Intersection of 11th St. & St. Paul Ave, requested by law firm of Davies, Pearson, Anderson & Gadbow for Jennings vs. Bergsten case. This is a view of the 11th St. Bridge (now Murray Morgan Bridge) leading into the tideflats on November 21, 1971. Medical Arts Building (now Tacoma Municipal Building) can be seen in the distance on the right; Tacoma Building is on right side of the bridge with Perkins Building on left.

Commercial streets--Tacoma--1970-1980; 11th Street Bridge (Tacoma);

ca. 1971. This is believed to be the rear view on Commerce St. of the remodeled Seattle-First National Bank building (formerly Bank of Tacoma) and the Commonwealth Title Insurance Co. in early 1971. The brokerage firm of Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner & Smith occupied the entire second floor of the Commonweath Building. Next door to the Sea-First Building is the Pacific First Federal Savings & Loan Assn. The Rust Building, with enormous American Federal Savings sign, is also visible. Photograph ordered on 6-29-71 by Construction Specialties, Inc., San Marcos, CA.

Commercial streets--Tacoma--1970-1980; Seattle-First National Bank (Tacoma); Commonwealth Title Insurance Co. (Tacoma); Pacific First Federal Savings & Loan Association (Tacoma); Banks--Tacoma; Rust Building (Tacoma);

The top of the Washington Building tower, circa 1925. At 17 stories, almost everyone had to look up at this building, it was the second highest in the Northwest. The Washington Building was innovative in grouping its tenants by fields and making offices specific to those fields. The top floors were dedicated to doctors and medical offices. Some floors were huge open spaces on completion, for large concerns who would dictate where partitions would be placed. (TNT 6/30/1925, pg. 1) (WSHS)

Washington Building (Tacoma);

View in October of 1938 of the newly resurfaced Puyallup Avenue, looking east from Pacific Avenue. In 1938, Tacoma also retired her streetcars and replaced them with modern busses. A recently completed PWA contract called for the resurfacing of Puyallup Ave. from E. "G" St. to Pacific Ave. The contract, valued at $54, 710 called for the replacement of of sidewalk, curbs and street surface. (T.Times, 10/20/1938, p. 4)

Commercial streets--Tacoma--1930-1940; Bridges--Tacoma; Puyallup Avenue Bridge (Tacoma); Depressions--1929; Public Works Administration (Tacoma);

ca. 1937. View of Bone Dry Shoe Company location in Rust Building. "Forced to Vacate - Removal Sale" signs on transoms. Ordered for designer to illustrate proposed alterations for Lundquist-Lilly Company.

Office buildings--Tacoma--1930-1940; Rust Building (Tacoma); Bone Dry Shoe Store (Tacoma); Shoe stores--Tacoma--1930-1940;

View up Saint Helens Avenue from about Market Street. Tacoma News Tribune building in right foreground, Webster Apartments beyond. Allen Motor Company, Studebaker garage a block up on left, Walker Apartments beyond that. (filed with Argentum)

Business districts--Tacoma--1930-1940; Commercial streets--Tacoma--1930-1940; Walker Apartments (Tacoma); Automobiles--Tacoma--1930-1940;

ca. 1935. General view of the Rust Building at 11th and Pacific Avenue. Sandstone clad steel framed 12 story business block for William R. Rust by Sutton, Whitney and Dugan, Architects, 1920. (Argentum)

Business districts--Tacoma; Office buildings--Tacoma--1930-1940; Rust Building (Tacoma);

View of Saint Helens Ave. sometime in the 1930s. The Allyn Hotel (726-28) is on the right, next to the Medical Arts Building (747 Market St.). Many cars parked outside both buildings and across the street.

