ca. 1893. Copy negative of a photograph, ca. 1893, of a Griffin Transfer Co. moving wagon. An unidentified man stands next to the horse-drawn wagon. The Griffin Transfer Co. is listed in the 1893-94 Polk Directory for Tacoma as owned by Griffin Brothers, Frederick and William. The office was at 1105 Pacific Ave. They maintained a yard and their residence at 813 J St. Company founder Frederick L. Griffin came west in 1889 to make his fortune. He was able to purchase a wagon and horse. He started out delivering fuel wood that he cut himself. After a few years, he obtained more wagons, horses and employees and branched out into a moving and hauling service. The company also dealt in coal, wood and ice. The company eventually grew into the Griffin Fuel Co., in the forties the oldest and largest dealer in fuel west of Chicago. The company remained in the hands of the Griffin family. TPL-7177

Moving & storage trade--Tacoma--1890-1900; Carts & wagons--Tacoma--1890-1900; Griffin Transfer Co. (Tacoma); Griffin Fuel Co. (Tacoma);

ca. 1893. Copy negative of photograph of old Peoples department store when it was at the corner of 19th and Pacific. At this time, the address was known as 1834-1840 Pacific Ave.The five story Romanesque building was built in 1890 from a design by F.A. Sexton. It is known as the Garretson-Woodruff-Pratt building. In the twenties, the building housed Sears and Roebuck. It is now part of the University of Washington-Tacoma campus. Two horse-drawn carriages parked in front of store. Photograph appeared in the Tacoma Times 07-19-1939. The store had its origins as a wholesale business, begun in 1889 a few months before statehood, in the Baker Building at 1306-08 Pacific. After four years, the company moved to this location. It converted to retail sales and took the name "Peoples Store." The day that it opened, it was crowded morning to night. In 1895, the store relocated to 1101-07 Pacific. The Peoples Store closed in 1983. (T. Times 7/19/1939, pg. 17)

Department stores--Tacoma--1890-1900; Peoples (Tacoma);

ca. 1893. Copy of historical print made on August 31, 1950. This copy of a historical print shows Pacific Avenue about 1893. Tracks visible were used to haul dirt across Pacific Avenue. What appears to be part of Pacific Avenue at the near right was actually a wooden bridge over Galliher's Gulch between 24th & 26th Sts. Items of interest on the right side of Pacific are the Northern Pacific shops (in the distance), the Arlington Hotel (1955 Pacific), the Boston House (2413 Pacific) and to the extreme right, the Northern Pacific Railroad bridge. Two small children in hats sit in a cart in the photo's lower left. TPL-1384, TPL-8073

Cityscapes; Commercial streets--Tacoma--1890-1900; Business districts--Tacoma--1890-1900; Children--Tacoma--1890-1900; Arlington Hotel (Tacoma); Boston House (Tacoma); Bridges--Tacoma--1890-1900;

On November 28, 1894 at 11:10 p.m., a landslide collapsed the Northern Pacific Railway Co.'s wharf, spilling the freight office, pump house and part of a warehouse into Commencement Bay. A few minutes later, at this site further north, a second slide occurred, carrying away part of the Ocean Dock. Observers near the Crescent Creamery, the white building on left located at approximately 100 Schuster Parkway, felt a jar followed by the crash of the warehouse as it broke up and fell into the water. The Crescent Creamery, constructed around 1890, was the first cold storage plant build on the Pacific Coast. (Hunt: "History of Tacoma Washington" vol. 2, pg. 170-171) G27.1-100

Landslides--Tacoma--1890-1900; Disasters--Tacoma--1890-1900; Northern Pacific Railway Co. (Tacoma);

Late in the evening of November 28, 1894, a large landslide occurred in the waters of Commencement Bay carrying part of the Northern Pacific Railway Co.'s warehouse, its freight office, adjoining stockyards, the pump house and the home of H.H. Alger into the water. The night watchman and the Alger daughter lost their lives. In the daylight of the following day, observers came to see the previously inhabited land now covered with water. Although the Railway's freight office was found later floating near the southern tip of Maury Island, the company's safe, rumored to contain $10,000 in cash and $25,000 in securities, was never found. (Hunt: "History of Tacoma Washington" Vol. 2, pg. 170-171) G27.1-099, TPL-9550

