ca. 1914. The staff of the Queen City Market lined up in front of the store which had opened in early March of 1914. It was located in a three-story building at 1115 Broadway in downtown Tacoma, adjoining the Horgan-Parker department store. The market had a modern refrigerating system installed with ammonia pipes in all showcases. The Queen City Market offered for sale meats, butter, eggs, cheese, fresh fish, oysters and crabs, and misc. groceries. It was managed by Albert Bruner. (TDL 3-1-1914, p. 3-article)

Queen City Market (Tacoma); Grocery stores--Tacoma--1910-1920;

ca. 1904. In November of 1903, Henry A. Rhodes opened his grand emporium at 11th and C (now Broadway) Streets in one of Tacoma's first big building projects to be completed after the "Panic" of the 1890's. The new Rhodes Brothers department store was modeled after Philadelphia's Wanamakers and Chicago's Marshall Fields. With its three floors of new merchandise, it was a far cry from the one room tea and coffee shop opened by Mr. Rhodes in 1892. For its three day Grand Opening, an orchestra played while Tacomans visited in droves to admire the decorations and elegant window displays. (Photograph donated by the Rhodes Reunion Committee)

Rhodes Brothers Department Store (Tacoma); Department stores--Tacoma;

ca. 1938. Rhodes Brothers Store, circa 1938; Christmas display of handbags and silk stockings. Rhodes Brothers Department Store opened at 950 Broadway in 1903. By the time that this photograph was taken, around 1938, the clutter of the earlier years had been replaced by spacious aisles and attractive displays. The store was well known for its festive seasonal decorations. (photograph donated by the Rhodes Reunion Committee)

Department stores--Tacoma; Merchandise displays--Tacoma; Rhodes Brothers Department Store (Tacoma);

ca. 1890. This is a view looking up South 9th from A Street in downtown Tacoma circa 1890. The big building in center of photo (to the right of 9th) is the Fife Block Building, later the Hotel Donnelly. Across 9th from this bulding is the Wright Building. Built in 1874 it was the first brick building in Tacoma. Although massive brick and stone structures were being constructed in the commercial business districts, streets were still rough and unpaved.

Commercial streets--Tacoma--1890-1900; Wright Building (Tacoma); Fife Block Building (Tacoma);

ca. 1889. Tacomans line both sides of Pacific Avenue in 1889 to watch a parade march down the unpaved main street of town. Horses and carts pause as bands and athletic groups pass by. The Empire House, located at 1401 Pacific Avenue, is on the right hand side of the street in this sepia photograph. Bunting decorates the first floor windows and entrance.

Parades & processions--Tacoma; Empire House (Tacoma); Horses--Tacoma; Carts & wagons--Tacoma;

ca. 1893. A juxaposition of old and new is visible along the 1100 block of Pacific Avenue circa 1893. A horse-and-buggy is waiting patiently at the curb while the Sixth Avenue-Glendale electric streetcar motors on by. Passengers aboard the streetcar could sit in the doorless front section, absorbing much fresh air, or ride in the enclosed rear portion. On the left side of the photograph is the large California Building, 1110-16 Pacific Avenue, and the recently completed (Old) City Hall at 625 Commerce St., is at the end of the street (rear). (copy of original) Bi-Centennial Project # 75346-64

Commercial streets--Tacoma--1890-1900; Street railroads--Tacoma--1890-1900; Mass transit--Tacoma--1890-1900; Carriages & coaches--Tacoma--1890-1900; California Building (Tacoma); Old City Hall (Tacoma);

ca. 1930. Theater floodlights, possibly used for special effects during the stage show that often accompanied a new film. The lights are believed to be located at the Broadway Theater, 902-14 Broadway, formerly the Tacoma Theater. TPL-2812

Stage lighting; Theaters--Tacoma; Tacoma Theater (Tacoma); Broadway Theater (Tacoma);

