ca. 1936. Walker Cut Stone Co. outcropping, Wilkeson, Washington, circa 1936. Walker Cut Stone operated a sandstone quarry in Wilkeson from 1914-1959. Sandstone was commonly used in building and paving projects. The Walker company used Wilkeson sandstone in constructing the major state Capitol buildings in Olympia. Walker Cut Stone's offices and plant were located in Tacoma at 2403 Center St. (photograph copied for TPL by Mary Randlett)

This photograph from the 1940s shows a man welding a seam in a large pipe section. He is inside the open pipe. Neither the man's name nor his employer's was given. TPL-9514

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.

Pioneer Beer display. TPL-8149

ca. 1948. This photograph, taken in 1948, shows Engine No. 903 of the Tacoma Municipal Beltline Railway. In January of 1948, Tacoma bought two almost new 65-ton diesel locomotives through the War Assets Administration. The Beltline Railroad was able to buy both locomotives from the federal government for only $41,000. They had originally cost over a quarter of a million dollars. (TNT 01/14/1948 p.14)

ca. 1948. This photograph, taken in 1948, shows Engine No. 903 of the Tacoma Municipal Beltline Railway pulling freight cars on the Tacoma Tideflats. In January of 1948, Tacoma bought two almost new 65-ton diesel locomotives through the War Assets Administration. The Beltline Railroad was able to buy both locomotives from the federal government for only $41,000. They had originally cost over a quarter of a million dollars. (TNT 01/14/1948 p.14)

Undated photograph of the Port of Tacoma grain elevators, taken for the Tacoma Chamber of Commerce.

Women are pictured hard at work at their sewing machines in this undated photograph by photographer Chapin Bowen of the Shull-Day, later Day's Tailor-d, Clothing Co. They are surrounded by piles of the finished product, men's trousers. The company, founded by Frank Eugene Day in 1902, became the Northwest's largest manufacturer of trousers. The company perfected the assembly line where over 33 different types of sewing machine performed one function each, with the pants product being passed between the machines until completed. TPL-9501, BOWEN 2657

A Medosweet milkman, carrying a load of bottles, is on his way to deliver milk on this sunny morning in this undated Chapin Bowen photograph. He has parked his small insulated truck and left the door ajar. Medosweet Dairies, a merger of the Royal Ice Cream & Milk Co. and the Producers Dairy, had a modernized plant located at South 25th & Pacific Avenue. It emphasized its pure milk products and adherence to strict standards of cleanliness as far back as 1928. Medosweet had a laboratory, the first of its kind in Tacoma, to guarantee the highest quality of their products, including milk, cream and buttermilk. The company's pasterurized milk was delivered to home and chosen grocers the same day it was brought in by the firm's selected producers. Customers could be assured that their milk was fresh.