Commercial streets--Tacoma--1930-1940; Allyn Hotel (Tacoma); Medical Arts Building (Tacoma);

ca. 1926. In 1926, this photograph was taken of South 11th Street between Tacoma Ave So. and So. Fawcett. The businesses are, left to right, the Pleasant Corner Candy Store, an upholstery shop, Clinton's Pianos at 506 So. 11th, the Pok-A-Dot-Pup Sandwich Shop and an unidentified storefront. The tall building in the back is 1111 Tacoma Ave. So., at this time occupied by A. Gehri & Co. and Erickson Bro. This building is still across the street from the Tacoma Public Library. However, the top floors have now been removed. (WSHS)

Business districts--Tacoma--1920-1930; Commercial streets--Tacoma--1920-1930; Clinton's Music House (Tacoma);

ca. 1925. Looking east on South 11th Street in Downtown Tacoma. Fisher's Department Store on right. Buildings on left, left to right: Rhodes Department Store, Fidelity Building, Washington Building and Tacoma Building. 11th Street Bridge (identified on photo as Lincoln Bridge) in distance. When the bridge was built in 1913, it was christened the Lincoln Bridge in a "name the bridge" contest but the name never stuck. Tacomans just preferred to call it the Eleventh Street Bridge. (filed with Argentum)

Business districts--Tacoma--1920-1930; Fishers Department Store (Tacoma); Rhodes Brothers Department Store (Tacoma); Washington Building (Tacoma); Tacoma Building (Tacoma);

ca. 1925. Looking east on South 11th Street in Downtown Tacoma. Fisher's Department Store on right. Buildings on left, left to right: Rhodes Department Store, Fidelity Building, Washington Building and Tacoma Building. 11th Street Bridge in distance. (filed under Argentum)

Business districts--Tacoma--1920-1930; Fishers Department Store (Tacoma); Rhodes Brothers Department Store (Tacoma); Washington Building (Tacoma); Tacoma Building (Tacoma);

This is Main Street in Sumner as it appeared in January, 1940. Buildings on either side of the street include the Three Little Pigs Tavern, the Riviera Theater, Putman's Hardware, and the Sumner Safeway among others. Sumner, which can trace its history to the 1870s, was named after Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts. (T. Times, Special Edition)

Business districts--Sumner; Three Little Pigs Tavern (Sumner); Putman's Hardware (Sumner); Riviera Theater (Sumner)

Pacific Avenue showing improvements. Barricaded section south of South 15th Street. Automobiles and buses on newly paved street looking north to Northern Pacific Headquarters Building. Schoenfeld's and Sprague Buildings prominent.

Commercial streets--Tacoma--1930-1940;

ca. 1890. This is a view looking up South 9th from A Street in downtown Tacoma circa 1890. The big building in center of photo (to the right of 9th) is the Fife Block Building, later the Hotel Donnelly. Across 9th from this bulding is the Wright Building. Built in 1874 it was the first brick building in Tacoma. Although massive brick and stone structures were being constructed in the commercial business districts, streets were still rough and unpaved.

Commercial streets--Tacoma--1890-1900; Wright Building (Tacoma); Fife Block Building (Tacoma);

ca. 1893. A juxaposition of old and new is visible along the 1100 block of Pacific Avenue circa 1893. A horse-and-buggy is waiting patiently at the curb while the Sixth Avenue-Glendale electric streetcar motors on by. Passengers aboard the streetcar could sit in the doorless front section, absorbing much fresh air, or ride in the enclosed rear portion. On the left side of the photograph is the large California Building, 1110-16 Pacific Avenue, and the recently completed (Old) City Hall at 625 Commerce St., is at the end of the street (rear). (copy of original) Bi-Centennial Project # 75346-64

Commercial streets--Tacoma--1890-1900; Street railroads--Tacoma--1890-1900; Mass transit--Tacoma--1890-1900; Carriages & coaches--Tacoma--1890-1900; California Building (Tacoma); Old City Hall (Tacoma);