It started out as a publicity stunt. The Blue Mouse Theater offered $10 to any woman who would sit through a midnight preview, on November 3, 1932, of the creepy horror film "White Zombie," alone, and without screaming. Eighteen year old Marjorie Yonk said she was up to the test. She was whisked by police car, sirens blaring, to Dr. F. J. Hansen's office to determine the strength of her heart, and then to the Blue Mouse. She is pictured here prior to entering the theater. Officers E.J. Schutz, left, and J.F. White escorted her into the blackened theater with their flashlights, seated her, and left her to the mercy of Bela Lugosi starring in the first zombie film. The movie was made in 1932, following Lugosi's phenomenal success as Dracula. It was a low budget film, produced by the Halperin Brothers, set in Haiti and it spawned a new genre of horror characters, zombies, that populate movies even today. (TNT 11/4/1932; pg. 7)

Blue Mouse Movie Theatre (Tacoma); Yonk, Marjorie; Schutz, E.J.; White, J.F.; Publicity;

Framed by the blackness of the movie theater behind her, Marjorie Yonk emerged from a special midnight preview of the horror movie "White Zombie" on November 3, 1932, visibly shaken. The Blue Mouse Theater at 1131-33 Broadway had offered $10 to any woman who would sit through the midnight preview, alone, without screaming. Marjorie took on the challenge and triumphed, but from the look in her eyes, she earned the ten dollars. The 1932 horror classic, starring Bela Lugosi, was the first Hollywood zombie film. (TNT 11/4/1932, pg. 7)

Blue Mouse Movie Theatre (Tacoma); Yonk, Marjorie;

The entire front of the Community Theatre, 5441 South "M" St., was heavily damaged by explosives in the early morning hours of Sunday, October 5, 1930. 3-5 sticks of dynamite were shoved through the bars of the ticket office window. Parts of the ticket booth were blown across the street and door castings, drapes, plaster and glass blown inward as far as the stage. A loudspeaker and projection machine were also damaged. The bombing caused damage to stores across the street with multiple shattered windows and buildings and houses in nearby blocks were shaken with minor damage. This was one of two bombings of neighborhood theaters that morning. At 3:00 a.m., roughly 55 minutes after the Community Theater's bombing, the Sunset Theater at Sixth & Prospect had a stick of dynamite or small bomb explode on its roof. It blew a hole two feet in diameter in the roof but little other damage. Guards were placed at all 11 smaller theaters in Tacoma after hours. Police Chief M.D. Guy indicated that these may have been outside efforts to discredit the Tacoma Motion Picture Operators Union who was involved in a dispute with theater management. On October 6, 1930, another attack against a theater was reported, this time in Portland, when a rear wall was dynamited at the Granada Theater but with no damage. (TDL 10-6-1930, p. 1-article)

Community Theatre (Tacoma); Motion picture theaters--Tacoma--1930-1940; Bombings--Tacoma; Explosions--Tacoma; Crimes--Tacoma--1930-1940;

ca. 1886. Tacoma Wheelmen's Club

ca. 1900. Horse drawn wagon dressed in bunting parked in front of photo studio at 947 C Street (now Broadway). The occasion, in this circa 1900 photograph, may have been a Fourth of July parade. A.G. Bonner had his studio at 947 C Street with Christian Nelsen, boot and shoemaker, next door at 947 1/2 C Street. Both the sidewalk and street appear to be constructed of planks. The decorated wagon was from the R(obert) S. Bennatts' grocery, located at 2416 North 30th St. in the Pioneer Block Bldg. in Old Town. Mr. Bennatts would be in the grocery business in the north end for 40 years before his retirement in 1930. BiCentennial Project #75346-40.

Carts & wagons--Tacoma--1900-1910; A.G. Bonner Studio (Tacoma); C. Nelsen Boot & Shoe Maker (Tacoma); Robert S. Bennatts Grocery (Tacoma);

