Pantorium Cleaners & Dyers at 3306 Tacoma Avenue South was one of five dry cleaning and laundry services operated by the Home Service Laundry Company. Pantorium had domestic and commercial accounts throughout Tacoma. Besides apparel , the laundry specialized in cleaning drapes, curtains, carpets, rugs and upholstery. Door-to-door service was available. People are unidentified.
Tacoma Auto Sales. Exterior of South Side Used Car facilities. Used cars were "Bot and Sold" at this location. You could also obtain insurance and car loans. Two men wearing business suits stand outside the shop by a mid-1940's automobile with wide-wall white walls. TPL-8100
Automobile dealerships--Tacoma--1940-1950; South Side Used Cars (Tacoma); Automobiles--Tacoma--1940-1950;
Interior of Rug Cleaning Plant, Cartozian & Sons Rug Company, Edward S. Cartozian. A man views a guage that not only reads the current conditions but also prints a scale of conditions over time on a circular chart.
Cartozian & Sons Rug Co. (Tacoma); Rugs; Service industry facilities--Tacoma--1940-1950;
Interior of Rug Cleaning Plant, Cartozian & Sons Rug Company, Edward S. Cartozian. One of the employees of the company places a carpet into a storage bin.
Cartozian & Sons Rug Co. (Tacoma); Rugs; Service industry facilities--Tacoma--1940-1950; Cleaning personnel; Cleaning;
Interior of Rug Cleaning Plant, Cartozian & Sons Rug Company, Edward S. Cartozian. Two young work together, one to spray the back of a rug and the other to move the rug up and down with a pulley.
Cartozian & Sons Rug Co. (Tacoma); Rugs; Service industry facilities--Tacoma--1940-1950; Cleaning personnel; Cleaning;
In July of 1947, Edward S. Cartozian moved his carpet business in Tacoma from 759 Broadway to the old automobile dealership building at 3320 So. G St. The Cartozian family had been in the carpet business in the Pacific Northwest since 1906 when Abram O. Cartozian started selling Oriental rugs from a small rented room in Portland. Ed Cartozian sold his business in Tacoma to Matt O'Haleck in 1994. The men in this photograph are unidentified, but it is believed that the third man from the right is Edward S. Cartozian.
Cartozian & Sons Rug Co. (Tacoma); Rugs; Service industry facilities--Tacoma--1940-1950; Cleaning personnel; Cleaning; Chevrolet trucks;
Old time truck for contest, South Tacoma Motors, Ted Hoakinson. Three men stand with an old Chevrolet truck. The cab is very tall and has a curved hood. The wheels are spoked and the tires are worn flat. One of the men has white hair and points lovingly at the hood over the engine. Both the other men are listening carefully to what he is telling them.
South Tacoma Motor Co. (Tacoma); Trucks--Tacoma--1940-1950; Automobile dealerships--Tacoma--1940-1950; Chevrolet trucks;
When the South Tacoma Motor Company at 5602 South Tacoma Way ran a contest for old time trucks in June of 1947, this Chevrolet was probably the winner. An unidentified man, hat in hand, stands next to a 1919 Chevrolet Platform Stake. Chevrolet made their first trucks in 1918. They had only manufactured 8,179 trucks by the end of 1919. Photo taken for Old time truck for contest, South Tacoma Motor Co., Chevrolet, Ted Hoakinson. TPL-6544
South Tacoma Motor Co. (Tacoma); Trucks--Tacoma--1940-1950; Automobile dealerships--Tacoma--1940-1950; Chevrolet trucks;
Robert Sconce Advertising, Ray Ridge Motors. In this October 11, 1946, photograph, Ray Ridge, just to the right of the engine, is holding a part while the other men look on and listen to an explanation about the part. Ray Ridge was the newly appointed Lincoln and Mercury dealer for the area. These men are shown in the service department of Ray Ridge Motors at 124 Tacoma Avenue South.
Automobile dealerships--Tacoma--1940-1950; Ray Ridge Motors, Inc. (Tacoma); Vehicle maintenance & repair--Tacoma--1940-1950; Ridge, Ray;
Lassieis here to advertise that the motion picture "The Courage of Lassie" will open at the Music Box Theater in this December of 1946 photograph. One of the usherettes from the theater holds "Lassie's" leash while "Lassie" stands next to her dog house in the outside lobby of John Hamrick's Music Box Theatre. "Lassie" wears a sign, "Courage of Lassie, Music Box Now." Two unidentified businessmen stand on the other side of the dog house.
Service area at Sanford Nash Company. Display of Nash accessories, auto lift racks, wheel alignment and lubrication cabinets, two automobiles in background.
The Brown & Haley Company has been making candy in Tacoma since 1913. Although they are internationally known for their Almond Roca, they have always made other brands of candy. Over the years they have sold Mountain Bars, Almond Buttercrisp, and - as this advertising photograph from 1946 shows - Johnny Peanut bars. Johnny Peanut was a peanut covered taffy bar, and a "Winnah".
