ca. 1934. The lunch counter of the Fifteen-Eighteen Cabaret, 1518 Pacific Avenue. Signboard menu offers sandwiches ranging from a dime hamburger to a fried oyster sandwich for a quarter. Men seated in front of counter; manager in tuxedo and waiters in white jackets behind the counter. All are reflected in the large mirror, which is surrounded by ornate columns.

Fifteen-Eighteen Cabaret (Tacoma); Eating & drinking facilities--Tacoma--1930-1940; Eating & drinking--1930-1940; Nightclubs--Tacoma--1930-1940;

ca. 1934. Interior shot of the Fifteen-Eighteen Cabaret bar. Men raise a toast with glasses in hand. Man in tuxedo and white jacketed servers behind the bar. Men at bar wear overcoats and hats. The room's decorative accents are in the art deco style.

Fifteen-Eighteen Cabaret (Tacoma); Eating & drinking facilities--Tacoma--1930-1940; Eating & drinking--1930-1940; Nightclubs--Tacoma--1930-1940; Bars; Bars (Furniture)--Tacoma--1930-1940;

ca. 1934. Exterior view of the Fifteen-Eighteen Cabaret located at 1518 Pacific Avenue. A neon lit marquee extends out from the building. Fabric draping and liquor bottles decorate the front picture windows.

Fifteen-Eighteen Cabaret (Tacoma); Eating & drinking facilities--Tacoma--1930-1940; Eating & drinking--1930-1940; Nightclubs--Tacoma--1930-1940;

ca. 1934. A group of Tacomans posed prior to the College of Puget Sound Football game. Four men and three women posed in coats and hats, carrying stadium blankets. (WSHS)

College of Puget Sound (Tacoma)--1930-1940;

ca. 1934. Mickey Mouse Club. A Tacoma police officer hands a speeding ticket to an unidentified boy in a go cart. The boy is surrounded by other boys and men in front of Virges Drug Store. Sign reads "On Our Way To The Mickey Mouse Club - Hamrick's Temple Theatre." Other signs point out for boys and girls to register to win a $250 go cart, details available at Thrifty Cut-Rate Drugs, 947 Broadway. (filed with Argentum)

Thrifty Cut-Rate Drugs (Tacoma); Drugstores--Tacoma--1930-1940; Coaster cars--Tacoma;

ca. 1934. A young hot rodder is pulled over in his fancy go-cart by a patrolman. The policeman writes him a speeding ticket in front of Thrifty Cut-Rate Drugs at 947 Broadway. The pair are surrounded by a group of kids, and some men, on their way to the Saturday morning Mickey Mouse Club at the Temple Theatre. Some of the children are carrying instruments and are possibly part of the Mickey Mouse Club Band. The racer is a promotional give away by the drug store. Thrifty had drug store locations at 947 Broadway, 914 Pacific Ave and 401 S. 11th.

Thrifty Cut-Rate Drugs (Tacoma); Drugstores--Tacoma--1930-1940; Coaster cars--Tacoma;

ca. 1934. Mickey Mouse Club. Boy in a fancy go-cart surrounded by other boys and men in front of Virges Drug Store. Sign reads "On Our Way To The Mickey Mouse Club - Hamrick's Temple Theatre." Some of the boys are carrying musical instruments and are probably part of the Mickey Mouse Club Band. The go cart was the prize in a give away sponsored by "Thrifty Cut-Rate Drugs." In 1934, three drugstores consolidated to become Thrifty Cut-Rate Drugs. (filed with Argentum)

Thrifty Cut-Rate Drugs (Tacoma); Drugstores--Tacoma--1930-1940; Coaster cars--Tacoma;

Bates boat building shop.

ca. 1934. Central Lutheran Church Play. Cast in Biblical costumes on stage in sanctuary. (WSHS)

Central Lutheran Church (Tacoma); Lutheran churches--Tacoma--1930-1940; Pageants--1930-1940; Theatrical productions--1930-1940;

