnight on December 31, 1915. However, alcohol was soon readily available as enterprising entrepreneurs produced "moonshine" from homemade distilleries, "stills," like the one pictured at (Old) City Hall in August of 1920. A long tube comes to a narrow point, allowing the liquor to drip conveniently into a bottle. (TDL 8/15/1920, pg B-5) G24.1-076

Prohibition--Tacoma; Stills (Distilleries);

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);

At midnight on January 16, 1920, the United States went "dry." Overnight, breweries and distilleries closed their doors as the 18th Amendment made the manufacture, sale or transport of alcohol illegal. America was thirsty and enterprising individuals stepped forward to fill the void with alcohol made from home made distilleries, or "stills." Many of these apparatus, such as the one pictured at (Old) City Hall, were confiscated in Pierce County. (TDL 8/15/1920, pg B-5) G24.1-077

Prohibition--Tacoma; Stills (Distilleries);

Although this April, 1923, photograph resembles a scene from a cops-n-robbers movie, these six policemen from the Tacoma Police Department were not pointing their guns toward an unseen quarry but instead were practicing for a sharpshooting competition. Only the best shooters would be selected for the revolver team that would represent Tacoma in the Northwest Police athletic meet held later in June in Portland. From L-R: night patrol driver Lee Kane; motorcycle officer A.E. Paul; sponsor of the team Sgt. Charles Rohrs; Detective C.W. Brooke; "Dead-Eye Dick" Greenwood -in charge of the local elimination shoots; and "Two-Gun" Hubbard. Kane, Rohrs, Greenwood and Harry Shaner (not pictured) were members of the previous year's team which narrowly lost in Seattle. TPL-2053; G42.1-018 (TNT 4-20-23, p. 14)

Tacoma Police Department (Tacoma); Police--Tacoma--1920-1930; Firearms; Sharpshooting; Kane, Lee; Paul, A.E.; Rohrs, Charles; Brooke, C.W.; Greenwood, Dick;

Still. The man only partially seen on the left is Pierce County Sheriff Tom Desmond who along with Deputy Sheriff Theodore Mohrbacher of the county "dry squad" stands next to a large still recently confiscated deep in the woods east of McKenna. It was the biggest copper still ever unearthed locally as of May, 1923. 200 gallons of "moonshine" ready for sale were found close to the still and destroyed. The perpetrators vanished before they could be apprehended. People were still making illegal homemade hooch and daily newspapers of the '20s regularly reported upon the discovery and arrest of these liquor manufacturers. Stills and their products were then generally destroyed. G24.1-075 (TNT 5-12-23, p. 2)

Stills (Distilleries); Mohrbacher, Theodore; Desmond, Tom;

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;

H.L. Phillips and Willliam Farrar of the city dry squad are shown emerging from the tunnel dug under the home at 7813 A St. on September 6, 1924. The residence was raided that Saturday afternoon and after two hours of searching, elaborate moonshine stills were discovered and confiscated. Barrels, bottles and other distillation apparatus along with a shovel are pictured above. The stills and other equipment, including 200 gallons of finished moonshine, were taken as evidence. One man was arrested in the raid. (TDL 9-8-24, p. 1) G24.1-073

Stills (Distilleries); Phillips, H.L.; Farrar, William; Tunnels--Tacoma;

On September 6, 1924 the Tacoma "Dry Squad" dug out an elaborately concealed illegal bootlegging operation that was hidden in a "cave" under the house at 7813 A Street. Two stills were found, each with a capacity of 50 gallons. One man was arrested and 200 gallons of finished moonshine seized. The Dry Squad members who took part in the raid were: (l to r) Captain Adam Wiley, R.C. Mowre, H.L. Phillips, William Farrar, William Blacksmith and W.H. Warren. The Dry Squad had been in business since May 15, 1923. (TDL 9-8-24, p. 1) TPL-9488; G24.1-078

Stills (Distilleries); Wiley, Adam; Mowre, R.C.; Phillips, H.L.; Farrar, William; Blacksmith, William; Warren, W.H.;

Inexperienced safecrackers failed to blow open the massive safe at Bye Thompson Motor Sales, 3320 South G Street, on early Friday morning, December 5, 1924. The thieves abandoned their efforts when the explosives they used broke the windows in front of the safe and threw the office into disarray, but only succeeded in blowing off the combination dial on the safe's door, not in releasing the bars holding the door in place. This was the second time in less than a year that Bye Thompson Motors had been robbed; on December 18, 1923, thieves somehow carried away the company's 1000 pound safe and blew it open several blocks away. That robbery netted the thieves $362. This photograph was taken at the scene of the crime on December 5, 1924. G24.1-056 (TNT 12-5-24, p. 1)

Safes; Robberies--Tacoma; Bye Thompson Motor Sales Co. (Tacoma);

Parked outside the Colonial Hotel, 701-05 Commerce St., on August 31, 1926, were a Tacoma motorcycle policeman and a very small open top automobile with its driver squeezed in. Several Tacoma police officers were included in the photograph. The minute car was being used to advertise the impending arrival of the silent film, "The Wise Guy," starring Mary Astor and James Kirkwood. The name of the film was prominently displayed on the hood of the automobile. G42.1-014; TPL-3553.

Tacoma Police Department (Tacoma); Police--Tacoma--1920-1930; Motorcycles--Tacoma--1920-1930; Signs (Notices); Colonial Hotel (Tacoma); Automobiles--Tacoma--1920-1930;

Six plain clothes detectives from the Tacoma Police Department stand next to a uniformed officer, perhaps the police chief, on March 18, 1927. The building to the rear is possibly the Elks Club on Broadway. Boland B16553, TPL-9068

Tacoma Police Department (Tacoma); Police--Tacoma--1920-1930;