The back of the tellers cages at the Lincoln Branch of Puget Sound National Bank is shown with the windows closed. Cubbies are shown to the right of the stool and locking drawers are under the counter on the left and in the center. A calculating machine is seen to the left on the counter and another instrument is covered with plastic. Small cubbies for forms are seen just under the top of the upper level of the dividers. A rotary telephone is visible on the shelves between the two stations. The opening of this branch was the third step in the city wide expansion of Puget Sound National Bank. The opening followed in quick succession the completion of the downtown customer parking area at 13th and A Streets and the erection of the temporary K Street branch at 1115 So. L St. Ordered by Vince Carlstrom. TPL-9673 (TNT 10/14/1951, pg. C-15)

Puget Sound National Bank (Tacoma); Banks--Tacoma; Banking--Tacoma--1950-1960;

The interior of Puget Sound National Bank's Lincoln Branch showing teller windows on right with safe behind them. The administrative and commercial area is at the rear with a large window behind it. The entrance on the left opens onto G Street and 37th Street lies behind the rear of the photo. The new bank occupied a space 82 feet by 63 feet and provided 7,800 sq. ft. of banking space, nearly 3 1/2 times the area of the former Lincoln branch. (TNT 10/14/1951, pg. C-15)

Puget Sound National Bank (Tacoma); Banks--Tacoma; Banking--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Puget Sound National Bank, Lincoln Branch. Bank employee desks in the foreground. Teller stations on the left and at rear, with vault behind. G St. entrance on the right of the picture. The new bank, designed by the architectural firm of Charles and Clarence Rueger, occupied a space 82 ft. by 63 ft. and offered 7,800 sq. ft. of banking room. (TNT 10/14/1951, pg. C-15)

Puget Sound National Bank (Tacoma); Banks--Tacoma; Banking--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Consolidated Freightways' annual awards dinner was held at the Country House again in 1950. Four couples are shown at the head table that has been decorated for the holiday season. A banner with Santa Claus wishes "Fellow Freighters a Merry Christmas." Maynard Mayfield was the company's agent at this time.

Consolidated Freightways, Inc. (Tacoma)--Employees; Christmas decorations; Banquets--Tacoma--1940-1950; Country House (Tacoma);

The window display at Kress includes candy from Thompson's Candy House in Seattle: chocolate covered cherries, nut clusters, and chocolate malted milk balls for 69 cents per pound and salted nuts for 10 - 15 cents per 1/4 pound. Goslings are featured with a large poster. Paper napkins and tablecloths are hung against the back wall anticipating the holiday season and see-through plastic toys and snowmen fill the upper shelves.

S.H. Kress & Co. (Tacoma); Window displays--Tacoma--1940-1950; Candy--Tacoma--1940-1950; Variety stores--Tacoma;

Stebner's Floor Covering's new building was formally opened in December 1950. A large showroom extended across the entire front of the building, affording an opportunity to display the many nationally advertised lines of broadloom, carpets, linoleums and tile. A new department featured electrical appliances. The full basement was used for the firm's storage, workrooms and truck space. August Stebner started his floor covering business in Tacoma in 1948 with three employees. With this move to larger quarters, Stebner's had 19 employees. (TNT, 12/8/1950, p.C-5)

Stebner's, Inc. (Tacoma); Floor coverings;

Exterior view of Hogan's Grocery Store, South 12th and "K" Street. Architect Emanuel J. Bresemann designed this building for Pick n Take Market in 1931. (T. Times)

Grocery Stores--Tacoma--1940-1950; Hogan's Fine Foods (Tacoma);

The building at 1202 Martin Luther King Jr. Way has had a number of tenants over the years. When it was built in 1931, it was home to the Pay 'n Takit Store. In June of 1943, Walter Hogan opened Hogan's Fine Foods. In recent years, it was home to Evergreen State College. (T.N.T., 6/4/43, p.8) TPL-3796.