This wide street was South Union Ave. (later to be known as South Tacoma Way), part of South Tacoma's business district, as viewed in late May of 1924. A few cars are rolling down the street apparently being monitored by a lone traffic policeman in the distance. Flags are flying in honor of Memorial Day. The flags and poles on both sides of the street had been purchased by individual merchants from a company that manufactured them to be of uniform size. The flags were to be dedicated by the South Tacoma merchants on Flag Day. Residents in South Tacoma had ready access to bakeries, drugstores, grocery stores, candy shops and even pool halls on this stretch of South Union, close to South 52nd St. G62.1-005; TPL-2539 (TNT 6-4-24, p. 13)

Commercial streets--Tacoma--1920-1930; Business districts--Tacoma--1920-1930; Flags--United States;

This view is of Broadway at 9th looking south in August of 1924. On the right foreground is a portion of the massive Tacoma Theater building (902-14 Broadway) with new tenant Frank C. Hart & Sons (jewelers) sign and the Electro Dental Parlors (former practice of dentist John Austin). The Colonial Theater (916-18 Broadway) is next, then showing for the second week the movie "The Covered Wagon." The Pythian Temple (924-26 Broadway) and Burnett Brothers jewelry store (932 Broadway) follow. At the end of the block is the Rhodes Brothers Department Store (950 Broadway). On the left side of Broadway several businesses are visible: the Hotel Illington and the McMillan Bros. Drugstore in the Jonathan Smith Bldg. (911-13 Broadway); Lou Johnson (ladies apparel) in the Collier-Hardenberg Bldg (915-17 Broadway); Pierce Hotel (912 1/2 Broadway); and further down the street, the Lewis Brothers clothing store (935-41 Broadway). G59.1-030

Commercial streets--Tacoma--1920-1930; Colonial Theater (Tacoma); Pythian Temple (Tacoma); Tacoma Theater (Tacoma);

This is 11th St. at the bridge looking west as pictured on August 22, 1924. On the left is the Perkins Building at 1101 A Street, Tacoma's first fireproof building; on the right is the Tacoma Building, 1017-21 A Street, home to the Weyerhaeuser Timber Co. The unfinished Scandinavian-American Bank building (later known as the Washington Building) is in the distance also on the right. G57.1-133

Commercial streets--Tacoma--1920-1930; Business districts--Tacoma--1920-1930; Perkins Building (Tacoma); Tacoma Building (Tacoma); Washington Building (Tacoma);

Downtown Tacoma street scene. Not much traffic or people visible at South 11th & A Streets on this spring day in 1920. A streetcar has just made a turn onto A Street from South 11th as it moves past the L. Schoenfeld & Sons store at 105-11 So. 11th. This would be the Schoenfeld furniture store location until 1924 when they would move to the skyscraper at 1423 Pacific Ave. To the left of the photograph is the Federal Building, home of the federal courts (until 1992) and the Main branch of the Post Office. Also on the left is a portion of the towering Puget Sound National Bank building with spire. G57.1-121

Commercial streets--Tacoma--1920-1930; Business districts--Tacoma--1920-1930; Street railroads--Tacoma--1920-1930; L. Schoenfeld & Sons (Tacoma); Federal Building (Tacoma); Puget Sound National Bank (Tacoma);

This is what the South 17th & Broadway & Jefferson area looked like in April of 1920. The 11-year-old Carlton Hotel, with the address of 1552 Jefferson Ave., is in view in the center of the photograph. A juxtaposition of old and new modes of transportation is on the left - a horse-driven cart is next to a modern streetcar. Power lines create geometric designs above. TPL-1363 G59.1-039

