Newly-elected Mayor A.L. "Slim" Rasmussen poses with two women at the County-City Building on November 29, 1967. Rasmussen had defeated incumbent Harold Tollefson in the recent general election. Photograph ordered by Tacoma-Pierce County Economic Opportunity.

Rasmussen, Albert Lawrence; Mayors--Tacoma--1960-1970;

County treasurer Maurice Raymond, believed to be on the right, observes the signing of a Pierce County document on September 25, 1968. Howard O. Scott, manager of the Bank of California, is on the left. It appears that Master Charge is now available in this area, specifically at Scott's bank. Photograph ordered by the Bank of California.

Credit cards; Document signings--Tacoma--1960-1970; Raymond, Maurice; Scott, Howard O.;

On June 12, 1968 Wallace Walker, Sr. (seated at center) and a group of members and officers of the Central Area Progressive Improvement Association met with Mayor A.L. "Slim" Rasmussen in the mayor's conference room at the County-City Building, 930 Tacoma Avenue South. The Association, a non-profit self-help organization with 475 members had just received a Credit Union charter from the State of Washington. The non-profit group, composed of various ethnic, religious and political groups, sought to promote the development and well-being of the Central Area of Tacoma. It was led by Wallace Walker, Sr., president. Standing L-R: R.E.E. Hutchine, Jimmie Smith, Vernal Garrett, Lou Skala, Louie Johnson and vice-president Anthony Clark. Seated are treasurer Vernon Garrett, president Wallace Walker, Sr., and Mayor Rasmussen. (TNT 6-17-68, p. 10)

Rasmussen, Albert Lawrence; Mayors--Tacoma--1960-1970; Central Area Progressive Improvement Association (Tacoma); Meetings--Tacoma--1960-1970;

ca. 1960. The County-City Building, dedicated in April of 1959, over 7 years after the voters' approval, and designed by A. Gordon Lumm. The building stretches over 2 city blocks and was built at a cost of 9 1/2 million dollars; 3 1/2 million over the original amount approved by the voters. Shown is the four story law enforcement wing that was completed and occupied last. It housed both the Pierce County Sheriffs and the Tacoma Police Department. It is connected to the twelve story central structure. The photograph is taken from the intersection of 9th and Tacoma Ave. South with the structure facing onto Tacoma Ave. So. Photograph from the 1960 Richards stock files.

County-City Building (Tacoma); Courthouses--Tacoma;

ca. 1959. Aerial of downtown Tacoma and the almost completed County City Building at 930 Tacoma Ave. South. The CC building lies in the center of the photograph. To the left of the building is the new (1952) Tacoma Public Library at 1102 Tacoma Ave. So. Directly behind the CC building is the old Pierce County Courthouse, at 1012 So G. St., still in use until the CC building is completed but scheduled for demolition. Directly behind the Courthouse is the Washington National Guard Armory, at 715 So. 11th St., which remains at this location. The erection of the County City Building was a long time in coming; from its voter approval in 1952 to the start of construction in 1956 to the dedication of the new building April 10, 1959.

Progress photographs; County-City Building (Tacoma); Building construction--Tacoma--1950-1960; Tacoma Public Library (Tacoma); Pierce County Courthouse (Tacoma); State Armory (Tacoma);

ca. 1958. Mount Rainier can barely be seen in the distance on an overcast day, to the right of the new County-City Building under construction. The smaller unit is the new law enforcement wing which will eventually become four stories tall. The steel frame work is now up; structural steel used in fabricating the framework was probably provided by Bethlehem Pacific Coast Steel's Seattle plant. The large dirt area to the foreground will become parking. Photograph ordered by Bethlehem Pacific Coast Steel Corporation.