Brown & Haley (Tacoma); Candy--Tacoma; Chocolate industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Packaging;
Lakewood Hardware for Ralph Davisson. The interior of the hardware store featuring toasters, broilers, blenders, and standing radiators. New metal and plastic tables and chairs are also shown.
New Yorker Cafe for Dohrman Hotel Supply.The double grill in the kitchen provides a large cooking area. The large stock pot on the left has a spout with a turn off valve at the bottom of the pot and a water line is provided with a faucet above the pot. The exit flues for the venting hoods over the grills bend towards each other before exiting through the ceiling forming an almost decorative look.
Western Machine Works. The interior of the shop. A metal frame is seen in the foreground. The background is filled with machines and materials. Western Machine Works specialized in veneer and hoisting machinery. They also handled general repair work. Headed by Frank Schmidt, the firm was established in 1922.
Western Machine Works (Tacoma); Machine shops--Tacoma--1940-1950;
Ray Gamble banquet at Rau's Chicken Dinner Inn located at the corner of Pacific Avenue and John's Orchard Hill (the Mountain Highway). Ray Gamble was born in Lexington, Nebraska, and arrived in Tacoma in a boxcar in 1892. His was a rags-to-riches story. He started in business opening a fish market in 1913 and developed the world's largest wood flour business which furnished stabilizing materials for the explosives manufacturers. He owned several pieces of real estate including the exclusive Casa Blanca Apartments. He was also well known for his hobbies of collecting elephant statues and performing magic. Rau's Club was opened March 2, 1939. In August 1946 the name was changed to the "Country House Restaurant". (TNT 7/27/1941, p. A2; Genii, March, 1939)
Restaurants--Graham; Banquets--Graham--1940-1950; Group portraits; Gamble, Ray, 1886-1972; Rau's Club (Graham);
Rhodes department store offered their customers a wide selection of everything they might need to look their best. Rhodes received new merchandise on a daily basis. View of men's socks and shirts section at Rhodes Bros, Easter sales signs in center of sock fixtures.
Department stores--Tacoma; Hosiery; Merchandise displays--Tacoma; Men--Clothing & dress--Tacoma--1940-1950; Rhodes Brothers Department Store (Tacoma);
Sherwin-Williams Paint and Interior Decorating store, exterior at night showing lighted neon sign and display windows. The store was photographed on February 23, 1946.
Sherwin-Williams Paint Co. (Tacoma); Electric signs--Tacoma--1940-1950; Paint industry--Tacoma; Window displays--Tacoma--1940-1950;
West Coast Grocery with headquarters in Tacoma, expand operations. Interior view of West Coast Grocery store in Chehalis, Washington. The cash register, scale and counters are in the foreground. Shelves stocked with food, produce section and frozen food section are in the background.
West Coast Grocery, with headquarters in Tacoma, expands their operations. Exterior view of West Coast Grocery store in Chehalis, Washington. Gasoline pumps, advertisements for weekly specials and watermelons in front of store.
Central Motors bought, sold and serviced cars. They were about to move into this building, where they would offer their customers a wide selection of used cars and more extended services. Interior view of Central Motors.
Automobile dealerships--Tacoma; Vehicle maintenance & repair--Tacoma; Showrooms--Tacoma; Central Motors (Tacoma);
Rhodes Millinery Mirror Room along with other departments had recently been remodeled and modernized. The room featured modern fixtures in a renovated spacious room. Rhodes offered fashionable and chic hats for the modern woman. View of Mirror Room with hat displays and comfortable areas for women to try on their favorite hat styles (T. Times, 5/16/46, p. 10).
Millinery; Hats--1940-1950; Merchandise displays--Tacoma; Department stores--Tacoma; Rhodes Brothers Department Store (Tacoma);
Ray Ridge Motors for Robert Sconce Advertising. Crowd admires the 1946 Mercurys at Ray Ridge Motors. Night view from outside showroom through plate glass windows. Convertible, sedan and "woody" wagon are visible.
Automobile dealerships--Tacoma--1940-1950; Ray Ridge Motors, Inc. (Tacoma); Automobiles--Tacoma--1940-1950;
Hogan's Lakewood Center Grocery, Nalley's display. A stack of Nalley's Hamburger Relish selling for 25 cents each stands near the cash register. Other products are displayed on shelves behind the register. Nalley's Inc. was started in 1918 by Marcus Nalley. Nalley Valley Center Street Development consists of 3 main plants housing 4 separate food processing operations: the potato chip plant, processing potato chips, popcorn and various nut products; a pickle plant, a federally inspected meat plant, and the Tacoma sales branch offices and Nalley's general branch sales office. (T.Times, 12/10/1947)
Grocery stores--Lakewood--1940-1950; Hogan's Fine Foods (Lakewood); Cash registers; Merchandise displays--Lakewood--1940-1950;
