ca. 1927. View of State Capitol buildings after 1925. L-R are the Insurance Building, Legislative (Capitol) Building, and the Temple of Justice. All buildings utilized Wilkeson stone, a durable sandstone, from the quarries of Pierce County. The Temple of Justice was accepted by the state in August of 1920 at a total cost of $942,230. Located east of the Legislative Building, the Insurance Building was constructed in response to the increasing office space needs of the state government. Using elements of the Roman Doric order, the Insurance Building was occupied in 1921 by a variety of state offices including the governor's office. The Insurance Building cost more than the Temple of Justice - at slightly over a million dollars. ($1,032,000.) The Legislative Building was the last of the three to be officially completed in 1928 with its total cost $7,385,768.21, including nearly $600,000 in furnishings. Landscaping of the complex would follow. (Johnston: Washington's Audacious State Capitol and Its Builders)

Legislative Building (Olympia); Insurance Building (Olympia); Temple of Justice (Olympia);

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;

In front of City Hall Mayor Melvin G. Tennent, second from left, welcomed Leo, the Metro Goldwyn Mayer lion, and his entourage to Tacoma in August, 1930, during Leo's World Tour. Mayor Tennent is standing in front of Leo's ornate, and very fortified, traveling cage. The cage was 13 feet long and part of a 24 foot Reo speedwagon. Unbreakable glass three feet high and canvas drops that could be lowered in case of inclement weather assured Leo's comfort and health. MGM had trademarked Leo's very distinctive roar which appeared at the beginning of their films for decades. Leo seemingly was a cat with nine lives: while touring the globe for MGM, he survived two train wrecks, a Mississippi flood, a California earthquake, a fire and a plane crash. He died at an advanced age of 23, in 1938, and is buried in Gillette, New Jersey, on the farm owned by Volney Phifer, premier animal trainer. The uniformed man at the right is believed to be Mr. Phifer, Leo's trainer. (TDL 8-17-30, E-5)

Tennent, Melvin Green; Mayors--Tacoma--1930-1940; Cages--Tacoma; Leo (Lion)--Associated objects;

Informal portrait of President Warren G. Harding believed to have been taken in July of 1923. President Harding and his wife visited Tacoma on July 5, 1923 and were given a warm welcome at Stadium Bowl where 25,000 people stood in the drizzling rain just to greet the presidential couple. The President was on his way to Alaska via the naval transport the USS Henderson and would not return to Tacoma. He died 28 days later, at the age of 57, of a heart attack.

Harding, Warren G.; Presidents--United States; Guests--Tacoma--1920-1930; Visits of state--Tacoma--1920-1930;

Wendell Willkie, the 1940 Republican nominee for President, paid a brief visit to Tacoma in February of 1944 to deliver speeches at the Pierce County Republican Club's Lincoln Day dinner and at the Edward B. Rhodes Post #2, American Legion. Mr. Willkie is pictured seated (center) next to Republican Governor Arthur B. Langlie. Also listening to the conversation are Frank Callender (standing) and an unidentified past national commander. Mr. Willkie had lost the 1940 election to Franklin Delano Roosevelt by five million votes and although had sought to become the 1944 Republican nominee, was not chosen by his party. Wendell Willkie would pass away on October 8, 1944, just eight months after his Tacoma visit.

Willkie, Wendell, 1892-1944; Guests--Tacoma--1940-1950; Langlie, Arthur B., 1900-1966; Governors; Patriotic societies--Tacoma--1940-1950; Callender, Frank T.;

On April 12, 1961, former mayor "Big John" Anderson, Mayor Ben Hanson, and Chamber of Commerce president Herbert F. Syford examined the 36' totem pole which had been carved and painted as a gift to the City of Kokura, Japan, from its sister city, Tacoma. The totem pole was on display at the Narrows fire station on Sixth Avenue. The cedar log was donated by Cascade Pole Co. and hauled to the 9th & A fire station headquarters where it was carved and painted by Stadium High School English teacher, Bud Cairns. Only the lower part of the totem pole is seen in the above photograph; characters representing Tacoma's seaport and lumber industries, forest products, commercial fishing, boating, water sports, and rich agriculture in addition to a sketch of the Narrows Bridge, were all found on the totem. "Big John" Anderson led a tour group to Japan in June, 1961, where he expected to present the totem pole, however, due to shipping difficulties, the totem did not actually arrive in Kokura until August. The U.S. Marines came to the rescue by delivering the approximately 2,500 pound totem in a R4Q "Flying Box Car" to Kokura. (TNT 9-24-61, TNT 4-16-61, TNT 3-5-61)

Totem poles--Tacoma; Anderson, John H.; Hanson, Ben; Mayors--Tacoma--1960-1970; Syford, Herbert;

Mayor Harold Tollefson bows his head while shaking the hand of Mrs. Motohiko Kanai on April 22, 1964, outside the County-City Building. Her husband, the Japanese governor of Washington's sister prefecture, Hyogo, and Washington governor Albert Rosellini both smile. She is wearing an exquisite silk kimono while also carrying a modern handbag. Governor Kanai was presented with a key to the city by Mayor Tollefson. (TNT 4-22-64, C-16)