Some time before 3:30 a.m. on November 8, 1934, a fire of unknown origins broke out in the Northern Pacific Repair Shop at South 40th and Washington Street. By morning little was left but a smoldering ruins. Completely destroyed by the flames were the huge, new repair building, which was almost two blocks long, and 35 refrigerator and freight cars. The damage was estimated to be $100,000. Tacoma's firefighters were hampered by a lack of water pressure in the Northern Pacific shops' hydrants. They had to lay hose lines to Washington and South 46th Street. (T. Times 11/8/1934, pg. 1)

Northern Pacific Railway Co. (Tacoma); Fires--Tacoma--1930-1940; Fire fighters--Tacoma--1930-1940;

ca. 1935. Tacoma Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor Eugene Linden leads large group of musicians in practice. This location is possibly the orchestra's rehearsal hall in the Scottish Rite cathedral at 5 South G. The hall has a tin ceiling, scenic paintings, framed document, and framed lithograph on papered walls with an inlaid floor covering. Twenty-two year old Eugene Linden succeeded where many others had failed in establishing a symphony orchestra in Tacoma. The young man was the assistant conductor of the famous Junior Symphony of Portland, Oregon when he came to Tacoma with a dream of establishing an orchestra. Six difficult months later, in March of 1934, the Tacoma Civic Symphony performed their first concert at Jason Lee auditorium. The orchestra consisted of 40 Tacomans with 18 musicians borrowed from Portland and 2 musicians on loan from Seattle. The conductor and all of the dedicated musicians performed for two years without pay. (TDL 3/11/1934, pg. B-1; 3/19/1934, pg. 2)

Tacoma Philharmonic Orchestra (Tacoma); Linden, Eugene; Orchestras--Tacoma--1930-1940; Stringed instruments;

ca. 1935. In 1935 Conductor Eugene Linden inspected a transcription recording of the Tacoma Philharmonic Orchestra held by an unidentified woman. The sound engineer who made the recording, in the background, is adjusting the Electro-Vox sound recording equipment. Twenty-two year old Linden was the founder of Tacoma's first symphony orchestra. In 1933 he left a lucrative position as an assistant conductor in Portland, Oregon and came to Tacoma with the desire to found his own orchestra. His first rehearsal notice attracted only 3 musicians- 2 violinists and a cellist, but over time more musicians began showing up. He had a core of 40 trained musicians for the Philharmonic's the first concert in March of 1934. Mr. Linden worked for two years without pay, hitchhiking or coming by bus from his home in Portland and supporting himself by giving flute lessons. By 1936, ticket sales were up and salaries were guaranteed for the symphony's 65 participants. (Ordered by the Tacoma Times) (TNT 2/28/1934 & 6/15/1936; TDL 3/11/1934, pg. B-1, 3/19/1934, pg. 2 & 12/13/1936)

Tacoma Philharmonic Orchestra (Tacoma); Linden, Eugene; Orchestras--Tacoma--1930-1940; Sound recording--Tacoma--1930-1940;

Eugene Linden, conductor of the Tacoma Philharmonic Orchestra, tries the key board of an Everett grand piano. Two women beside piano glance down at the oversized sheet music. On the left is Miss Eleanor Perkins, the orchestra's business manager, and on the right is Miss Blanche Yorktheimer, assistant conductor and concertmeister. Eugene Linden was the founder of the Tacoma Civic Symphony (officially named in 1936 the Tacoma Philharmonic Orchestra.) In the early days, the orchestra had no rehearsal hall & rehearsed in the Ted Brown and Evans music stores, the Armory, the Hotel Winthrop and in quarters provided by the musicians' union. By February of 1934, the orchestra had a permanent rehearsal hall at the Scottish Rite Cathedral at 5 South G. Mr. Linden was descended from 12 generations of professional musicians. He had conducted Portland Oregon's renowned Junior Symphony at the age of 17. At 22, he was employed as the assistant conductor for that symphony and was studying under Jacques Gershkovich, himself a student of Rimsky-Korsakov and Tschaikowsky in Russia before the revolution. The brash and ambitious Linden wanted to guide his own orchestra and chose Tacoma as the only Pacific coast city that could support an orchestra and that did not already have one. He arrived in Tacoma penniless, friendless and with no financial backers and founded what became known as one of the finest small symphonies in the country. Mr. Linden and his wife Virginia had three sons, Peter, Philip and Christopher. He conducted the Seattle Symphony from 1948-1950 and founded the Northwest Grand Opera, a Northwest opera touring company that folded due to financial difficulties. Mr. Linden faded from public view, never obtaining his full potential. He died January 16, 1983 at the age of 70 in Lincoln City, Oregon. (TDL 3/11/1934, pg. B-1; TNT 2/28/1934; TDL 12/13/1936; TNT 6/15/1936; picture T. Times 11/10/1934, pg. 1)

