Several shots of concrete blocks, Holroyd Company, Jim Holroyd. Men are building a wall near the water's edge using cement blocks. They are working from scaffolding and they have their building materials stacked on a second set of scaffolding behind them. A wheelbarrow has been used to mix cement below the work area and piles of cement sit on boards near the workers ready to lay another row of cement clocks.
Building front, Mondau's Tug Boat Tavern, Louie Mondau. Located in one of the brick buildings along Pacific Avenue, this view of Mondau's Tug Boat Restaurant and Tavern shows the entrance to the restaurant and on the left, the entrance to the James Hotel, above. Neon signs outline the letters and the tug boat that are part of the restaurant's sign, connected to their marquee. Louie Mondau was the owner of the restaurant and tavern. Warwick's Saloon had been at this location from 1893 until 1916.
Telephone Company Garage, Pacific T&T, Mr. A. Hill. Shelves contain some of the equipment needed to install new telephones and a bin sits next to a workbench labled for empty telephone set cartons. Pacific Telephone and Telegraph advertised that they had been putting in telephones almost three times as fast as ever before in the west and was serving an all time high number of phones. (TNT, 9/28/1948, p.2)
Mr. Hess & sales force, L.L. Hess Furniture. Two young men stand outside the new L.L. Hess Furniture Company building and lean on the company's General Motors delivery truck. The name of the company is painted on the side of the truck. The company had an annex, the L.L. Furniture Company Annex at 4540 South M Street.
Mr. Fitpold at switchboard at Peoples Store, Times, Frank Herbert. Mr. William P. Fitpold, president of the department store, has traded positions with Mildred Davis, the store's switchboard operator, during the two-day Women's days event at the store. Mrs. Davis was elected by her co-workers to serve as president during the event.
Peoples (Tacoma); Fitpold, William P.; Davis, Mildred; Women--Tacoma--1940-1950; Department stores--Tacoma--1940-1950; Business people--Tacoma--1940-1950; Sexism--Tacoma--1940-1950;
The Tacoma Orthopedic Association's Tahoma Guild was having their third consecutive annual Wishing Candle fundraiser. The money raised would go towards the building of the future children's hospital; eight candles were placed in popular Tacoma restaurants. View of Winthrop Hotel employees: restaurant waitresses, hotel clerks and restaurant hostesses, lighting a Wishing Candle from the Tacoma Orthopedic Association's Tahoma Guild (T.N.T., 12/3/48, p. 10).
Restaurant workers--Tacoma; Hotel employees--Tacoma; Hotels--Tacoma; Lighting--Tacoma; Candles; Fund raising--Tacoma--1940-1950; Tacoma Orthopedic Association (Tacoma); Hotel Winthrop (Tacoma);
On Thanksgiving Day in 1948 the Snappy Cafe at 1539 Pacific Avenue hosted a special Thanksgiving dinner party for military personnel away from home. The small cafe was crowded with cooks, waitresses and other workers celebrating the holiday with many military men in uniform. Raymond Chuck Crabb has been identified as the Fort Lewis soldier standing at far right. Chuck Crabb, then 19, was a 1947 graduate of Chapin High School in Iowa. He remembered the holiday dinner party as a "special deal." Afer his discharge from the service in February of 1950, he returned to Iowa and sent for and married Joyce Kerr, a student from Tacoma whom he had originally met in a bus line. The Snappy Cafe was a short-lived restaurant owned by June Westre and Edna Laffaw. June Westre was formerly a cook at the Army-Navy Service Club restaurant. (Additional information provided by a reader; Hampton Chronicle, 12-22-10, p. 3) TPL-10292
Restaurants--Tacoma--1940-1950; Military personnel--Tacoma--1940-1950; Holidays--Tacoma; Restaurant workers--Tacoma--1940-1950; Military uniforms; Thanksgiving Day; Snappy Cafe (Tacoma); Crabb, Raymond Chuck;
Press at Times Printing Plant to illustrate new Sunday Times, Times, Buzz. One of the printers is seen watching the machinery at work printing the Tacoma Times newspaper and the folded papers can be seen traveling along rollers in the foreground.
Exterior view of Christiansen's Shell Service Station, located on Portland Avenue and East 98th Street. The building has two gas pumps islands and three visible pumps, an automobile parts and supplies shop, and an auto repair garage. Photo was ordered by Shields, Harper and Company, an industrial equipment supplier based out of Seattle, Washington.
Paulson's Radios and Appliances had a staff of six sales people, and additional store managers, Clifford Paulson would be greeting customers at the grand opening celebration. Interior view of the main floor at Paulson's Radios and Appliances store, basic kitchen appliances in foreground, larger kitchen appliances in background (T. Times, 11/19/48, p. 8-9).
The new Paulson's store had 75,000 square feet of space for displays and storage, the building had fluorescent lighting, a freight elevator, a service entrance on South 11th Street and the main entrance on K Street (now known as Martin Luther King Jr. Way). Interior view of Paulson's Radios and Appliances store, top floor showroom had the Philco radios and phonographs, phonograph records on right side (T. Times, 11/19/48, p. 8-9).
