Broadway in downtown Tacoma is festive with decorations as Christmas, 1928, draws near. This is a view of the street looking north from about 12th Street. Fisher's, "Tacoma's Own Store," and the Rhodes Brothers Department Store are on the left; the 12-story Fidelity Building towers over the other buildings on the right. Signs for the Hotels Warburton and Ritz and the McMillan Bros. drugstore can be seen on the right. TPL-1581; G59.1-022

Commercial streets--Tacoma--1920-1930; Streets--Tacoma--1920-1930; Fishers Department Store (Tacoma); Fidelity Building (Tacoma); Hotel Warburton (Tacoma); Hotel Ritz (Tacoma); McMillan Brothers (Tacoma); Christmas decorations;

Orchestra on stage in front of a giant "Top Hat and Moon" backdrop at the Broadway Theater. Fourteen musicians and director.

Theaters - Tacoma - Tacoma Theater ( Broadway Theater, Music Box Music Ensembles - Orchestras

ca. 1928. Frank Converse, Foreman for the City Light Department, with his wife Gertrude and their baby. (Argentum)

Converse, Frank--Family;

ca. 1928. Large foursquare residence in Seattle. For E.R. Thomas Real Estate Company. Same house as A2475-1 & A2477-1. (Argentum)

E.R. Thomas Real Estate Co. (Seattle); Real estate business--Seattle; Estates--Seattle;

ca. 1928. A copy of this photograph was ordered in October of 1958 by the Cheney Lumber Co. In the photograph, the members of the "Decimo Club" posed in their basketball uniforms. It appears to date from around 1928; the "Decimo" Club participated in the City League basketball league that year. The player holding the basketball in the front row is believed to be Ben Cheney. In 1924, Mr. Cheney arrived in Tacoma from South Bend at the age of 19. He loved sports and participated in several, including basketball. He drew a cartoon for his 1920 South Bend High School yearbook of himself dreaming of basketball glory, but at 5'8" tall he did not play varsity basketball. His true skill was in business. In 1936, he bought his first lumber mill and began building the empire that became the internationally known Cheney Lumber Co. He donated generously to allow local children to have the opportunity to participate in sports. Ben Cheney died in 1971. (The Ben Cheney Story by Med Nicholson, The Sou'wester, Fall 2000)

Basketball players--Tacoma;

ca. 1928. A Street at So. 11th St., looking north, in 1928. The Tacoma Building, at right center, was completed in 1911. The building was home to the Weyerhaeuser Timber Co. and the Tacoma Commercial Club. It is currently being restored. The Tacoma Hotel can be seen in the background, located where the Frank Russell Co. building stands today.

ca. 1928. Elevated view of 1300 block of Pacific Avenue circa 1928. Among the many businesses on Pacific Avenue were the Owl Cafe at 1336 Pacific (lower left) and the Dillion Bldg at 1330-32 Pacific. The familiar spire of the Puget Sound National Bank is to the far right. The Pierce County Courthouse looms in the distance at far left back with the big white walled Greenwich Coliseum (407 So. 13th St.) below. The Greenwich Coliseum had opened in 1927 and would become a premier athletic venue and ballroom.

ca. 1928. Unidentified man with his 1928 Buick in front of Seymour Conservatory at Wright Park. Vehicle has Pennsylvania plates and also displays California and Oregon non-resident windshield stickers. Blossoms and other foliage are visible through the conservatory's large windows. The Victorian style glass conservatory, opened in 1908, was a gift to the people of Tacoma from Tacoma businessman William W. Seymour. TPL-5720, BU-12737

Seymour Conservatory (Tacoma); Greenhouses--Tacoma--1920-1930; Wright Park (Tacoma); Buick automobile;

ca. 1928. A backyard astronomer poses with three large telescopes mounted on tripods and a table filled with smaller telescopes and a collection of lenses and eye pieces. This photograph was taken about 1928.

Telescopes--Tacoma--1930-1940;

ca. 1928. A Texaco fuel truck is parked in front of a tri-motor airplane with a Texaco logo on its wing. Two men appear to be fueling the airplane.

Airplanes--Tacoma--1920-1930; Trucks--Tacoma--1920-1930; Fuel tanks;

ca. 1928. Two men stand next to a biplane with the name Tacoma painted on its side. A third man sits in the rear cockpit of the plane which sits in a grassy field. The plane may belong to the Tacoma Airways aviation school.

Biplanes--Tacoma--1920-1930;

ca. 1928. Young woman in flying jacket, flying cap, and parachute stands on wing of Bergen Bromley Flying Service bi-plane. Photograph probably taken at Mueller Harkins Airport. For more images of the same person, see TPL images 7034 and 7036.

Airplanes--Tacoma--1920-1930; Bergen Bromley Flying Service (Tacoma);

ca. 1928. Home at 511 No. D St., Tacoma. Photograph ordered by W.H. Opie & Co. The home was built in 1928. By 1938, it was the home of Mrs. W.W. Seymour.