Tollefson, Harold M., 1908-1985; Mayors--Tacoma--1960-1970; Rosellini, Albert D.; Governors; Kanai, Motohiko; Kanai, Motohiko--Family;

Mayor Harold Tollefson posed with about 50 beauty queens and various police units on May 15, 1962, in front of what is believed the County-City Building, 930 Tacoma Avenue South. Although this particular photograph apparently did not appear in the local newspaper, it may have been taken in conjunction with the Century 21 Exposition, better known as the Seattle World's Fair, which was already in progress. TRUEBLOOD 682

Mayors--Tacoma--1960-1970; Tollefson, Harold M., 1908-1985; Beauty contestants--Tacoma--1960-1970;

Tacoma Mayor Gordon Johnston and Canadian visitors. The mayor is assisting with a garter with attached tiny holster and pistol. It is possible that the visitors were in town to participate in the annual Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival parade which was held on Saturday, April 11th. TRUEBLOOD 1935

Mayors--Tacoma--1970-1980; Johnston, Gordon N.; Foreign visitors--Canada;

Albert Lawrence Rasmussen was elected mayor of Tacoma in 1967. This photograph was taken in the Mayor's office on Naturalization Day, September 9, 1969. Trueblood #1870 ALBUM 16.

Rasmussen, Albert Lawrence; Mayors--Tacoma--1960-1970

What better way to introduce visitors to the Northwest's scenic beauty than a relaxing cruise on Commencement Bay? Mayor Ben Hanson (2nd from left) welcomed the delegation from Tacoma's Japanese sister city on July 16, 1959. Kokura (now part of Kitakyushu), Japan became Tacoma's first sister city on July 2, 1959. Tiachung, Taiwan became Tacoma's ninth sister city in May 2000. ALBUM 16. Trueblood #81.

Mayors--Tacoma--1940-1950; Hanson, Ben; Delegations--Japanese; Foreign visitors--Japan; Boats;

Harold Moss (center) raised his hand as he, along with Gerald Maule and Philip Schroeder, took the oath of office on October 13, 1970. Mr. Moss was appointed to the Tacoma City Council in the wake of political upheaval when five councilmen were ousted by recall. He was the first black to serve on the city council and would run successfully in 1971 to serve until 1973. Mr. Moss would be appointed again to the council in 1987 and was re-elected in 1988 and 1992. He became to city's first black mayor in 1994 after the sudden death of newly-elected mayor Jack Hyde. In 1996 he became the first black to sit on the Pierce County Council. The News Tribune notes that Mr. Moss was "perhaps best known for his even handedness and accessibility" while on the city council. ALBUM 16. (TNT 3-18-96, B-2)

Moss, Harold; City council members--Tacoma--1970-1980; Oaths--Tacoma; Maule, Gerald; Schroeder, Philip;

Mayor Ben Hanson welcomes Brazilian labor leaders to Tacoma on July 31, 1961, with a firm handshake and the key to the city. Ten labor leaders were visiting Tacoma for one week to learn about collective bargaining and union contracts. While in Tacoma, the visitors talked to labor, city and school officials and toured industrial plants and civic installations. Mayor Hanson had been elected mayor by the city council in 1958 and then elected by the people of Tacoma in a charter change. ALBUM 16. (TNT 7-31-61, p. 1-article)

Hanson, Ben; Mayors--Tacoma--1960-1970; Shaking hands--Tacoma; Foreign visitors--Brazil;

Governor Roland H. Hartley and Scott Z. Henderson, Afifi Potentate, are flanked by two rows of saluting Afifi Shriners under the command of Capt. J. Middlesworth on January 24, 1925. Governor Hartley, also wearing a fez, is on the right. The Afifi Shriners joined a 32-car caravan from their temple to Vancouver, Washington. They swung by the Insurance Building in Olympia to pick up Governor Hartley, also a Shriner. After initiation of 17 new members, the caravan continued on to Portland to inspect the Shriners Crippled Children's Hospital. TPL-8746; G23.1-075A (Tacoma Sunday Ledger, 1-25-25, p. 1, 4A-article; TDL 1-26-25, p. 3)

Hartley, Roland H.; Governors; Henderson, Scott Z.; Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (Tacoma); Saluting--Olympia; Insurance Building (Olympia);

C.H. Ranschler, Superintendent of Elections, taught new voter Clara Hill how to use a voting machine in anticipation of the Primary Elections taking place in February of 1926. A record voter turnout, estimated to exceed 30,000, was expected at Tacoma's 101 polling places. At stake were the elections of the mayor and two City Councilmen. Five candidates had thrown their hats into the ring for the mayoral election and the two with the most votes in the February 23rd primary would run head-to-head in the March general election. Likely taken on the 2nd floor of the Old City Hall building.TPL-3206 (TNT 2/22/1926, pg. 16)