Landslides--Tacoma--1890-1900; Disasters--Tacoma--1890-1900; Northern Pacific Railway Co. (Tacoma);

At 11:10 p.m. on November 28, 1894, a strip of land 250-300 yards long and 20-60 feet wide slid into Commencement Bay, carrying with it the home of H.H. Alger, 45 feet of the Northern Pacific Railway Co's Puget Sound warehouse, the company's freight office and the adjoining stockyards. The lack of light made rescue work difficult. Night watchman John Hanson and Emma, the 15 year old daughter of Alger, lost their lives. A second slide followed in a few minutes and another the next night. When the land stopped sliding, it was estimated that the Bay now covered 20 acres of previously inhabited land. Where the warehouses had stood, there was now 60 feet of water. The slide was attributed to a washing out of quicksand beneath the filled-in earth. (Hunt: "History of Tacoma" vol. 2, pg. 170-171) G27.1-098

Landslides--Tacoma--1890-1900; Disasters--Tacoma--1890-1900; Northern Pacific Railway Co. (Tacoma);

At 11:10 p.m. on November 28, 1894, a strip of land 250-300 yards long and 20-60 feet wide slid into Commencement Bay, carrying with it the home of H.H. Alger, 45 feet of the Northern Pacific Railway Co's Puget Sound warehouse, the company's freight office and the adjoining stockyards. The lack of light made rescue work difficult. Night watchman John Hanson and Emma, the 15 year old daughter of Alger, lost their lives. A second slide followed in a few minutes and another the next night. When the land stopped sliding, it was estimated that the Bay now covered 20 acres of previously inhabited land. Where the warehouses had stood, there was now 60 feet of water. The slide was attributed to a washing out of quicksand beneath the filled-in earth. (Hunt: "History of Tacoma" vol. 2, pg. 170-171) G27.1-097

Landslides--Tacoma--1890-1900; Disasters--Tacoma--1890-1900; Northern Pacific Railway Co. (Tacoma);

ca. 1895. Copy of customer print. Commercial fishing scene from ca. 1895. Men in slickers and hats examine the day's catch still tangled in fishing nets. Photograph ordered by the Town of Steilacoom. TPL-9524

Fishing--Washington; Fishermen--1890-1900; Fishing nets--Washington;

ca. 1895. Four wooden houses, side-by-side, labeled "Club Houses Tacoma Golf Club." Small children, men and women pose in front and on porches of these nearly identically styled buildings. According to an entry in the History of Pierce County, Vol. 1, this was the initial club house of the Tacoma (Country &) Golf Club located on leased 280 acres of prairie land in Edison in the latter half of the 1890's. One of the buildings served as the club room, one as locker room for men, another as women's locker room, and the fourth as the caretaker's home. The club relocated to the eastern shores of American Lake in 1904. Copy of original photograph ordered by the Weyerhaueser Co. on November 23, 1965. (History of Pierce County, Vol. 1, p. 47-48)

Tacoma Country & Golf Club (Tacoma); Clubhouses--Tacoma--1890-1900;

ca. 1895. Considered to be the most beautiful home in Tacoma, the Hewitt mansion was designed by architect Andrew J. Smith for Henry Hewitt Jr., one of the founders of the St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Company. The interior of the three story "castle" was filled with ornately carved woodwork of cherry, maple, oak and birch. Much of the interior woodwork was brought west from Milwaukee, where the house was designed. Tacoma of 1889, the year that the house was built, did not have a local industry that could accommodate the elaborate plans for the Hewitt house. The home passed through a succession of owners. Although still in excellent shape, the mansion was demolished in 1957 to make room for the parking lot of the Central Lutheran Church.

Hewitt, Henry J.--Homes & haunts;

ca. 1895. Joseph Bachrach (left) and Theo Feist (right) posed around 1895 at the entrance of their first dry goods store located at 945 Tacoma Avenue South. The woman standing next to Theo is believed to be his sister, Irma Feist. The other woman in the picture is probably Lucie Feist, another sister of Theo's and a clerk at the store. Lucie Feist married Joseph Bachrach in 1895, six years after she and Irma moved to Tacoma from Paris, France. The next store the partners opened was in their own building on Pacific Avenue near 10th St. in 1897. In 1916, they moved to a newly constructed building on Broadway which later housed the J.C. Penney store; eleven years later Feist & Bachrach moved to 1113 Broadway. Copy negative made for the Tacoma Times on July 17, 1937. The photograph and accompanying article appeared in the Golden Jubilee insert in the Times' July 19, 1939, edition. TPL-5478 (T.Times 7-19-39, p. 17)

