Railroad tracks within St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co. complex, part of series taken for court evidence on July 17, 1925. Assorted buildings in the distance; boards outdoors in the open. G36.1-161

Railroad tracks--Tacoma--1920-1930; St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co. (Tacoma);

On July 17, 1925, a series of photographs were taken at the St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co. complex for court evidence. Here three men stand on or near railroad tracks. Logs are stacked nearby. G36.1-162

Railroad tracks--Tacoma--1920-1930; St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co. (Tacoma);

The "Silksworth" was docked at the Tidewater Mill, 3901 E. 11th St., the first stop of four, on November 19, 1925. She would continue on to the Defiance Lumber on November 22nd, and then on to Dickman and St. Paul mills. The Australian-bound vessel, on her first visit to Tacoma, was under the command of Captain R. Deans. The 429-foot "Silksworth" was a relatively new ship, in operation less than three years, and had a 53-foot beam. She would be taking 4,080,000 feet of lumber to Australia, 3 million feet of which would be loaded in Tacoma. As the ship is tied up at Tidewater, numerous logs, waiting to be processed, float in the waterway. The mill, located on the east side of the Hylebos Waterway, exported most of its timber. Because of its 750 feet of deep water moorage, Tidewater Mill was capable of loading several vessels at the same time. (photograph has been damaged) (TNT 11-21-25, p. 5-article on the "Silksworth")

Tidewater Mill Co. (Tacoma); Lumber industry--Tacoma--1920-1930; Logs; Cargo ships--1920-1930; Shipping--Tacoma--1920-1930;

Fire damage at Mineral Lake Logging Co. Camp 17 as viewed on September 3, 1926. In the right foreground are scorched tree stumps. G75.1-086 (photograph is marked B15570; however, correct image # should be B15569, per photographer Boland's notes.)

Mineral Lake Logging Co. Camp 17; Fires; Tree stumps; Logs; Lumber industry--Washington--1920-1930;

ca. 1910. Back in the early days of the 20th century, there were not many automobiles in Tacoma and even fewer delivery vans. Bottled beer was transported in cases via a tried-and-true method--by horse and wagon. Here two patient horses pause while their driver has his photograph taken. He has removed his sturdy work coat which is laid on the covered seat. There are several cases of beer in the open wagon bed. The beer had been brewed by the Pacific Brewing & Malting Co., then one of Washington's largest breweries and located in downtown Tacoma on South 25th St., between "C" and Jefferson. State prohibition laws went into effect in January of 1916, effectively halting the thriving business. (Photograph courtesy of the William Cammarano Collection) TPL-10424

Beer--Tacoma; Brewing industry--Tacoma--1910-1920; Pacific Brewing & Malting Co. (Tacoma); Carts & wagons--Tacoma--1910-1920; Horses--Tacoma--1910-1920;

ca. 1910. A grouping of rough loggers, probably employees of the Grays Harbor Logging Co., posed for the camera on and around a downed giant tree, circa 1910. The early era of the Grays Harbor lumber industry was often called the "Timber Rush," as fortunes were made in the attempt to clear cut the great stand of Douglas Fir. The Grays Harbor Logging Co. was in operation from 1909-1920. They had logging camps on the East Fork of the Wishkah River and maintained offices in Aberdeen. The company's president was C. H. Shutt and the Secretary/Treasurer was F.E. Burrows. ("They Tried to Cut It All" by Edwin VanSyckle") (photograph courtesy of Dan Powell) TPL-9833

Grays Harbor Logging Co. (Aberdeen); Lumber industry--Grays Harbor; Loggers; Woodcutters;

ca. 1888. In this photograph from 1888, over a half-dozen ships crowd up to the dock of a lumber yard in Tacoma to take on lumber. The dock shown is probably the Tacoma Mill Company dock which was located on the waterfront by present day Old Tacoma, close to the Jack Hyde Park at the south end of Ruston Way. TPL-8608

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1880-1890; Lumberyards--Tacoma--1880-1890; Sailing ships--Tacoma--1880-1890

ca. 1918. In 1853, Capt. William Talbot located the perfect site for a lumber mill, a sheltered bay five miles inside of the Hood Canal. He and partners Josiah Keller, Andrew Pope and Charles Foster built the Puget Mill in an area called "Teekalet" by the native Americans. In 1865, the town that the mill had erected for its workers was renamed Port Gamble. A company store was built in 1853, but it was replaced in 1916 by this office and general store built on Rainier Ave. As the centerpiece for the company town, the store sold groceries and household items needed by the workers and also served as the communication center, posting news of the world on its bulletin boards. The offices for the company were located upstairs. The building is still the General Store in Port Gamble, although it now caters to tourists, while a museum is now located on the lower level. (HistoryLink.org, Bremerton Sun 5/15/1953) Boland #23

Lumber industry--Port Gamble; Puget Mill Co. (Port Gamble); General stores--Port Gamble;

ca. 1918. Junction of Rainier Ave and View Drive in Port Gamble, circa 1918. The building in the back was the company office and attached company store of Puget Mill. Puget Mill owned the entire town of Port Gamble and operated it for the benefit of their workers. In the foreground was the Community Hall, operated as a meeting venue for workers. It also contained the doctor, dentist and telegraph offices, a barber shop, Post Office and meeting room that could double as a theater and movie house. (Historylink.org) Boland #30