Tacoma Philharmonic Orchestra (Tacoma); Linden, Eugene; Pianos; Pianists--Tacoma--1930-1940; Perkins, Eleanor; Yorktheimer, Blanche;

In 1934, Hisasha & Ruby Kumasaka received $10,000 each in the will of 80-year-old logger Sweny Smith. Ruby, 7, and Hisasha, 5, were the children of Mr. and Mrs. Tom Kumasaka of 1706 Broadway. For eight years, the family had taken Smith into their home and taken care of him. Despite his Norwegian heritage, Smith observed the Japanese holidays, attended the Buddhist church and followed the family's customs. He spoke of the two children as his grandchildren. On his deathbed in St. Joseph's Hospital, he told the children that he was going to the Great Beyond to watch over them and their growth, and directed them to a safety deposit box in the Washington Building that contained his will leaving everything to them for their kindness. The Kumasaka family, unaware that the frugal logger had any wealth, expected only a meagre amount, but found that the will left $10,000 to each of the children. (T. Times 10/31/1934, pg. 6)

Japanese Americans--Tacoma; Children--Tacoma--1930-1940; Kumasaka, Ruby; Kumasaka, Hisasha;

On Armistice Day, November 11, 1934, Harry Hanson, a veteran of the Great War, sat on a lonely bench in Firemen's Park beneath barren trees, staring dejectedly into space. Homeless, jobless and penniless, he was one of thousands of war veterans nationwide still fighting, only this time they were fighting the battle of the Great Depression. Mr. Hanson, 44, spent two and a half years overseas during the war and occupation which followed. He joined hundreds of other homeless men each day at the park, and slept at night in a relief administration shelter. (T. Times 11/12/1934, pg. 1)

Hanson, Harry; World War, 1914-1918--Veterans--Tacoma; Depressions--1929;

On the 16th anniversary of the World War I Armistice, November 11, 1934, Harry Hanson, Great War veteran, sat on a lonely park bench beneath barren trees staring into space. Mr. Hanson was one of thousands of veterans still fighting; only this time it was the Battle of the Great Depression. Homeless, jobless and penniless, the 44 year old Mr. Hanson was staying at the shelter for homeless men and spending his days in Fireman's Park, where hundreds of jobless men gathered each day. (T. Times 11/12/1934, pg. 1) (WSHS)

Hanson, Harry; World War, 1914-1918--Veterans--Tacoma; Depressions--1929;

This photograph from November 1934 shows part of the Civilian Conservation Corps camp at Point Defiance. The complex of 15 buildings, including a barber shop, hospital, barracks, full kitchen and mess hall, and recreation hall was built in the flat area just below and to the south of the reconstructed Fort Nisqually overlooking Puget Sound. The barracks had a capacity of 204 men. The original work detail of the corps members was building roads and trails and clearing timber and brush for fire control. (T. Times 11/17/1934, pg. 1)

Point Defiance Park (Tacoma); Depressions--1929; Civilian Conservation Corps (Tacoma); Civilian Conservation Corps camps--Tacoma--1930-1940;

In November of 1934, eight members of the Civilian Conservation Corp were photographed while thinning the trees in Point Defiance Park. The Corp based at the Point Defiance camp also built roads and trails and cleared brush for fire control. The CCC program, the most popular of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal innovations, offered young unemployed men work. These workers lived at the CCC camp at Point Defiance. The men worked 7 hours a day Monday - Friday for $30 a month, $25 of that sent directly to their families. The Corp supplied the men with housing and hearty meals and offered free education in the evenings through local school programs. George Newman is at front, center. (T. Times 11/17/1934, pg. 1) TPL-8298