Grocery stores--Tacoma--1940-1950; Hogan's Fine Foods (Tacoma);

During World War II, the vital wartime industries in Tacoma ran around the clock. Workers flooded the city, needing places to stay. The Lux Hotel at 1523 1/2 Broadway was remodeled to help provide a solution to the overcrowding problem. The rooms were all remodeled and furnished with twin beds. The hotel was able to house 37 men. (T.Times 2/24/1943, pg. 3)

Lux Hotel (Tacoma); Dormitories--Tacoma--1940-1950; World War, 1939-1945--Economic & industrial aspects--Tacoma;

As Tacoma's war industries were hampered by a lack of manpower at the end of 1942, a cry went up for more housing for the needed workers. A conversion of the Lux Hotel, located at 1523 1/2 Broadway, into a dormitory for war workers was completed by the end of December of 1942. The manager of the converted property, A. J. Stewart (standing), talks to some of the 37 tenants of the renovated Hotel in the lobby. All of the rooms had been remodeled and furnished with twin beds. (T.Times 2/24/1943 p.3)

Lux Hotel (Tacoma); Dormitories--Tacoma--1940-1950; World War, 1939-1945--Economic & industrial aspects--Tacoma; Stewart, A.J.;

Three men stand by the Hawkinson General Motors panel delivery truck in front of Hawkinson Tire Tread Service recapping facility. One holds a General Tire with advertising in the middle. Ordered by Mattoon-Laverne Tire Company. TPL-6381

Tire industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Hawkinson Tire Tread Service (Tacoma); Tires; General Motors trucks;

ca. 1943. Titus Motor Company reconditioning room. An unidentified employee is pictured steam cleaning an engine block in deep wash tubs. The engine is then lifted on a chain pulley above the sink. Photograph taken circa 1943.

Titus Motor Co. (Tacoma); Titus Motor Co. (Tacoma)--Employees;

This building at the northeast corner of North 26th Street and Proctor was occupied by a number of different business between 1916 when it was built and 1963 when it was replaced with the building that currently stands on that corner. In 1943, when this photograph was taken, it was home to North End Builders' Supply operated by Edwin L. Coy. Mr. Coy was a Baptist minister who served as the pastor in nine area churches during his ministerial career. Because many of the churches in which he served were financially troubled, the reverend took other jobs to support his family. Besides running this north end hardware store, he was employed over the years as a carpenter, a furniture salesman, a butcher and a conductor on a narrow-gauge railroad.

Hardware stores--Tacoma--1940-1950; Coy's Hardware Store (Tacoma); North End Builders' Supply (Tacoma);

Coy's Hardware Store, North End Buildiers' Supply. Interior view. Owned by Edwin L. Coy. Shelves hold glassware, small rugs, lamps, gifts, stuffed animals, paints, and housewares. Chairs, hampers and small tables are also for sale.

Hardware stores--Tacoma--1940-1950; Coy's Hardware Store (Tacoma); North End Builders' Supply (Tacoma);

ca. 1943. Rudder Club, Mr. Avge. Two cooks in the kitchen, one at the griddle. Large pots, baskets, bowls, and utensils are also shown.

Restaurants--Tacoma--1940-1950; Restaurant workers--Tacoma--1940-1950; Rudder Club, Inc. (Tacoma); Kitchens--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Spotting brush for MacDonald & Dawn. Unidentified man carefully cleaning an article of clothing with a MacDonald & Dawn spotting brush.

Cleaning establishments--Tacoma; Laundry--Tacoma;

This view of the South Tacoma Business District was taken from just north of South 54th Street looking south on South Tacoma Way. To the left can be seen: (l to r) the Washington Electric Company, 5235 So. Tacoma Way; Herman Dier's furniture store, 5239 So. Tacoma Way; and the Crabb Drug Company, 5243 So. Tacoma Way. The buildings on the west side of the street include (center to r): the Safeway Store, 5402 So. Tacoma Way; John W. Bowlby's Richfield gas station, 5248 So. Tacoma Way; Steve's Tavern, 5238 So. Tacoma Way; and the West Coast Grocery, 5236 So. Tacoma Way. A stoplight hangs over the center of the street at the corner of South 54th and South Tacoma Way.

Grocery Stores--Tacoma--1940-1950; Business districts--South Tacoma; Commercial streets--Tacoma--1940-1950; Safeway Stores, Inc. (Tacoma);

Interior of Broadway Branch, Puget Sound National Bank. View of vault..

Puget Sound National Bank (Tacoma); Banks--Tacoma; Vaults (Strong rooms);

Interior of Safeway Store on Market Street in Downtown Tacoma.

Safeway Stores, Inc. (Tacoma); Grocery stores--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Interior of Safeway Store on South Tacoma Way as photographed on September 28, 1942. Taken at night, two ceiling lights highlight the produce/fruit displays.

Safeway Stores, Inc. (Tacoma); Grocery stores--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Safeway Store at 1108 South K Street in Mottau Building, Russell and Lance, Architects, 1934. Elaborate Art Deco style building with Virolite detailing.