Progress photographs; County-City Building (Tacoma); Building construction--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Aerial photographs taken on September 9, 1958, show the nearly completed County-City Building on Tacoma Avenue South. The parking lot and landscaping still need to be done. The old Courthouse to the rear of the new building would be the last to be demolished. The land there, too, would become necessary parking. The State Armory, directly behind the Courthouse at 715 South 11th St., still remains. The Tacoma Public Library can be seen to the new County-City Building's right, at 1102 Tacoma Avenue South. Other prominent features include the Schoenfeld's furniture store and Union Station on Pacific Avenue and a portion of the City (now Thea Foss) Waterway. This view, looking southeast, was very similar to A116584-2. Hazy smoke or clouds nearly obliterate Mount Rainier in the distance as well as parts of the industrial Tideflats.

Aerial photographs; Aerial views; County-City Building (Tacoma); Pierce County Courthouse (Tacoma); State Armory (Tacoma); Tacoma Public Library (Tacoma); Streets--Tacoma--1950-1960; Commercial streets--Tacoma--1950-1960;

An unidentified female employee of the Pierce County Data Center was photographed on July 26, 1972, at the controls of a RCA 70/97 Console. The data processing center was located on the seventh floor of the County-City Building. Photograph ordered by Moore Business Forms.

Office workers--Tacoma--1970-1980; Pierce County Data Center (Tacoma);

County-City Building. Aerial view looking south on Tacoma Ave. So. with close-up of side and rear of County-City Building, its large parking lot, and Tacoma Public Library across the street. The County-City Building had been completed in 1959 to replace the venerable Old City Hall, 625 Commerce St. Ten years later it housed both city and county offices, including the health department, auditor, assessor, sheriff and city police, city council & mayor, county commissioners and courts. The future would see many of these departments move to separate buildings including the Municipal Building (formerly the Medical Arts Building), Pierce County Annex and the new Tacoma Police Department's complex on Pine St. Photograph ordered by Whitacre Engineers.

Aerial views; County-City Building (Tacoma); Tacoma Public Library (Tacoma); Public libraries--Tacoma--1960-1970; Parking lots--Tacoma--1960-1970; Commercial streets--Tacoma--1960-1970;

Aerial view of County-City Building and vicinity on a clear early October day in 1969. The County-City Building had celebrated its 10th birthday in 1969, having replaced the dilapidated Old City Hall on Commerce. It is the multi-story aluminum and glass building on Tacoma Ave. So. in the center of the photograph; one of its wings visible is the reinforced concrete court building. To the south of the County-City Building is the Tacoma Public Library; the Carnegie Library, now home to the library's Northwest Room & Special Collections, is the rounded Renaissance-styled structure. West of the County-City Building is the Washington National Guard Armory at 11th & Yakima; across the street from the Armory is the (now) L.H. Bates Vocational-Technical Institute. This view looks much the same now in 2006 as it did 37 years ago. Photograph ordered by Whitacre Engineers. TPL-9648

Aerial views; County-City Building (Tacoma); Tacoma Public Library (Tacoma); Public libraries--Tacoma--1960-1970; Tacoma Vocational School (Tacoma); State Armory (Tacoma); Commercial streets--Tacoma--1960-1970;

Mayor A.L. "Slim" Rasmussen affixes his signature to a document proclaiming October 11-18, 1969, as "Scandinavian Days." Displaying examples of Scandinavian handicrafts are Mrs. Arvilla Dabroe, publicity chair (L) and Mrs. A. Victor Johnson (R), chairman of the Leif Erikson Memorial Committee. Hartley Kantor, promotion chairman of the Tacoma Downtown Association and Dennis Rowley, co-chairman of the "Scandinavian Days" event, are also pictured above. Scandinavian handicrafts, heirlooms and artifacts will be on display in downtown stores' windows during this time. Photograph ordered by the Downtown Tacoma Association. (TNT 10-5-69, A-19)

Rasmussen, Albert Lawrence; Mayors--Tacoma--1960-1970; Dabroe, Arvilla; Johnson, A. Victor--Family; Kantor, Hartley; Rowley, Dennis; Proclamations;

ca. 1959. Frank Stojack served as Pierce County Sheriff from 1958 to 1962. The Lincoln High School graduate played pro-football for the NFL's Brooklyn Dodgers in 1936 before launching an immensely successful wrestling career. Fans voted him the "King of Wrestling" in 1953. Stojack was elected to the Tacoma City Council the same year, running as the "Champion of Fair Play". He duties after being elected sheriff in 1958 included moving the department into the new County-City Building, seen in the background shortly after its completion in 1959. The Tacoma Boys Clubs received over $300,000 from the estate of Frank Stojack after his death in 1987.