Lumber industry--Port Gamble; Puget Mill Co. (Port Gamble); Post offices--Port Gamble; Community centers--Port Gamble; General stores--Port Gamble;

ca. 1919. Columbia Breweries. The early day bottling machine was a tedious, hand-operated contraption. A production of 500,000 bottles per year was regarded as somewhat stupendous. Wide belts connected with drive shafts located at the ceiling level operate these early assembly-line machines. Ordered by Columbia Breweries in 1951. (TNT, 1/7/1952) (This was a copy print made by the Richards Studio of a Marvin D. Boland photograph #B4392). TPL-9628. Previously cataloged as WO58568-2.

Brewing industry--Tacoma--1910-1920; Columbia Brewing Co. (Tacoma); Machinery; Assembly-line methods--Tacoma--1910-1920; Columbia Brewing Co. (Tacoma)--People; Bottles;

H.C. Weaver Productions motion picture studio under construction on December 4, 1924. One car is parked on the grounds of the construction site; studio was located on 5.5 acres near Titlow Beach. The formal dedication of the first motion picture studio in the Northwest was scheduled for December 14th, ten days after this photograph was taken. The $50,000 studio, constructed by the firm of Albertson, Cornell Bros. & Walsh, was not yet completed. Scaffolding is still in place on the walls of the main building which would be built sans windows. The lower structure in front of the main building would be the administration unit, containing executive offices, projection room, dressing rooms for the stars and extras. The studio would be 105 ft by 180 ft with a 52 foot ceiling. It would have the largest floor in the Northwest without supporting pillars. Only two larger floors were available, both in Hollywood. Weaver was one of a handful of independent studios capable of handling all aspects of film production, including developing and titling. The studio closed after only four years of operation in 1928; the building was converted into a dance hall in 1932 but was destroyed by fire on August 24, 1932. (TDL 11-9-24, E-8, 12-14-24, B-1) Boland-B11465, BU-13758, TPL-8181

H.C. Weaver Productions, Inc. (Tacoma); Motion picture studios--Tacoma; Building construction--Tacoma--1920-1930;

Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad, Engine #10210. The snub nosed flat end of the "Box Cab" electric locomotive was a distinctive feature of the EF1 models. The EF 1s were manufactured by American Locomotive Co. (ALCO) and General Electric Manufacturing Co. (GE). The engines operated on direct current. Photograph ordered by Mr. Abel. Boland B8568

Railroad locomotives--Tacoma; Railroad cars--Tacoma; Railroads--Tacoma; Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad Co. (Tacoma);

At dawn on June 11, 1926, blackened shells were all that remained of 13 wooden World War I warships anchored in an inlet of Henderson Bay. The ships, built by Seaborn Shipbuilding Co., Wright Shipbuilding Co. and Tacoma Ship Building Co. in Tacoma for the French and incomplete at the end of the war, had been moored in Lake Union in Seattle. After being sold for scrap, they were towed to the mouth of Minter Creek and floated out at high tide to an inlet on Henderson Bay. They were then broken up, doused with kerosene and set on fire. After the controlled blaze burned itself out, iron and other salvageable metals would be collected. TPL-127, Bowen 26393 (TNT 6/11/1926, pg. 1)

ca. 1920. Ship under construction or being repaired at Skansie Shipbuilding Co. yard at Gig Harbor, circa 1920. Skansie Brothers was founded in 1912 by four Yugoslavian brothers, Pete, Mitchell, Andrew and Joe Skansie. TPL-688, BU-13900

Mill workers, accompanied by Washington National Guardsmen, stand at the side of the road preparing to cross the Eleventh Street Bridge into the Tideflats to report to work. A second group of men appears to be standing just ahead, possibly strikers gathering to heckle the workers. In June of 1935, workers attempting to return to work at the reopening mills were subjected to extreme violence and threats. Governor Clarence Martin ordered the second battalion of the Washington National Guard 161st Infantry to Tacoma on June 23, 1935 to protect the returning workers and the mills. The guardsmen were armed with smoke, tear and nausea gas bombs, rifles, bayonets and ammunition. (TNT 6/24/1935, pg. 1 & 2)

Members of the Washington National Guard are loaded up in trucks and preparing to return to downtown Tacoma from the industrial Tideflats across the Eleventh Street Bridge. The second battalion of the Guards' 161st Infantry was mobilized to Tacoma by Governor Clarence Martin when workers attempting to return to work during the Lumber workers' strike met with violence. Their job was to protect the workers and the mills. They were stationed at the Armory and patrolled the Tideflats and all bridges and roads into the area. The Eleventh Street bridge has roadblocks on all but one lane, so that vehicles could be searched. (TNT 6/24/1935, pg. 1 & 2)

ca. 1931. Dennison & Company, chicken canners, Fern Hill. Belle and Lee Dennison founders of food line. Glass jars filled with Dennison's Tender Chicken on display circa 1931.

