Elevated view of the Sears, Roebuck & Co.'s parking lot taken on July 23, 1951. Photograph was apparently taken from across the street and shows that the lot is full; apparently many Tacomans were taking advantage of the free parking that Sears provided. The multi-tiered parking lot would help to alleviate the problems of insufficient parking that downtown Tacoma was already starting to experience.

Sears, Roebuck & Co. (Tacoma); Parking garages--Tacoma; Parking lots--Tacoma--1950-1960;

20 trucks at store, Sears Roebuck & Company, Mr. Moore. Trucks from L.M. Jezek Trucking are lined up in the parking lot at Sears, Roebuck and Company. They were used to transfer merchandise from the local Sears store to Seattle. A labor dispute had kept ten Tacoma stores closed for more than five weeks and no progress was being made as to the opening of the retail department stores. Several men are standing out of the rain under the overhang on the key maker's station.(T.Times, 9/16/1948, p.13) TPL-9609

Sears, Roebuck & Co. (Tacoma); Department stores--Tacoma--1940-1950; Trucks--Tacoma--1940-1950; Retail trade strikes--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Six Sears, Roebuck employees appear to be happily gazing at a check or benefit statement from their employer in this March, 1953, photograph. D.A. Anderson, manager of Sears Tacoma, presents Connie Vaughn, newest member to the profit sharing plan, her annual statement. Sears offered profit sharing as one of their many employer-paid benefits to all regular employees after a year's employment. A poster on the wall behind the employees shows some of the benefits covered by the company; besides profit sharing, these included paid vacation and holidays, group life insurance, group hospitalization and employee discounts. A second poster displays a map locating Sears retail and factory stores nationwide and indicates the possibility for unlimited advancement. (TNT 3-7-53, p. 7)

Sears, Roebuck & Co. (Tacoma)--Employees--1950-1960; Employee fringe benefits; Posters; Anderson, D.A.; Vaughn, Connie;

Sears Roebuck and Company Department Store.Tables display sandals for $2.79 and various other shoes. Chairs and other shoe tables are seen in the rear.

Sears, Roebuck & Co. (Tacoma); Merchandise displays--Tacoma; Shoes;

Circa 1910.

Herman Walker of the Hilltop Multi-Service Center watched in December of 1968 as Sherwin Williams prepared to insert a letter holding a donation to the Opportunity & Development, Inc. Christmas party for the underprivileged into the special mailbox at the Tacoma Sears store. Young Audrey Kinlow, in suit and tie, looked on. Tacomans in 1968 were asked to make Christmas happier for thousands of youngsters by contributing to the anti-poverty unit's annual Christmas party to be held on December 21st at McCarver Elementary School. Twelve special handmade mailboxes were placed in Sears, Puget Sound National Bank and Bank of Washington's main offices, and other locations . No postage was needed for these special letters; Herman Walker of the Hilltop Multi-Service Center (above) acted as Santa's special postmaster. (Photograph ordered by Tacoma-Pierce County Opportunity & Development, Inc.) (TNT 12-11-68, A-12)

Walker, Herman; Williams, Sherwin; Kinlow, Audrey; Sears, Roebuck & Co. (Tacoma); Mailboxes--Tacoma; Correspondence; Fund raising--Tacoma--1960-1970;

Sears Roebuck displayed fourteen Remington Rand portable typewriters, some with cases, in their window. E. Remington & Sons introduced the first commercially viable typewriter in 1873. Remington Typewriter and Rand Kardex merged in 1927 to form Remington Rand. Remington Rand produced the world's first business computer in 1949. Ordered by Remington Rand Company.