Dry goods stores--Tacoma--1890-1900; Feist & Bachrach (Tacoma); Bachrach, Joseph; Feist, Theophile;

ca. 1895. On Saturday June 20, 1891 the Tacoma Fire Department moved into its newly built Station No. 6 at 823 A St. The two-story brick building, which was built at a cost of $24,400, also became the Headquarters for the Fire Department. Captain J.L. Dietsch was the first officer in charge of Engine Co. No. 6 with Lt. W.E. Borland as his lieutenant. Chemical Engine Co. No. 1 moved in on June 20, 1891. Equipment owned included a second size Clapp & Jones piston steam fire engine and a W.T.Y. Schneck four wheeled hose wagon. Horses were used to pull these apparatus. This photograph shows how the station appeared in the late 1890's with its front on A St. It was torn down in 1974, and part of the land on which it stood is now part of Fireman Park. (100 Years of Firefighting in the City of Destiny Tacoma, Washington, p. 21; T. Times 6/18/1936, pg. 1-picture) Copy made approximately May, 1937. TPL-2525 (cropped version of TPL-397)

Tacoma Fire Department (Tacoma); Fire stations--Tacoma--1890-1900; Fire engines & equipment--Tacoma; Horses--Tacoma;

ca. 1895. View of Steilacoom Transfer Co. stable and horses taken ca. 1895; it was located at the corner of Wilkes & Commercial. Building to the right may be the home of the Steilacoom Transfer Co. owner and operator, Nick Doering. The firm, a livery, feed and fuel company, was one of Steilacoom's oldest businesses. Wagons and horses could be rented at Doering's establishment as well as purchase of the food necessary to feed the animals. Wood and bark could also be bought and delivered to customers. Proprietor Nick Doering had been born in Germany and came to the United States as a youngster, working and residing in Wisconsin and South Dakota. He came to Steilacoom and began a successful hauling and transfer business. His horses would not only haul deliveries as far away as from Tacoma but would also plow and later haul sand and gravel for the new Northern Pacific railway roadbed. The family business thrived and was maintained even after Doering's death in 1942. His son and grandson continued the business until it was sold to Lakewood Fuel Co. in 1971. (Town on the Sound, p. 99, Steilacoom Historical Museum Quarterly, Fall 1986, p. 1)

Steilacoom Transfer Co. (Steilacoom); Carts & wagons--Steilacoom; Horses--Steilacoom; Doering, Nick--Associated objects;

"Robert Burns: The Oration" by Albert E. Joab booklet of 26 pages. Title page: "Robert Burns: Peasant, Poet, Patriot. An Oration, Delivered Before the Caledonian and St. Andrew's Societies of Tacoma, Washington, on the One Hundred and Thirty-Eighth Anniversary of the Poet's Nativity". c. 1897.

Inside the booklet is a program titled "Concert and Social will be held on the anniversary or Robbie Burns' Birthday. Friday, January 24th, 1890 at 8 p.m. in Bush's Hall, 1131 1-2 Tacoma Ave."

ca. 1898. Copy of an 1898 photograph of the R.E. Anderson Insurance and Real Estate office. The office was then located on the first floor of the Berlin Building, 1021-23 Pacific Ave. Its street address was 117 So. 11th St. Mr. Anderson, the founder of the company, was seated in the private office on the left. The remaining group consisted of, left to right, an unidentified Western Union messenger boy, an unidentified female secretary, W.H. Van Horn, William H. Miller (later president of the company) and A.Gehri, contractor and head of a roofing firm. Originally Anderson & Co. handled mortgage loans and insurance; they got into the real estate business in the aftermath of the panic of 1893. The room decor featured a wood stove with its pipe running across the ceiling, unshaded light globes, marble paneling and art glass. Copy made for Mr. Short, columnist for the Tacoma Times. (Argentum) (T. Times 4/23/1937, pg. 11)

R.E. Anderson & Co. Inc. (Tacoma); Anderson, R.E.; Van Horn, W.H.; Miller, William H.; Gehri, A.;