ca. 1931. Dennison & Company, chicken canners, Fern Hill. Belle and Lee Dennison founders of food line. Unidentified Dennison employee stands near canning equipment circa 1931.

ca. 1935. Workers coming through the gate at the St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co. mill in Tacoma, 1220 Saint Paul Ave., around 1935. The mill was established in 1888 on a tideflat island called the "Boot," which lay between the two principal outlets of the Puyallup River. The mill began operation in April of 1889. Production rose until, by 1940, the mill claimed the largest daily production in the world.

ca. 1943. Originally built for the Tacoma Biscuit & Candy Co. in 1904, this building at 17th & Jefferson Ave. was sold to the Union Pacific Railroad two years later. After stints as a spice factory and many years as the Tacoma Paper & Stationery Co., it was taken over by Blake, Moffitt & Towne, Inc. in January of 1943. The firm was a wholesale distributor of printing paper, wrapping paper and stationery and remained at the Jefferson address until 1954 when it moved out to the industrial Tideflats. Since 1971, The Old Spaghetti Factory restaurant has been the primary occupant.

Silent movie star Richard Barthelmess, boxer Harry Dillon, & Hollywood director Al Santell posed for a picture on location at Camp (Fort) Lewis during the filming of "The Patent Leather Kid" on March 29, 1927. Mr. Barthelmess is dressed in doughboy attire for his role as a boxer who enlists in WWI. Mr. Dillon, a Canadian boxer who was known for his knockout right handed "Static Punch," was in Tacoma for his March 31st title fight against Washington native Fred Lenhart to be held at the Greenwich Coliseum. An invitation was extended to the film "boxer" by the real pugilist to attend the bout and Mr. Barthelmess accepted. Mr. Dillon lost his light heavyweight crown by referee's decision. (TNT 3-30-27, p. 10) BGN-164

Crown Prince & German soldier "Battle of Argonne." Arms akimbo and cigarette in hand, the German "Crown Prince" converses with a soldier from the "German" Army during filming of "The Patent Leather Kid" at Camp (Fort) Lewis on March 24, 1927. Even the wooden sign behind them is in the German language. The war scenes filmed were said to be the most vividly real sequences ever made for the camera. Trenches were dug, barb wire strung and fallen trees and other debris were scattered across the war zone. Thousands of extras, mostly Army personnel, were used to depict the sheer magnitude of the bloody battle. 37 Army and National Guard tanks were used as well as 100 army trucks, 15 ambulances and 15 wagon trains. Four batteries of 75 mm guns, two batteries of 155 mm guns, two batteries of 8-inch howitzers were also utilized. BGN-182

Filming of "Battle of Argonne" scenes - "The Patent Leather Kid," March 24, 1927 at Camp (Fort) Lewis. "German" soldiers beat a hasty retreat back to waiting comrades in trenches as their attempt to battle American troops are thwarted by the presence of 27 whippet tanks. Later scenes would show the tanks hurdling German trenches and fierce hand-to-hand fighting .

Actor Richard Barthelmess & champion boxer Harry Dillon shaking hands on location at Camp (Fort) Lewis, March 29, 1927, during filming of "The Patent Leather Kid." Harry Dillon, a Canadian, was in town to defend his light heavyweight title against native son Fred Lenhart at the Greenwich Coliseum on March 31, 1927. He extended an invitation, which Mr. Barthelmess apparently accepted, to watch the bout. Mr. Dillon lost the match by referee's decision; this brought along a mixed reaction by the packed house. (TNT 3-30-27, p. 10) BGN-119

Lights! Cameras! Action! Cameras roll as filming occurs on Camp (Fort) Lewis with "The Patent Leather Kid" in March, 1927. One of the cameramen is believed to be Arthur Edeson, director of photography, a founder of the A.S.C. (American Society of Cinematogophers). He pioneered location sound photography in later work as the cameraman of the successful Western "In Old Arizona." Both he and the other cameraman are wearing protective helmets. Camp Lewis was used by the First National Inc. studios for outdoor photography with indoor scenes filmed in California. Multiple cameras captured the fierce battle action in the "Argonne" where thousands of soldiers from the 4th Infantry, 7th Infantry and ROTC from the University of Washington served as extras. The artillery range was used for the main part of the picture with the construction of five French villages and a cathedral. BGN-115

Filming of "The Patent Leather Kid" at Camp (Fort) Lewis in March, 1927. Cameras on top of platforms are protected under large umbrellas; ladders must be utilized by cameramen and director(s) for access to the platforms. Groups of actors and military personnel appear to be waiting for the next scene. BGN-114

Between scenes of "The Patent Leather Kid" on Camp (Fort) Lewis, March, 1927. Making films, even back in the silent era, involved lots of downtime. Scenes needed to be set up, camera angles discussed and positioned, and actors herded into place. Some of the actors, probably extras, stand in a group with their guns at rest while others lounge in a truck. Four giant loudspeakers would give plenty of warning when action was ready to commence. BGN 124