Sears, Roebuck & Co. (Tacoma); Department stores--Tacoma--1950-1960; Typewriters; Remington Rand Co. (Rowayton, Ct.); Window displays--Tacoma--1950-1960;

On September 24, 1941, two unidentified young girls were photographed with three dogs at the Sears Roebuck store, 1148 Broadway, to help promote National Dog Week. The girl at the left held a beagle pup; the one at the right, a cocker spaniel. Between them, sitting on the counter, was a grown cocker spaniel. National Dog Week was founded in 1928 by Captain Will Judy, a noted judge and former publisher of Dog World Magazine, to promote dog ownership and better dog care. (T. Times)

Sears, Roebuck & Co. (Tacoma); Dogs;

Washington National Guard window display at Sears. Mannequin dressed as a Guardsman, stacked rifles, posters and flag are all intended to recruit young men into joining the National Guard. The Guard offered training in many areas and monetary compensation for the days that you served in the National Guard. Interested parties were asked to enroll at the local armory on South 11th Street and Yakima Avenue.

Military Organizations; Recruiting & enlistment--Tacoma; Flags; Militias; Arms & armament--Tacoma; Washington National Guard (Tacoma); Sears, Roebuck & Co. (Tacoma); Window Displays;

A Sears, Roebuck employee demonstrates a new television console to a young Tacoma family in August, 1951. A similar television with rectangular screen is on sale for $259. Sears was having a sale on household appliances and furnishings with low down payments advertised. A sign on the wall indicates that a 15% down payments would be accepted. Several refrigerators are lined up just a few short steps away. TPL-5046

Sears, Roebuck & Co. (Tacoma); Televisions--1950-1960; Children watching television; Refrigerators; Selling--Tacoma; Sales personnel--Tacoma;

Sears Roebuck and Company Department Store, Automotive Department. This elevated view of the automotive department, taken on September 5, 1951, shows tires on right, four tables with oil, seat covers, auto accessories, batteries and mufflers on right back wall. The automotive section seemed to be set next to appliances, including stoves.

Sears, Roebuck & Co. (Tacoma); Department stores--Tacoma--1950-1960; Automobile equipment & supplies; Stoves--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Elevated view of Sears, Roebuck & Co.'s parking lot taken in summer of 1951. The Sears parking lot is nearly full; this was the top of a multi-tiered parking garage recently built by Sears. Angled parking provides most efficient use of parking space as many of Sears' customers take advantage of the free parking while shopping. Craig Furniture and Schoenfeld's buildings are visible in photo.

Sears, Roebuck & Co. (Tacoma); Parking garages--Tacoma; Parking lots--Tacoma--1950-1960; Craig Furniture, Inc. (Tacoma); L. Schoenfeld & Sons (Tacoma);

The pillars in the new parking garage at 13th and Market create a forest of concrete trees in this photograph from August of 1951. In 1951 Sears, Roebuck & Co. built a parking garage to help provide inexpensive, plentiful parking for their downtown customers. Sears offered one hour of free parking. Thirty years later, in 1981, Sears moved their store to the Tacoma Mall. This garage, which stands across from the downtown YMCA, became the Cornerstone Building.

Sears, Roebuck & Co. (Tacoma); Parking garages--Tacoma; Parking lots--Tacoma--1950-1960; Signs (Notices);

As publicity for the Retail War Bond drive held in July of 1942, Madlyn Piper, clad in a white dress and wearing a military type "overseas" cap marked "I'm Selling Stamps and Bonds," is pictured selling bonds to Harry Satterlee, right, an officer of the Teamsters Union, on the roof of Sears Store. The man on the left is unidentified. Members of four of Tacoma's Unions purchased a total of $21,000 of war bonds on the first day of the sale, July 1st. They were the Machinists, Retail Clerks, Cooks & Waiters and Teamsters. (TNT 7/1/42, pg. 11- picture (cropped); T. Times 7/1/1942 p.9)

Piper, Madlyn; Satterlee, Harry; War bonds & funds; World War, 1939-1945--Economic aspects of war--Tacoma;