Commercial streets--Tacoma--1920-1930; Carlton Hotel (Tacoma); Street railroads--Tacoma--1920-1930;

ca. 1920. In 1920, Pacific Avenue was taking on a new look. Buildings had been demolished and work had begun on William R. Rust's 12 floor Rust building at 950 Pacific Ave. (under construction in this photograph.) Left to right, the buildings are 948 Pacific Ave. - home to Burnside hats on the ground floor and the Dayton Agency upstairs. The Dayton Agency, according to their signage, carried supplies for bicycles and motorcycles and did repairs. Next comes 946 Pacific with Scobey Cigar Co. downstairs and Naubert & Manning English Billiards upstairs. The following building at 942-44 Pacific Ave. included Walk Over Shoes, M&M Hat Store and Phil Friedman Jeweler downstairs with the Peterson & Cooksie Billiard Parlor above. The Shriners must have been in town at the time of the photograph because most of the buildings are decorated with bunting, Shriner emblems and American flags. G61.1-032

Business districts--Tacoma--1920-1930; Rust Building (Tacoma); Burnside Hats (Tacoma); Scobey Cigar Co. (Tacoma); Naubert & Manning Billiards (Tacoma); Walk Over Shoes (Tacoma); M& M Hats (Tacoma); Peterson & Cooksie Billiard Parlor (Tacoma);

Jefferson Avenue near Pacific. A few vehicles, including a Tacoma Power & Rail street car, are captured in motion on Jefferson Avenue in early March of 1921. The stately Hotel Carlton is on the right. TPL-5538; G60.1-075

Commercial streets--Tacoma--1920-1930; Carlton Hotel (Tacoma); Hotels--Tacoma--1920-1930; Mass transit--Tacoma--1920-1930; Electric railroads--Tacoma--1920-1930;

A streetcar climbs Jefferson Avenue as it makes its daily rounds on March 3, 1921. The Wickersham Triangle Building at 1702 Jefferson Avenue is to the far left; it was demolished in 1936. To the right of the Wickersham is the Hotel Carlton, 1552 Jefferson, now known as the Carlton Center. It was built in 1909 by Anton Huth, based on a design by C.A. Darmer, Architect. In the far background is the skyline of the 1500 block of Pacific Ave., much of which has been demolished. This curving intersection is one of the few sections of road in downtown Tacoma that resembles the unique street plan for Tacoma created by Frederick Law Olmstead; the design was rejected as impractical. G60.1-078;

Commercial streets--Tacoma--1920-1930; Carlton Hotel (Tacoma); Hotels--Tacoma; Mass transit--Tacoma--1920-1930; Electric railroads--1920-1930;

This is the view that one would see in February of 1922 of St. Helens Avenue near 7th St. looking south. The YMCA is the tall building on the right at 7th & Market. Streetcar tracks ran down the middle of the road which was not paved with smooth asphalt but more of a brick-like substance. On the left (or east) side of the street was the building housing the News Tribune and Tacoma Daily Ledger newspapers. The papers were published independently and seemed to exist harmoniously. The Daily Ledger would go out of business 15 years later. G61.1-170 TPL-10213

Commercial streets--Tacoma--1920-1930; Business districts--Tacoma--1920-1930; Tacoma News Tribune Publishing Co. (Tacoma); Street railroad tracks--Tacoma--1920-1930; Young Men's Christian Association (Tacoma);

Tacoma street scene. This is the intersection of South 56th St. and South Tacoma Way (then known as South Union Ave.), one of the area's prime business districts, as seen in March of 1922. North Pacific Bank is at the left. Northern Pacific's South Tacoma Shops were a short distance away at 52nd & South Proctor. The South Tacoma community was a thriving area containing restaurants, garages, theaters, hotels, grocery stores, real estate and other professional enterprises. TPL-2538; G62.1-003

Commercial streets--Tacoma--1920-1930; Business districts--Tacoma--1920-1930; North Pacific Bank (Tacoma);