Swedish native Peter Olson was employed as a driver by the family of prominent lumberman Col. Chauncey W. Griggs for nearly twenty years. He is pictured above at the former home of Major Everett Gallup Griggs aboard an elegant horse drawn Victoria carriage. He became an employee of Major Griggs upon the death of Col. Griggs in 1910 and remained in his employ until the major's departure from Tacoma during the Great War. Peter Olson was a versatile man; he learned to drive an enormous Packard before the day of the horse-and-carriage was entirely done. The Griggs family bought an automobile in the early part of the 20th century and even imported a man from Detroit to teach Mr. Olson how to drive this complicated machine, so different from a horse. It was said of Mr. Olson that he would do anything to work and never missed a day of work in his life. He later drove for the W.R. Rust family and eventually went into the real estate business where he built, bought and sold houses. Mr. Olson never married but always had a fondness for children; he left $1000 to the Children's Industrial Home upon his death in June of 1932 at the age of 60. (Photograph donated by Mr. H.S. Hammerlin) (TNT 3-3-33)

Olson, Peter; Chauffeurs--Tacoma; Coach drivers; Carriages & coaches--Tacoma; Horses--Tacoma; Griggs, Everett Gallup--Homes & haunts;

Contract bridge expert Ely Culbertson visited the Tacoma Bridge Club on May 1, 1936, at the Winthrop Hotel. Mr. Culbertson is standing directly in front of the hanging framed picture. He was nearly 45 at the time and had been a key figure in the international popularization of contract bridge in the 1920s and 1930s. Photographer Chapin Bowen was present during this visit; he is standing far left. TPL-6687

Culbertson, Ely; Tacoma Bridge Club (Tacoma); Bowen, Chapin; Hotel Winthrop (Tacoma); Guests--Tacoma--1930-1940;

Cowboy, actor, broadcast commentator, humorist and writer Will Rogers (far left) poses with legendary sled dog breeder Leonard Seppala, aviators Wiley Post and Joe Crosson, just before takeoff in Fairbanks, Alaska, on the last leg of his fatal flight. His small plane crashed due to engine failure near Barrow, Alaska, on August 15, 1935, and both he and pilot Post were killed. Joe Crosson had the sad duty of returning the bodies of Rogers and Post from Alaska by air. The nation mourned their deaths and Rogers, a Oklahoma native, was honored by his state in many ways, including statues, schools (13 public schools were named after him), airport and roadway as well as by California in the form of parks, highways and even a submarine. Will Rogers had visited the Tacoma area several times in the past and had developed friendships with Ray Gamble and Henry Sicade. TPL-5448 (www.willrogers.com) (image is stained at bottom and right edge)

Rogers, Will; Post, Wiley; Seppala, Leonard; Crosson, Joe; Airplanes--Alaska; Airplane propellers; Air pilots;

The Liberty Bell came to rest at its reviewing area at the front of the Federal Building at 1102 A St on July 14, 1915. For two and a half hours, it was on display for the citizens of Tacoma. The bell, which rang for the Continental Congress's adoption of the Declaration of Independence, was slowly making its way cross country from Philadelphia to the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco. Over 20,000 people crowded for a glimpse of the bell while it was in Tacoma. (TDL 7/14/1915, pg. 1) TPL-019 (photograph courtesy of Sherrill Erb)

Liberty Bell--Celebrations--1910-1920;

ca. 1927. Famous aviator and polar explorer Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd visited Tacoma circa 1927. He is pictured here in the center of the photograph, wearing a belted double breasted coat and holding a book. Mayor Melvin G. Tennent is third from the left, next to Admiral Byrd. Gus Ledbetter is on the far right. This photograph is believed to have been taken in early February of 1927 when (then) Lt. Commander Byrd was in town to deliver a speech.

Byrd, Richard E., 1888-1957; Guests--Tacoma--1920-1930; Tennent, Melvin Green; Mayors--Tacoma--1920-1930; Ledbetter, Gus;

Norwegian Crown Prince Olav (later Olav V) and his wife, Princess Martha, are pictured on the stairs of "The Gray Church," in May of 1939. The brick and stone building was more formally known as Trinity Lutheran Church, just off the campus of Pacific Lutheran College. A special chapel assembly was held in which PLC's Choir of the West performed. The heir to the throne of Norway also visited Fort Lewis and Mount Rainier and was present at several fetes in his honor.