Houses--Tacoma--1920-1930; Seymour, W.W.--Homes & haunts;

ca. 1928. Architectural components from Walker Cut Stone Company for the Capital building; loaded on the back of a flatbed truck. Robert Walker started his stone cutting business in a shed on Puyallup Ave. in 1907. By the 1920's, he had demonstrated the building superiority of Wilkeson sandstone and finalized the largest stone contract to date, the state Capital buildings in Olympia. (TNT 2/25/1927, pg. 13) (Argentum)

Walker Cut Stone Co. (Tacoma); Building materials industry--Tacoma--1920-1930;

ca. 1928. Two men posed by trucks bearing stone architectural pieces and signs "Stone for Capital Building." The stone was from the Walker Cut Stone Co. With the awarding of the contract for the stone work for the state Capital buildings in Olympia, the Walker Cut Stone Co. expanded into their new plant at 2403 Center St. The contract for the Capital buildings was the largest stone contract ever made to date. (Argentum)

Walker Cut Stone Co. (Tacoma); Building materials industry--Tacoma--1920-1930;

ca. 1928. Metal storage cabinets in the new Pierce County Hospital, circa 1928. Photograph ordered by Cork Insulating Co., contractors. (WSHS)

Pierce County Hospital (Tacoma); Hospitals--Tacoma--1920-1930;

ca. 1928. Broadway in the late 1920's was already known as the "heart of the shopping and theatrical district." Businesses were crammed cheek by jowl up and down the street. The New York Building at 1117-19 Broadway still listed the Horgan-Parker Department Store's advertisement of "The new daylight department store" even though the store was no longer in existence; Hotels Ritz and Warburton were doors apart; Feltman & Curme sold wonderful $6.50 and $5.50 shoes, and the Blue Mouse theater sold tickets at a mere 25 cents. Kimball's sold guns and sporting goods. The Winthrop Hotel on the right in the distance had opened in 1925. The 12-story Fidelity Building at 949-55 Broadway was also open; it was near the much smaller Hotel Warburton. More people had cars and were using them, as well as public transportation, to visit downtown. (Copy of glass plate negative made on October 3, 1958.) TPL-8477

Commercial streets--Tacoma--1920-1930; Hotel Winthrop (Tacoma); Fidelity Building (Tacoma); Blue Mouse Movie Theatre (Tacoma);

ca. 1928. A man with a fuel can stands next to a Red Crown Gasoline truck as two men work at fueling a biplane.

Biplanes--Tacoma--1920-1930; Fuel tanks;

ca. 1928. Young woman wearing 1920s style flight suit and parachute stands on wing of a bi-plane. She may be practicing for a parachute jump. The plane is sitting on the ground, probably at Tacoma Field. The plane has a winged logo that says, "Bergen Bromley Flying Service." Next to the pilots cockpit, on the side of the plane is the name R. N. Bergen. His partner was Harold Bromley, best remembered for his failed attempts to fly from Tacoma to Tokyo.

Airplanes--Tacoma--1920-1930; Bergen Bromley Flying Service (Tacoma);

ca. 1928. The Perkins building. The Perkins building was constructed in 1906 and named after its builder, Sydney Albert Perkins. It was designed by Russell & Babcock, Architects. At the time it was built, it was the first fireproof building and the tallest structure (at eight floors) in Tacoma. It housed the Tacoma Daily Ledger and the Daily News and it was the first home to the University of Washington, Tacoma. (WSHS- negative A655-0)

ca. 1928. Large foursquare residence in Seattle. For E.R. Thomas Real Estate Company. Same house as A2475 image 1. (Argentum)

E.R. Thomas Real Estate Co. (Seattle); Real estate business--Seattle; Estates--Seattle;

ca. 1928. Large foursquare residence in Seattle surrounded by shrubbery. Hillside in rear. Large spacious well manicured lawn. For E.R. Thomas Real Estate Company. (Argentum)

E.R. Thomas Real Estate Co. (Seattle); Real estate business--Seattle; Estates--Seattle; Houses--Seattle--1920-1930;

ca. 1928. The morgue in the new Pierce County Hospital, 3572 Pacific Ave. Photograph ordered by Cork Insulating Corp, contractors. (WSHS)

Pierce County Hospital (Tacoma); Hospitals--Tacoma--1920-1930; Morgues & mortuaries--Tacoma;

ca. 1928. Oliver Wallace's farewell party at Broadway Theatre. Orchestra and people on stage, painted backdrop of stars and planets. Building by J.M. Wood and A.F. Heide, Associated Architects; John Galen Howard, Designer; Sydney Lovell, Interior Designer, 1889. (Argentum)

Theaters--Tacoma; Broadway Theater (Tacoma);

ca. 1928. Two young people hold a brass plaque dedicating the new field house at Ferry Park. In 1928 the field house was built and equipment purchased thanks to a $2,000 donation from the Kiwanis Club. Ferry Park, covering just over 1/2 acre at S. 14th & Cushman, was Tacoma's first park. It was donated to the city on May 14, 1883 by C.P. Ferry when he platted the Ferry Addition to the city. Ferry Park was the site of another first, the first organized playground program during the summer months beginning in the 1920s. (www.metroparkstacoma.org)

Ferry Park (Tacoma); Parks--Tacoma--1930-1940;

ca. 1928. Melvin Green Tennent was elected to be mayor of Tacoma twice. He was elected March 9, 1926 but resigned before the end of his term. James Newbegin was chosen as his replacement in March of 1929. He was elected the second time March 13, 1930. This photograph is Boland # B18391. ALBUM 16. Also G2.1-039 and MAYOR-016

Tennent, Melvin Green; Mayors--Tacoma--1920-1930;