As part of the publicity for the War Bond drive held in July of 1942 by the retail stores in Tacoma, Madlyn Piper, dressed in white and wearing a military type "overseas" cap marked "I'm Selling Stamps and Bonds," was photographed selling war bonds to Harry Satterlee, an officer of the Teamsters Union, on the roof of Sears Store. On the first day of the sale, July 1st, $21,000 worth of bonds were purchased by the members of four unions, Machinists, Retail Clerks, Cooks & Waiters and Teamsters. On the kickoff day, for 15 minutes (12-12:15p.m.) nothing was sold city wide except bonds. (T. Times 7/1/1942 p.9)

Piper, Madlyn; Satterlee, Harry; War bonds & funds; World War, 1939-1945--Economic aspects of war--Tacoma;

Six women wearing military type "overseas" caps marked "I'm Selling Stamps and Bonds" with a "Tacoma Retail Stamp and Bond Sales - July" chart outside Sears, Roebuck and Company. The Tacoma salesgirls were posing for publicity pictures announcing the kickoff July 1, 1942 of the Tacoma Retail Stores Bond and Stamp Sale. The sales goal for July was $1,723,693. Pictured left to right are Rose Colombini, Madlyn Piper, Arline Keller, Nancy Carlson, C lella McElroy and Radie Cramer. (T. Times 6/30/1942, pg. 1; 7/1/1942 p.9)

World War, 1939-1945--Economic aspects of war--Tacoma; War bonds & funds--Tacoma--1940-1950; Colombini, Rose; Piper, Madlyn; Keller, Arlene; Carlson, Nancy; Cramer, Radie; Department stores--Tacoma; Sears, Roebuck & Co. (Tacoma);

Sears Window, Mr. Moor. Toys fill the window display including a fantasy model train, PT boat, tank, toy soldier and sailor, dolls, stuffed animals, Dumbo, and a clown. A poster of animals playing table tennis and others line the back of the display.

Commercial facilities--Tacoma; Sears, Roebuck & Co. (Tacoma); Window displays--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Sears, Roebuck and Company style show on main floor. Eight children, two boys and six girls, dressed in spring outfits. Group portrait taken with children atop a cabinet and in front of spring decorated column.

The Sears store, ordered by Fairchild Publications. The entrance to the service station can be seen at the rear of the building. Elevated parking center at 1140-50 Court C.

Sears, Roebuck & Co. (Tacoma); Department stores--Tacoma--1950-1960;

The Sears, and Roebuck Company took over the Owen Woods building at the corner of So. 13th and Broadway in 1935. This photograph from 1952 shows the completely remodeled building. The new facade was based on the Sears building at the Chicago Century of Progress Exposition. In 1981, after over 45 years at this address, Sears moved to the Tacoma Mall, leaving the Peoples Store at So. 11th and Pacific as the last major department store in downtown Tacoma. The Peoples Store closed three years later, in 1984. After Sears moved to the Mall, the building at 1148 Broadway was remodeled yet again, restoring much of the look of the original Owen Woods Building.

Sears, Roebuck & Co. (Tacoma); Department stores--Tacoma--1950-1960; Parking garages--Tacoma; Silas E. Nelsen Architects (Tacoma);

Interior exposure of mannequin and refrigerator for Sears and Roebuck. A mannequin in an apron and fold out penguins advertise the newest Coldspot refrigerator at Sears. The refrigerator has a serve shelf- bonus space in the door to store small foods, a chiller- extra cold storage for meats and a crisper and "vegedrator"- to keep fruits and vegetables firm and flavorful. All three innovations are still used on modern refrigerators.

Sears, Roebuck & Co. (Tacoma); Department stores--Tacoma--1950-1960; Refrigerators--1950-1960; Mannequins;

Sears Roebuck and Company's Credit Department has a display on the back wall which includes rifles, pans, an Allstate tire, an automobile visor, a garden hose and silverware, all items carried by Sears. The credit counter is on the left and nine desks, chairs and other equipment are seen lined up throughout the room. A large bouquet of flowers stands near hanging files on the right.

Sears, Roebuck & Co. (Tacoma); Department stores--Tacoma--1950-1960; Offices--Tacoma--1950-1960; Office furniture;