Tacoma Panhellenic Conference at Top of the Ocean, TNT, Frank Lockerby. The Panhellenic Association chose the theme of "Wear Your Pin" for their luncheon and bridge party on February 7, 1948. The decorations followed the sorority pin theme with large replicas of the embossed gold pins of each national sorority. A valentines motif was followed in the table decorations with red candles and heart-shaped table markers. Greek symbols are seen on the drapery behind these women. (T.Times, 2/2/1948, p11)
Top of the Ocean (Tacoma); Tacoma Panhellenic Conference (Tacoma); Clubwomen--Tacoma--1940-1950; Fraternities & sororities--Tacoma--1940-1950; Candles;
On February 6, 1948 the first Tacoma Panhellenic day luncheon was held at the Top of the Ocean. The theme for the day was "Wear Your Pin", and all Tacoma alumnae of national college sororities were invited. A prize was given to the sorority having the largest attendance. At the close of the formal program, the guests were escorted to the Tacoma Athletic Commission rooms for an afternoon of bridge. (T.Times, 2/2/1948, p.11)
Top of the Ocean (Tacoma); Tacoma Panhellenic Conference (Tacoma); Playing cards; Clubwomen--Tacoma--1940-1950; Fraternities & sororities--Tacoma--1940-1950; Smoking--Tacoma--1940-1950; Cigarettes;
Big Bear Food Store, Bud Merrell, Grocery store interiors, old "Arney's Market", Colemans. Big Bear opened its first Tacoma location January 30, 1948. They had seven distinct departments under one roof. With five check stands they hoped to give the speediest service ever offered to Tacoma shoppers. The check out stands and cash registers are lined up near the front of the store. Shelves are filled with canned goods. The whole area is well lit. (TNT, 1/29/1948, p.3 and p.28)
Big Bear Stores (Tacoma); Grocery stores--Tacoma--1940-1950; Cash registers; Canned foods;
Big Bear Food Store, Bud Merrell, Grocery store interiors, old "Arney's Market", Colemans. Big Bear was opening their first store in Tacoma at the location of the first Stadium Market. Big Bear was well known in Seattle having had several locations there for 16 years. Their policy was, "to provide the foods you want at the lowest prices at which they can be sold". This view features the produce area with displays of fruits, vegetagles and fresh flowers. Dairy products are displayed in the cold cases in the back of the store. A clock hangs on the wall above the dairy cases. (TNT, 1/29/1948, p.3 and p.28)
Showroom at City Motor Company, Oldsmobile, Anson Hart. The new 1948 model Oldsmobile offered many new developments: a streamlined body design with increased front and rear visibility with curved glass, wider seats, more luxurious upholstery and interior trim. Powered by a 115 hp, 8-cylinder engine, this automobile was known as the "Futuramic" series "98" Oldsmobile. (T.Times, 2/16/1948, p.8) TPL-1653
City Motor Co. (Tacoma); Automobile dealerships--Tacoma--1940-1950; Automobiles--Tacoma--1940-1950; Showrooms--Tacoma--1940-1950; Merchandise displays--Tacoma--1940-1950; Oldsmobile automobile;
Showing of 1949 Lincolns, Robert Sconce Advertising Agency. Three of the new 1949 model Lincolns are parked in the showroom. The Lincoln Cosmopolitan and the Lincoln represented the latest concept in luxurious motoring with wider wheelbases (125" for the Cosmopolitan and 121" for the Lincoln). The automobiles were wider to provide road-hugging comfort. The paint on the new automobiles is highly reflective as well as the large amounts of chrome. A neon sign points the way to a cashier. (T.Times, 4/15/1948, p.26)
Automobile dealerships--Tacoma--1940-1950; Lincoln automobile; Mercury automobile; Ray Ridge Motors, Inc. (Tacoma); Electric signs--Tacoma--1940-1950;
Three views of Thom McAn Shoe Store, McAn Shoe Stores, New York. This view of the new shoe store, taken from the back of the store, shows the chairs back-to-back, ready for customers to take a seat and be fitted for shoes. The boxes with different styles, colors, and sizes line the walls and make a decorative pattern. Cigarette ash trays are available close-by for the customers relaxation.