Washington : Geological Survey
1 map : col. ; 45 x 31 cm. on sheet 56 x 47 cm. "Surveyed in 1894-95." Scale: 1:125,000 Contour interval 50 feet. Relief indicated by contours and spot heights. Datum is mean sea level. "Edition of Nov. 1898" Engraved April 1897 by U.S.G.S. Henry Gannett, Chief Topographer. R. U. Goode, Geographer in charge. Control by W.T. Griswold and U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey. Topography by G.E. Hyde and R.H. McKee. Diagram depicts which topographers were responsible for which areas of the map.

ca. 1900. Copy of image Series 2215 image 1 pinned to a board: North Pacific Bank Note Company staff. Group of men in front of building. Copy of customer's photograph. (filed with Argentum)

North Pacific Bank Note Co. (Tacoma);

ca. 1900. This is how Tacoma appeared from the south across the tideflats circa 1900 . Prominent early businesses identified in the foreground were: (left to right) the Pacific Match Co., the Tacoma Furniture Factory Bresemann & Klee, and the Pacific Lounge & Mattress Co. The Pierce County Courthouse with tower is at the far left background. The first 11th St. Bridge is at the far right. Copy made August 31, 1950.

Cityscapes; Pacific Match Co. (Tacoma); Tacoma Furniture Factory Bresemann & Klee (Tacoma); Pacific Lounge & Mattress Co. (Tacoma); Pierce County Courthouse (Tacoma); 11th Street Bridge (Tacoma); Bridges--Tacoma--1900-1910;

ca. 1900. Copy of customer print. Cheney family and friends at Lima Rocks in Montana. This ca. 1900 photograph lists Clint & Fannie Shull, Lott & Nettie Shake, Frank and wife "Beck" (Rebecca) Cheney, Will & Lelia and Sylvan, Dot Cheney as being present. Benjamin Franklin ("Frank") and "Beck" operated a family photography studio in Lima. "Will" in photograph is William T. Cheney, a brother of Frank's, and also a photographer. Frank and Beck were the grandparents of lumberman Ben Cheney who raised him after his mother's death.

Cheney, Benjamin Franklin; Cheney, Rebecca; Cheney, William T.; Cheney, William T.--Family;

ca. 1900. Copy from glass plate, Richards Studio. The docks are teeming with people in an unidentified photograph dating back perhaps to the late 1890's or early 1900's. Men are dressed in suits and hats while the ladies are covered from top to toe. The large crowd may have been disembarking after a pleasure cruise. Copy from glass plate was made on October 3, 1958.

Passengers; Boats; Crowds;

ca. 1900. Frederick Weyerhaeuser, founder of the Weyerhaeuser Timber Co. Frederick Weyerhaeuser came to the U.S. from Germany as a penniless teenager. He ended up in Rock Island, Illinois, in 1856 working in a lumberyard. In the wake of the panic of 1857, he became the owner of a little sawmill. He expanded first northward and later westward, founding his family empire. He went into the lumber business with his brother-in-law Frederick Carl August Denkmann. In 1900, after long negotiations, the Weyerhaeuser syndicate purchased 900,000 acres of Washington timberlands from the Northern Pacific Railroad. Although a daring and adventurous businessman with boundless energy, Weyerhaeuser was also a painfully private and simple man. The patriarch of the Weyerhaeusers was devoted to hard work and the founding of a dynasty. At his death on April 4, 1914 of pneumonia, he left $30,000,000 and a empire of timberlands. ("Phil Weyerhaeuser Lumberman" by Charles E. Twining)

Weyerhaeuser, Frederick; Lumber industry--Tacoma--1900-1910; Weyerhaeuser Timber Co. (Tacoma);

ca. 1900. Columbia Breweries remained proud of their beginnings in 1900 when Emil Kliese, William Kiltz and John Smith incorporated the Columbia Brewing Company. This photograph of the entire staff of the brewery in 1900 was used in several newspaper stories during the 1940's and 1950's when the company announced new additions to the brewery. Seated in the front are, L-R, William Kiltz, sales manager, and Emile Kliese, president and brew master. The five men in the back are not identified. Copies of old prints ordered by Heidelberg Brewing Company in December 1954. TPL-9625