South Tacoma Motor Company, Mr. Sheehan, a general view of showroom. A new 1949 Chevrolet DeLuxe Styleline convertible sits in the foreground. A shiny new De Luxe 2-door Fleetline fastback is in the left background, while a pickup truck is partly hidden at the center. Another automobile, a Styleline sedan, is seen at the far right. The dealership had recently remodeled their showroom at a cost of $10,000. (T.Times, 1/24/1949, p.16)
Automobile dealerships--Tacoma--1940-1950; South Tacoma Motor Co. (Tacoma); Chevrolet automobile; Convertible automobiles; Showrooms--Tacoma--1940-1950;
South Tacoma Motor Company, Mr. Sheehan, showroom. 1949 Chevrolet DeLuxe 2-door Fleetline at left and pickup truck at right. Signs promoting "Seawave and Canda cloth upholstery" and showing the Chevrolet line. "America's 18 Year Leader" banner hangs at far right. Chevrolet continued the "big car" aspects that had always been claimed by Chevrolet with the 1949 models. (T.Times, 1/20/1949, p.13) TPL-5871
Automobile dealerships--Tacoma--1940-1950; South Tacoma Motor Co. (Tacoma); Chevrolet automobile; Chevrolet trucks; Showrooms--Tacoma--1940-1950;
South Tacoma Motor Company, Mr. Sheehan. A model sits in the back a 1949 Chevrolet DeLuxe convertible in the company's showroom. The price of this model, as equipped, was $2,386.80. A chrome and rope barrier is in place to keep people at a distance from this new Chevrolet with gleaming paint and wide, white-wall tires. The model holds a doll and several more are sitting on the convertible. TPL-3265
Automobile dealerships--Tacoma--1940-1950; South Tacoma Motor Co. (Tacoma); Chevrolet automobile; Convertible automobiles; Showrooms--Tacoma--1940-1950;
An unidentified model was photographed in January of 1949 while sitting on the left front fender of a brand new 1949 Chevrolet DeLuxe Styleline convertible on display at the South Tacoma Motor Company, 5602 South Tacoma Way. When South Tacoma Motor Co. opened in the early 1920s, they were one of the first automobile dealerships to open on South Tacoma Way. TPL-5870
Automobile dealerships--Tacoma--1940-1950; South Tacoma Motor Co. (Tacoma); Chevrolet automobile; Convertible automobiles; Showrooms--Tacoma--1940-1950; Automobile radiator ornaments;
Anyone interested in a full service automotive center had to go to Mueller-Harkins Buick Motor Company where they offered all types of services and the fastest, most efficient customer service. Mueller-Harkins also had the modern dynamometer, which reproduced actual road conditions that helped vehicle testing. Interior view of service area at Mueller-Harkins Buick Agency where a Buick is being washed by the "Washmobile" which was a "De Luxe Car Wash." An unidentified dealership employee is operating the equipment. (T. Times, 12/26/48, p. 28)..
Buick automobile; Automobile dealerships--Tacoma--1940-1950; Vehicle maintenance & repair--Tacoma; Car washes--Tacoma; Automobile equipment & supplies; Mueller-Harkins Motor Co. (Tacoma);
Equipment at Mueller-Harkins, Walker Manufacturing Company, Racine, Wisconsin, Mr. Spaulding. A view of Mueller-Harkins' service area. Grease racks are shown with two late 1940s Buicks in the service bays, one lifted on a rack for easy access. A roll-away lube cart, overhead hoses for air, water, grease, etc., are seen with the two men working.
Service area at Mueller- Harkins Buick Agency. Car going through the "Washmoblie", automatic car washing machine. Bare concrete walls, reflection of outdoor advertising for the agency in window at top right in photo.
Grand Opening, Blue Moon Tavern, John Monta. Interior of the tavern showing seating along one wall, a pay phone, electric game board and the juke box. More bouquets sent from well wishers decorate the tables. Large paintings of mountains and the ocean are hung along the walls.
Blue Moon Tavern (Tacoma); Bars--Tacoma--1940-1950; Jukeboxes; Telephones; Pinball machines--Tacoma;
Several interiors and exteriors of stores in Fircrest, Lakewood Log, Charlie Mann. The interior of the Fircrest Food Market. The small market carried a large selection of canned goods on shelving that was wider at the bottom which made it easier to see what was available there. Frozen foods were displayed in a case along the left side wall as well as dairy items in a cold case next to it. A meat counter was housed in the back of the store. Carts for use by customers are seen by the check out stand.
Several interiors and exteriors of stores in Fircrest, Lakewood Log, Charlie Mann. Interior of Paul L. Mickens' Fircrest Pharmacy featuring a fountain, cosmetics, vitamins, shaving needs, tooth pastes and other sundries. Sparklet syphons are featured in the foreground. A clock hangs on the wall at the rear of the store.