Both pedestrian and cars are blurred as this view of 17th & Pacific looking north was captured on May 8, 1922. This section of Pacific had at least two hotels visible with a third, the Japanese-owned Hotel Rector, on Broadway. The Savoy Hotel on the right was listed in the 1922 City Directory as being on 1535 1/2 Pacific Ave. and owned/operated by B. Bertleson. On the left side was the Hotel Lewis at 1522 Pacific Ave., owned by the Hotel Operating Co. of Seattle. There rooms advertised as "new and modern" could be had for as little as $1.00. The Hotel Rector, far left of the photograph, was listed at 1541 Broadway and owned by K. Nakatsukasa. Rooms were available for 50 cents and up. At the time, there were several other downtown hotels owned by Japanese, including the Madison Hotel, Central Hotel, Hotel Victoria, and the Hotel Dewey. TPL-5550

Commercial streets--Tacoma--1920-1930; Hotels--Tacoma--1920-1930;

One of Tacoma's busier intersections in 1931 was North 1st St. and Tacoma Avenue North. The San Clare Cafe (at left) featured everything from cigars to candy and Medosweet ice cream. Further down Tacoma Avenue North was the Supreme Cleaners & Dyers. Across the street was the Davis & Hollingsworth retail furniture concern at 20 Tacoma Avenue North. The First Presbyterian Church, a beautiful example of Romanesque architecture, rises high above the street at 20 Tacoma Avenue South. TPL-1605; G62.1-064

Commercial streets--Tacoma--1930-1940; Streets--Tacoma--1930-1940; San Clare Cafe (Tacoma); Supreme Cleaners & Dyers (Tacoma); Davis & Hollingsworth (Tacoma); First Presbyterian Church (Tacoma);

A wet, overcast day lends to this tranquil view of Sixth Avenue, looking west from Prospect Street, in February of 1923. The Sunset Theater, at left, was built in 1919 by Louis Perunko. It is now occupied by Speedy Auto Glass. The Red Cross Drug Store and F. C. Jonas Hardware occupied the building at the right. Several children on bicycles pause on the wet roadway while three men and a small boy huddle near the awning of the drugstore. G57.1-067; TPL-1797;

Sunset Theater (Tacoma); Red Cross Drug Store (Tacoma); F.C. Jonas Hardware (Tacoma); Bicycles & tricycles--Tacoma; Street railroad tracks--Tacoma;

Bustling downtown street scene. This is 11th St. looking east near Broadway as it appeared in January of 1924. Pedestrians scurry across the road aided by the helpful policeman holding the "Stop" sign before the few cars. It apparently was a dry, sunny day with no umbrellas in sight. Some of the business district's notable buildings are in view: the Fidelity Building, the Rust Building, and the unfinished Scandinavian-American Bank building (later completed and named the Washington Building) on the left with the Stone-Fisher (name changed the following year to Fisher Co.) Department Store on the right foreground. The 11th St. Bridge (name changed later to honor Murray Morgan) is in the far background. G57.1-141

Commercial streets--Tacoma--1920-1930; Business districts--Tacoma--1920-1930; Fidelity Building (Tacoma); Rust Building (Tacoma); Fishers Department Store (Tacoma); 11th Street Bridge (Tacoma);

City Center skyline. This photograph, taken on April 13, 1925 from the Puget Sound National Bank Bldg. at 1117-19 Pacific Avenue, gives the viewer a good look at the massive office buildings located in the downtown commercial district. The building on the right with scaffolding is the Washington Building whose much-delayed construction would finally be completed and the building opened in July of 1925. Next to the Washington Building is the Rust Building (950 Pacific) designed by architects Sutton, Whitney & Dugan. Its neighbor is the Fidelity Building (949-55 Broadway). The last building on the extreme left is the Rhodes Brothers Department Store at 950 Broadway. Directly across the street from the Rust Building is the Equitable Building (1102-04 Pacific) which housed at that time the Pacific Savings & Loan Assoc. with Crown Drug Co. at one corner.

Business districts--Tacoma--1920-1930; Commercial streets--Tacoma--1920-1930; Washington Building (Tacoma); Rust Building (Tacoma); Fidelity Building (Tacoma); Rhodes Brothers Department Store (Tacoma); Puget Sound National Bank (Tacoma);