horses

Another angle of the County-City Building construction in progress was taken on April 2, 1958, for Fentron Industries of Seattle. The taller structure is the ten story and penthouse central building. Scaffolding is in place, probably to put aluminum paneling over the exterior walls. The smaller wing would be eventually four stories tall and contain the law enforcement forces. It appears that the steel framework is up and most concrete floors poured. Parking would be provided in the vicinity of the piles of rubble and construction materials. Total cost of the project was under $10 million dollars. TPL-6568

Progress photographs; Building construction--Tacoma--1950-1960; County-City Building (Tacoma);

Construction continues on the new County-City Building in the spring of 1958. At this point, work on the edifice is now past the half-way point. View of construction at the corner of So. 11th and Tacoma Avenue So. shows the two-story court wing and the ten-story plus penthouse central structure. The court wing is being constructed of reinforced concrete. The court rooms will be soundproof and windowless. The towering central portion is 165 feet above Tacoma Avenue. It is being built to be fireproof and will be only one of about 100 in the country with exterior aluminum paneling. Another unit, a four-story law enforcement wing, will be finished later. Photograph ordered by Fentron Industries, Seattle. TPL-6679. (TNT 1-5-58, A-6)

Progress photographs; County-City Building (Tacoma); Building construction--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Pierce County District and Superior Court

Mayor A.L. "Slim" Rasmussen presents a service award and service pin to an unidentified city employee in March of 1969. Mr. Rasmussen was in his final year as Tacoma's mayor. He would later return to the Washington State Legislature, this time to the Senate, and serve several terms. Trueblood # 1801 ALBUM 16.

Rasmussen, Albert Lawrence; Mayors--Tacoma--1960-1970; Awards;

Martin Luther King Memorial March. On April 7, 1968 Tacoma motorcycle police, their vehicles parked in the middle of Tacoma Avenue South, stood and listened to speakers outside the County-City Building speak passionately about the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday April 7th was a national day of mourning for Dr. King who had been shot just three days before. Over a thousand people, many bearing signs, had marched from St. John Baptist Church to the County-City Building, blocks away, in a show of unity and great sadness. TAC 377.3

Commemorations--Tacoma--1960-1970; Crowds--Tacoma--1960-1970; County-City Building (Tacoma); Tacoma Police Department (Tacoma); Motorcycles--Tacoma--1960-1970;

Mayor Ben Hanson gestures as his visitor, L. Shukin of Turkey, watches on the grass outside the County-City Building, 930 Tacoma Avenue South, on July 10, 1961. The mayor may have been pointing toward the old Central School building further up the street. TRUEBLOOD 524

Mayors--Tacoma--1960-1970; Hanson, Ben; Shukin, L.; Foreign visitors--Turkey;

An unidentified Tacoma police officer uses a hand sledge to smash the inner workings of a slot machine on January 12, 1965, one of five confiscated slots demolished in the basement of the County City Building per court order. The exposed reels show the familiar fruit symbols of cherries, plums and oranges. The non-uniformed man in the photograph has his hand on a 25 cent "Club Chief" slot; that machine has a jackpot of $25. The quarter, nickel and penny slots yielded a total of $117.33. Former owner George Parrott, a Tacoma barber, paid a $100 city fine in addition to a federal gambling tax of more than $1,000. He did, however, get back the $117.33 in coins which were turned over to his attorney, Martin Potter, for return to Mr. Parrott. (TNT 1-13-65, A-3-article & alt. photo)

Slot machines--Tacoma; Gambling--Tacoma--1960-1970; Tacoma Police Department (Tacoma); Police--Tacoma--1960-1970; Hammers;