Safeway Stores, Inc. (Tacoma); Grocery stores--Tacoma--1940-1950;

In October of 1942, the Railway Express Agency office on the track level of the Union Depot was swamped as motorists complied with the Office of Price Administration (OPA) and turned in all tires in excess of 5 per vehicle. F. W. Steere, left, foreman of the Agency and B.A. Benton, superintendent of the agency, compare two tires. One is almost new and the other good only for scrap. About 5% of the over 500 tires turned in the last few days were new, 70 % were usable and 25% were good only for scrap. (T. Times 10/19/1942, pg. 1)

Tires--Tacoma--1940-1950; Railway Express (Tacoma); Union Station (Tacoma); Railroad stations--Tacoma--1940-1950; Steere, F.W.; Benton, B.A.;

Pianist Bert Kool (far right) led the distinctive quartet of musicians who provided dance music at the grand opening of the Olympus Cafe and Supper Club in August of 1944. The new club opened on August 12, 1944, and was located directly below the Olympus Hotel, 815 Pacific Avenue, in what was then the heart of Tacoma's civic center. Bert Sundgren, the new owner, stated it was "Tacoma's newest and Washington's finest" restaurant and pledged dance music nightly with no cover charge. The saxophone player has been identified as Gus DeBock, a lifetime member of the Musicians Union. The last dance he played was with his band, Gus DeBock and the Fabulous 4, on August 9, 1991, two months before his death. (T. Times, 8/11/44, p. 11-article; T.Times, 8-12-44, p. 3-photograph used in ad). (Additional identification and information provided by a reader) TPL-10200

Restaurants--Tacoma--1940-1950; Olympus Cafe (Tacoma); Kool, Bert; DeBock, Gus; Musicians--Tacoma--1940-1950;

The newly opened "Olympus Cafe" and Supper Club, located in the Olympus Hotel, is celebrating their grand opening. Lettering on the column at the back of the room reads, "Activian Room". Draperies are open showing another room beyond. TPL-6422

Restaurants--Tacoma--1940-1950; Olympus Cafe (Tacoma); Olympus Hotel (Tacoma);

Standard Oil service stations - Dravis Service Station, for Mr. Evans. This side view of the garage (the side away from the street) shows a second set of garage doors. Three gasoline pumps stand in the front of the one story building. A two-door automobile is parked next door. Dravis Service Station was located at 5602 South Park Avenue. It was formerly McCoy's Park Avenue Garage. TPL-1885.

Automobile service stations--Tacoma--1940-1950; Standard Oil Co. of California (Tacoma); Dravis Service Station (Tacoma); Automobiles--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Standard Oil service stations - Dravis Service Station, for Mr. Evans. This side view of the garage shows the garage doors boarded up and the grass overgrown. Three gasoline pumps stand in the front of the one story building. TPL-1884.

Automobile Service Stations--Tacoma--1940-1950; Standard Oil Co. of California (Tacoma); Dravis Service Station;

Central Bank Anniversary Banquet. Central Bank was located at 2816 6th Avenue, they started in the banking business back in 1925 with only three employees. Central Bank is a member of the Washington Banker's Association. View of seven Central Bank employees at the 20th anniversary personnel dinner.

Bankers--Tacoma; Banking--Tacoma--1940-1950; Commemoration--Tacoma; Central Bank (Tacoma);

The Park Hotel stood at the corner of South 8th and A Street in downtown Tacoma for just short of 70 years. It was built in 1908 from plans by the architectural firm of Heath & Twitchell. The reinforced concrete building was the only structure in Tacoma included in the article "The Architecture of the Pacific Northwest" published by The Architectural Record in September, 1909. In its last years it had become a residence hotel for low income, elderly men and women. Considered to be "undistinguished as old buildings go," it was torn down in 1977 to make room for an 18-car parking lot.

Hotels--Tacoma; Park Hotel (Tacoma); Concrete construction;

General Petroleum exterior of 3 plants. V. A. Bellman, Resident Manager of General Petroleum Corp. and H. D. Maxwell of Maxwell Petroleum Co. announced in January 1944 the merger between these two companies. Headquarters will be at the Maxwell office at 721 Alexander Ave. Exterior view of Maxwell Station, said to be one of the most modern gasoline retail outlets on the Pacific Coast.

Automobile service stations--Tacoma; General Petroleum Corp. (Tacoma); Maxwell Petroleum Co. (Tacoma);

Furniture at Overland Furniture Co. damaged by water. Located in the Milton building, on the ground floor of the Hotel Lansing, the store fronted on 1138-40 Commerce. The large furniture store was owned by Thomas Overland.

Furniture stores--Tacoma--1940-1950; Overland's (Tacoma); Furniture;