Point Defiance Park (Tacoma); Civilian Conservation Corps (Tacoma); Depressions--1929;

Civilian Conservation Corp men logging trees in Point Defiance Park. The men lived at the CCC camp at Point Defiance. Their work detail consisted of clearing brush and timber in the park and building roads, trails and structures. The CCC was available to Depression era unemployed men. Most were 18 - 25 years of age, however the LEM (local expert men) were skilled workers aged 25 and up. They would enlist for 15 months. At Point Defiance, most of the men were from the Northwest. (T. Times 11/17/1934, pg. 1)

Point Defiance Park (Tacoma); Civilian Conservation Corps (Tacoma); Depressions--1929;

Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) men logging trees in Point Defiance Park. These workers were from the CCC camp located in the Park. The CCC was created in March of 1933 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to fight rampant soil erosion with an army formed from the nation's urban unemployed. The most popular of the New Deal experiments, the CCC had over 3 million participants. It evolved to build fire lookouts, roads, recreational facilities and fight fires and disasters. It was abolished in 1942 as non essential to the war effort. (T. Times 11/17/1934, pg. 1)

Point Defiance Park (Tacoma); Civilian Conservation Corps (Tacoma); Depressions--1929;

Mess Hall of the Civilian Conservation Corps camp at Point Defiance Park. Men dining at tables in room with rough wood paneling and wood floors. During the Great Depression the CCC program offered men work, clothing, food and money to support their families. At a time when money for food was scarce, the young men in the CCC ate heartily. The combination of unlimited chow and physical labor resulted in an average weight gain of 12-15 lbs. per participant. Most CCC enlistees were 18-25 years old, although "local expert men" (LEM) were comprised of skilled laborers 25 years and up. (T. Times 11/17/1934, pg.1)

Point Defiance Park (Tacoma); Civilian Conservation Corps (Tacoma); Depressions--1929;

Civilian Conservation Corps camp at Point Defiance Park. The camp consisted of 15 buildings including a full service medical facility and hospital. The men in the photograph are probably receiving vaccinations from medical personnel. The CCC was created originally by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to fight soil erosion with an army made up of the nation's unemployed. The most popular of Roosevelt's New Deal programs, the Corp grew to develop national, state and local recreational lands, enact conservation measures, as well as fight fires and disasters. It was abolished in 1942 as nonessential to the war effort. (T. times 11/17/1934, pg. 1) (WSHS)

Point Defiance Park (Tacoma); Civilian Conservation Corps (Tacoma); Depressions--1929;

In November of 1934, a group of young Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) workers joined together for a little harmonizing to the accompaniment of a guitar and two harmonicas before turning in for the night in their bunkhouse at Point Defiance Park. The CCC camp at Point Defiance was built on a flat area just below and to the south of the reconstructed Ft. Nisqually in the park, and was home to some 155 workers. The CCC was composed mainly of young unemployed men, 18-25 years old, some away from home for the first time. They labored for $30 a month, $25 of which was sent back to their families. In exchange, the Corps supplied them with lodgings, hearty food and educational opportunities. This labor army was responsible for conservation and recreational improvements in every state of the Union. (T. Times 11/17/1934, pg. 1)

Point Defiance Park (Tacoma); Civilian Conservation Corps (Tacoma); Depressions--1929;

Outdoor portrait of Harriet Griggs. Woman dressed in suit with long coat and fur scarf. She is standing in front of cedar trees planted next to a wood-shingled building. Mrs. Griggs is listed in the 1935 & '36 City directories as residing at 923 No. Yakima Ave., no occupation is given. The picture ran in the Tacoma Times with the caption that Miss Griggs, along with her mother Elvira (Mrs. Herbert) Griggs and sister Miss Elvira, had returned from New York where they had been vacationing. Harriet Griggs was the elder daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Herbert S. Griggs and the sister of Chauncey S. Griggs, of the St. Paul and Tacoma Lumber Co. (T. Times 7/2/1936, pg. 13)

Griggs, Harriet; Clothing & dress--Tacoma--1930-1940;