Thom McAn Shoe Store (Tacoma); Shoe stores--Tacoma--1940-1950; Shoes;
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.
Exterior of new building at Center and Lawrence, Titus Manufacturing Company, Mr. Leon Titus. When demand for rebuilt engines increased in July 1946, Titus Motor Company restructured their engine rebuilding department which became Titus Manufacturing Company. They had continued at 624 Broadway until 1949 but now have moved into their new facilities at Center and Lawrence Streets in Nalley Valley. A large Ford truck is parked in front of the loading dock.
Titus Manufacturing Co. (Tacoma); Vehicle maintenance & repair--Tacoma--1940-1950;
Progress shots of Washington Hardware Building under construction. Signs at the construction site announce Strom Construction Company as the general contractor, Lance McGuire & Mure as architects. Walls are going up as the reinforced concrete forms are in place, supported by sticks of lumber. A portion of the wall on the far side has been poured and forms taken away. A workman's shack is seen in the foreground. (TNT, 7/3/1949, p.A-11)
Washington Hardware Co. (Tacoma); Reinforced concrete construction--Tacoma--1940-1950; Progress photographs; Strom Construction Co. (Tacoma);
Several views of new floor furnace, Heatlox Furnaces, Inc. Harry V. Smith served as president of Heatlox Furnaces, D.H. Powers was vice-president and E.J. Watson was Chairman of the Board in 1949. A view inside the plant shows a row of the new design of furnace manufactured by the company. The company manufactured several types of heating systems and offered "Minneapolis-Honeywell" controls.
Heatlox Furnaces, Inc. (Tacoma); Furnaces--Tacoma--1940-1950; Heating & ventilation industry--Tacoma--1940-1950;
Mueller-Harkins showroom, ordered by Bonnell Construction Co. An exterior view of the very modern automobile showroom built by Mueller-Harkins showing the two circular display windows that each contained a revolving stage for the newest models of Buick automobiles. The large, monolithic tower displaying the name "Buick" in neon on top has recently been completed. The sign for the Walker Apartment Hotel can be seen on the far left, across Saint Helens Avenue.
Mueller-Harkins Motor Co. (Tacoma); Automobile dealerships--Tacoma--1940-1950; Electric signs--Tacoma--1940-1950;
Interior of new store at 1112 Pacific Avenue, Zingler Electric Company, Mr. Hans L. Zingler. Zingler's retained their earlier location at 767-69 South 38th Street when they opened their new store at 1112 Pacific Avenue. The company advertised a sale at the end of June 1949 where you could buy an electric range for $229.50. The company sold sewing machines with parts and repair a specialty, refrigerators, ranges, freezers, washers, and vacuum cleaners. (TNT, 6/24/1949, p.10)
Engines are taken from Ford cars and trucks, then replaced with a rebuilt engine by the Titus plant, payment is made with the trade in of the old engine and cash. Testing includes the engine being spun at over 800 r.p.m. while its operation, sound and oil pressure are carefully monitored. This service is available to individual owners, garages and Ford dealers. Interior view of Titus Manufacturing Company's engine rebuilding shop, two unidentified men are working on Ford engine parts; one man is operating a fork lift.
The exterior of Bill and Ted's Cafe for the liquor board, Mr. Pickering. The tavern stands on the corner of Puyallup Avenue and D Street East. The neon sign is set at an angle to be seen along both streets. "No Minors Allowed" is painted in the window. There are two more stories above the tavern and they appear to be apartments. A fire hydrant and light post can be seen on the left. TPL-6533
Bill & Ted's Cafe (Tacoma); Bars--Tacoma--1940-1950; Electric signs--Tacoma--1940-1950; Fire hydrants; Street lights--Tacoma--1940-1950;
Fabrication of trusses for Washington Hardware Wholesale Building, Timber Fabrication Co., Pete Solberg. The supporting timbers and trusses are in place and work has begun on the roof's covering. Cavanaugh's wholesale lumber company's facilities at 1423 Puyallup Avenue are seen in the right background.
Washington Hardware Co. (Tacoma); Progress photographs; Building construction--Tacoma--1940-1950; Roof trusses--Tacoma--1940-1950; Timber Fabrication Co. (Tacoma); Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950;