Brewing industry--Tacoma--1900-1910; Columbia Brewing Co. (Tacoma); Columbia Brewing Co. (Tacoma)--People; Kiltz, William; Kliese, Emile;

ca. 1900. Around 1900, a young woman was photographed riding her bicycle across Tacoma's bicycle bridge, also known as the Galliher Gulch bridge. The bridge was constructed in 1896 by the Tacoma Wheelmen's Bicycle Club at the height of the national bicycling craze. It was near Holy Rosary Church, connecting Delin Street with the path leading to the Hood Street reservoir. For more than 25 years, it was the "longest, highest and only exclusive" bicycle bridge in the world. The narrow wooden bridge was perched on steel poles high above the gulch and provided a way for bicyclists to cross the ravine. The bridge measured in at 440 feet long, 127 feet high and 12 feet wide and was built with funds accrued from the sale of bicycle licenses. (TNT 9/5/1922- in clipping file; TNT 4-7-1953, E-4-alt photo of bridge) TPL-4459

Bicycles & tricycles--1890-1900; Cyclists--1890-1900; Cycling--Tacoma; Bridges--Tacoma--1900-1910; Bicycle Bridge (Tacoma);

ca. 1900. Copy negative of photograph of Overland's store at the turn of the century on Tacoma Avenue. Young man and woman stand at entrance to small store; man is Thomas Overland, proprietor. Overland Furniture then moved to 1137-39 Broadway where it expanded to become a complete home furnishings store. Copy made for the Tacoma Times on 7-17-39 where it was used as a photograph in the Golden Jubilee insert in the Times July 19, 1939, edition. (T.Times 7-19-39, p. 18) TPL-9558

Furniture stores--Tacoma--1890-1900; Overland's (Tacoma); Overland, Thomas;

ca. 1900. Built in 1889, the First Presbyterian Church at 1001 So. G Street was designed by the architectural firm Farrell & Darmer in the "Eastlake" style. It was dedicated in June, 1890. When the First Presbyterian Church congregation moved to 20 Tacoma Ave.So. in 1925, the building at 1001 So. G St. became the Central Lutheran Church. Thirty years later, in September of 1955, it was torn down to make room for the "new" County-City Building that was to occupy the whole block between So. 9th and So. 11th from Tacoma Ave. So. to G Street.

First Presbyterian Church (Tacoma); Presbyterian churches--Tacoma;

ca. 1900. Copy made from glass plate, Richards Studio. A woman, her sleeves rolled up, is hard at work preparing a tasty snack on an outdoor cement stove. What resembles an enormous stack of buns piled up next to the stove is actually a cobblestone chimney. A small boy reclines on a giant log; he and three men appear to be waiting to be fed. The park appears crowded on a sunny day with several groups of men relaxing in conversation. Even on a casual outing to the park, it was still customary to dress in suits and hats. Date of original plate is unknown, possibly in 1900; copy was made on October 3, 1958.

Picnics; Outdoor cookery; Logs;

ca. 1900. Copy made from glass plate. A graceful woman, arms akimbo, gazes over Wright Park at the Division Street entrance circa 1900. The statue was one of a pair of dancing maidens donated to the city by Clinton P. Ferry in 1891. They were part of a large art collection secured by Ferry from a memorable trip to Paris. Photograph was apparently taken by the Washington Camera Club; actual date of photograph was not known but copy was made from glass plates on October 3, 1958.

Wright Park (Tacoma); Sculpture--Tacoma--1900-1910;

ca. 1900. Copy, made on October 23, 1958, of a customer's print of meat cutting operations in a large butcher shop. The copy was ordered by Bud Merrell of Counterfitter Inc., manufacturer of store fixtures in Seattle. Five butchers, wearing white shirts with ties with white jackets covering, stand behind counters heaped with sausages and cuts of meat. One man is in the process of cutting up some carcass on the butcher block. In the background, wild game and aged processed meats hang from racks. TPL-8129

Butchers--1900-1910; Meat; Sausages; Meat cutting--1900-1910; Butcher shops--1900-1910; Meat industry--1900-1910;

ca. 1900. Copy of customer negative. The prone patient casually rests his head on his hand as doctors pause in the act of swabbing out an injured leg. Because the print is so grainy, it is difficult to see the injury but it appears that there is a chunk missing from the man's right calf. A nun gently places her hand on the man's shoulder. This photograph was not dated nor the people identified in studio records; it may have been taken in the late 1800's or early 1900's. Sepia copy was made on behalf of Mrs. Marie Mason on November 8, 1958.

Sick persons; Wounds & injuries; Nuns;