Olav V, 1903-1991; Rulers--Norway; Visits of state--Tacoma--1930-1940; Martha, Crown Princess of Norway; Trinity Lutheran Church (Parkland);

Crown Princess Martha of Norway on the campus of Pacific Lutheran College in May of 1939. She and her husband, the future Olav V, made a brief visit to the Tacoma area to the delight of the large Scandinavian population. Her escort in the above photograph was not identified. The Tacoma Times noted that public school children lined the streets of Parkland with flowers in their hands and sang the first stanza of the Norwegian national anthem. (T.Times, 5-24-39, p. 1, 24-article)

Martha, Crown Princess of Norway; Foreign visitors--Norway; Visits of state--Tacoma--1930-1940;

Former heavyweight champion of the world, Jack Dempsey (second from right) shakes hands with Tacoma mayor Melvin G. Tennent in July of 1930. On the extreme right of photograph is believed to be Jack Calvert, manager of the Tacoma Hotel; man on extreme left is unidentified. Mr. Dempsey was in Tacoma to referee a boxing match held downtown at the Greenwich Coliseum.

Dempsey, Jack, 1895-1983; Boxers (Sports); Mayors--Tacoma--1930-1940; Tennent, Melvin Green; Shaking hands--Tacoma;

Presidential candidate George McGovern greets a smiling, enthusiastic crowd of supporters during his September, 1972, visit to Tacoma. The Democratic senator from South Dakota is pictured above shaking the hands of some elderly well-wishers.

McGovern, George S.; Political campaigns; Presidential elections; Shaking hands--Tacoma; Crowds--Tacoma--1970-1980;

President Jimmy Carter in handshake with Tacoma Mayor Mike Parker (left) upon his arrival on September 23, 1980, at McChord Air Force Base. Next to Mayor Parker is his wife, Judith. Others in photograph are not identified.

Carter, Jimmy; Presidents--United States; Visits of state--Tacoma--1980-1990; Political campaigns; Presidential elections; Mayors--Tacoma--1980-1990; Parker, Michael; Parker, Judith; Shaking hands--Tacoma;

Mayor Mike Parker responds with a large smile at a comment from President Jimmy Carter as the President accepts the Key to the City of Tacoma on September 23, 1980. The President had just landed at McChord Field on Air Force One. The mayor's wife, Judith, and others look on.

Carter, Jimmy; Presidents--United States; Visits of state--Tacoma--1980-1990; Political campaigns; Presidential elections; Mayors--Tacoma--1980-1990; Parker, Michael; Parker, Judith; Plaques;

Mayor Mike Parker, wife Judith, and an unidentified woman after meeting and greeting President Jimmy Carter on September 23, 1980. The President had arrived on Air Force One about 4:00 pm and would remain in Tacoma until about 7:00 pm. Mayor Parker had gifted the President with a Key to the City of Tacoma and was selected to ride in the armored limousine motorcade with him as it headed towards the waterfront. He was able to brief the President about what to expect at each stop. (TNT 9-24-80, A-6-article)

Mayors--Tacoma--1980-1990; Parker, Michael; Parker, Judith; Political campaigns; Presidential elections;

A crowd of newsmen, politicians and general well-wishers await the appearance of President Jimmy Carter as the Air Force One arrives at McChord Air Force Base on September 23, 1980. President Carter was making a brief three-hour stop in Tacoma as part of a two-day, four-state campaign swing. It had been nearly seventeen years since a sitting president visited Tacoma - that was President John F. Kennedy on September 27, 1963, just two months before his assassination. (TNT 9-21-80, A-12-article; TNT 9-23-80, A-1-article)

Presidential aircraft; Crowds--Tacoma--1980-1990; Political campaigns; Presidential elections;

President Jimmy Carter (back to camera) is pictured on September 23, 1980, shaking hands with Tacoma Mayor Mike Parker while his wife Judith and an unidentified woman look on. The President had just arrived at McChord AFB on Air Force One and would be spending three hours in Tacoma on a brief campaign swing of the area.

Carter, Jimmy; Presidents--United States; Visits of state--Tacoma--1980-1990; Political campaigns; Presidential elections; Mayors--Tacoma--1980-1990; Parker, Michael; Parker, Judith; Shaking hands--Tacoma;