Tacoma Athletic Club Dinner for Gretchen Fraser. More than 600 people jammed the Top of the Ocean to pay tribute to the Olympic Champion, Gretchen Kunigk Fraser. The Tacoma Ski Team was also honored that evening. Several young men line the outdoor stairway to the top of the Top of the Ocean singing and holding ski poles. (TNT, 4/6/1948, p.1) TPL-2220
Top of the Ocean (Tacoma); Restaurants--Tacoma--1940-1950; Fraser, Gretchen Kunigk, 1919-1994; Skiers--Tacoma--1940-1950; Medals; Celebrations--Tacoma--1940-1950; Tacoma Ski Team (Tacoma); Tacoma Athletic Commission (Tacoma);
On April 5, 1948, the Top of the Ocean had out a Welcome banner for Gretchen Kunigk Fraser, the first American skier to win an Olympic event. Mrs. Fraser won a Gold Medal (first place) for the special slalom and a Silver Medal (second place) for the Alpine combined downhill and slalom in the 1948 Winter Olympics. The Tacoma Athletic Commission was hosting a dinner at the Ruston Way restaurant for Mrs. Fraser. More than 600 people, including Tacoma mayor C. Val Fawcett, crammed the restaurant to its ceilings to honor the former Tacoma resident. (T.Times, 4/6/1948, p.5) TPL-2220
Top of the Ocean (Tacoma); Restaurants--Tacoma--1940-1950; Fraser, Gretchen Kunigk, 1919-1994; Skiers--Tacoma--1940-1950; Signs (Notices); Electric signs--Tacoma--1940-1950; Celebrations--Tacoma--1940-1950; Tacoma Athletic Commission (Tacoma);
Building and pipe yard, American Plumbing, George Hill. The exterior of the American Plumbing and Steam Supply Company. The four-story brick building was built in 1911. Darmer and Cutting were the architects and the Cornell Brothers were the contractors. Walsh and Gardner Plumbing Company was the first owner. American Plumbing and Supply moved to this location in 1921 from its earlier location at 1750 Pacific Avenue. TPL-8831
Scotch boiler for catalog cuts, Mr. Kenton, Birchfield Boiler. A view of the Scotch boiler being manufactured by Birchfield Boiler showing the interior of the boiler being sealed shut with insulating bricks. Demand had grown for these high pressure boilers used in dairies, laundries, bakeries, cleaning and pressing plants and others that required large amounts of ready steam. (T.Times, 3/1/1948, p.3)
Birchfield Boiler, Inc. (Tacoma); Boilers; Boiler industry--Tacoma;
24 men at Ohmer Sales Meeting, Club Room 5, Hotel Winthrop, Mr. R.E. Barrett, Ohmer Corp., Dayton, Ohio. Ohmer Corporation were makers of the cash register displayed here among a group of business people who came to learn more about the machine.
Hotel Winthrop (Tacoma); Hotels--Tacoma--1940-1950; Ohmer Corp. (Tacoma); Meetings--Tacoma--1940-1950; Business people--Tacoma--1940-1950; Sales personnel--Tacoma--1940-1950; Cash registers;
Caskets, Bill Gregory, Puget Sound Casket Company. A handsomely ornamented casket is shown with its lid open revealing the beautiful detailing of the fabric interior with pleating, gathers and ruffles. The metal handles along the sides are also ornamented.
Employees at Supreme Fur Storage are examining furs in the workshop which is equipped with tables and sewing machines. The company prides itself on its workmanship. Brothers Earle G. Greenfield, manager, and Gerald A. Greenfield are on the right. Earle is thoroughly trained in the care, cleaning and repair of furs. Their father, furrier Amos G. Greenfield, also works at Superior. Ordered by Mr. VanMeter, Llewellyn Advertising Agency (T.Times, 4/16/1948, p.5)
Officials at opening of new laundry office, Mr. Van Meter, Llewellyn Advertising Agency. A man in the clothing storage area of Supreme Fur Storage is evaluating the condition of one of the fur coats hung on racks. Fur stoles are also shown. The company advertised steel and concrete vaults, new scientific equipment, fumigation and demothing, refrigeration and expert craftsmanship. The facility had the capacity to store 5,000 furs and fur coats. (T.Times,4/16/1948, p.5, TNT, 4/15/1948, p.6)
When this photograph was taken in February of 1948, the venerable Bowes Building, 100 So. 9th St., was home to Tacoma Savings and Loan, one of the pioneer financial institutions on the Pacific Coast. The company had purchased the building in 1920 and added their neon sign above the entrance in 1941. The Bowes Building was designed by the architectural firm of Heath & Twichell and built of white Vermont marble. It was named after its developer Major Edward J. Bowes, who achieved national fame for his "Amateur Hour" radio program. It is on the City, State and National Registry of Historic Buildings. Photo ordered by William D. Hopping, president Tacoma Savings and Loan. (T.Times, 2/26/1948, p.29)
Tacoma Savings & Loan Association (Tacoma); Bowes Building (Tacoma); Banks--Tacoma; Tacoma Hotel (Tacoma); Hotels--Tacoma--1940-1950;
