ca. 1979. Overgrown staircase leading to an upper floor side entrance to the brick Massasoit Hotel, circa 1979. This building is now the UWT Institute of Technology.
ca. 1979. Swiss Hall, 1902-04 Jefferson Ave., circa 1979. The Swiss Society opened their hall here in 1913. It was designed by Heath & Gove. Since 1993, it has been home to the current Swiss Tavern. The building lies on the outskirts of the University of Washington Tacoma campus.
Swiss Hall (Tacoma); University of Washington (Tacoma);
ca. 1979. Crystal Palace Building, 1508-16 Jefferson Ave., circa 1979. The structure was built in 1889 from a design by F.S. Sexton. The building was originally brick with wooden store front, the stucco facade was added in the 1960's. The 1979 City Directory lists a Calvary Gospel Mission and Chapel at 1510-12 Jefferson Ave. The storefront in the picture is the Calvary Deliverance Chapel- House of Prayer.
ca. 1979. Pedestrian bridge over Commerce connecting the Harmon building (back of building pictured at left), 1938 Pacific, with the Harmon warehouse (right), 1949 So. C St. Railroad tracks divide the street, included a deteriorating boarded area.
ca. 1979. Pedestrian bridge over Commerce connecting the Harmon building (back of building pictured at left), 1938 Pacific, with the Harmon warehouse (right), 1949 So. C St. Railroad tracks divide the street.
ca. 1979. Old City Hall. Designed in the style of "fifteenth-century Italian town hall architecture," the six-story building was constructed in 1892. It became "Old" City Hall upon the opening of the County-City Building in 1959. Saved from demolition, it was restored as a shopping center with grand opening in 1974. In 1980 it was converted into an office building. The 32-square foot tower had its bell chimes restored in late 1993. The Old City Hall is on the City, State, and National Registry.
ca. 1979. View in 1979 from near the intersection of 15th St. and Commerce, looking east. On the left side is the side view of Schoenfelds Furniture, 1423 Pacific Ave. On the right are the Sprague Building, 1501-09 Pacific Ave., in the foreground and Andrews Fixture Co., 106 So. 15th St. The Sprague Building was built in 1889, Pickles and Sutton, architects. It is on the City and National registry and is now home to United Way. Andrew's Fixture Co. was founded in 1921 and was located in the Betz Building, 102-10 So. 15th St.
L. Schoenfeld & Sons (Tacoma); Sprague Building (Tacoma); Andrew's Fixture Co. (Tacoma); Business districts--Tacoma--1970-1980; Cityscapes--Tacoma--1970-1980;
ca. 1979. The large building on the right is the Winthrop Hotel, 773 Broadway. This is the Commerce St. side of the building. The hotel sold in 1970 and was converted to apartments. The white building past the Winthrop is the back of the Pantages. The photograph is taken on Commerce facing south toward the Commerce St. pedestrian bridge.
Hotel Winthrop (Tacoma); Apartment houses--Tacoma--1970-1980;
ca. 1979. View from Commerce St. of the deteriorating 10th St. Escalade. The escalade housed a "moving sidewalk." The system, built in the early sixties, was designed to carry shoppers uphill from Pacific to Commerce to Broadway with ease. There were four in all: two from Pacific to Commerce and two from Commerce to Broadway. The escalades were discontinued in 1983, due to vandalism and mechanical problems. The Pythian Temple can be seen clearly at 924-26 Broadway, directly above the Escalade.
Conveying systems--Tacoma--1970-1980; Knights of Pythias, Commencement Lodge #7 (Tacoma); Building deterioration--Tacoma--1970-1980;
ca. 1979. Graffiti on an unidentified wall, circa 1979; includes the epitaph "Nixon in 1984," interesting because President Richard Nixon resigned in 1974 when faced with impeachment. The '84 election was between Ronald Reagan and Walter Mondale.
ca. 1979. Photograph taken in 1979 of the Commerce side of the Crystal Palace Building (1508-16 Jefferson), built in 1889. 1527-35 Commerce appears to be vacant, including the Aerie formerly located at 1527. (To see the Jefferson Ave. side, view CYS image T355)
Cityscapes--Tacoma--1970-1980; Business districts--Tacoma--1970-1980; Building deterioration--Tacoma--1970-1980;
ca. 1979. The Massasoit Hotel, 1708 Broadway, can be seen beyond the empty lot with the abandoned brick and tile work left from a former structure. The Hotel is now part of the University of Washington campus.
University of Washington (Tacoma); Massasoit Hotel (Tacoma)
