A view along the east side of the 900 block of Broadway looking south features Oakes Apparel at 921 Broadway, Weisfield's at 925 Broadway, and Lerner Shops at 931 Broadway. Two buildings further along the street are undergoing renovations with scaffolding along their facades. In the left foreground, a large clock stands on the sidewalk in front of Mahncke & Company Jewelers at 919 Broadway.
After picture of apartment house at 1115 South J. Blair Construction, 3022 South 38th St. The Minsch Apartments were originally built in 1910 by A.H. Minsch and designed by architect George Trust. The daylight photograph of this three story Craftsman-style apartment house was commissioned by Blair Construction Co.
Apartment houses--Tacoma; Minsch Apartments (Tacoma); Blair Construction Co. (Tacoma);
The exterior of the Charles Pearson home. This one-story ranch-style home has been faced with stone around the front entrance. Dark-stained clapboards cover the remainder of the exterior with the exception of around the smaller windows on the front. A line of clerestory windows is seen over the lower roof line. A two-car garage is to the left, not shown in the photograph. Charles T. Pearson was an architect with Lea, Pearson and Richards . Ordered by Douglas Fir Plywood Association.
1950's Contemporary home with a boxy design. A late model car is parked in front of the one car garage. There is a living area over the garage. The house is extremely square and appear to have a balcony on the flat roof.
New carpet at the Rialto Apartments. These apartments were constructed in 1918 and originally named the Rhodes Apartments. During this fifties common area remodel, the wainscot on the walls was topped by molding and new wall paper. Apartment doors open off of the narrow halls and a fire extinguisher is attached to the wall. A window at the end of the hall supplies light and air.
New carpet at the Rialto Apartments. These apartments were constructed in 1918 and were originally named the Rhodes Apartments. The staircase provides access to the floors of the multi story building. New carpet and wall paper have been installed in the fifties common area remodel.
Exposure from Lloyd Suiter Tire Co., 1955 Pacific Ave., looking each way down Pacific Ave. On the right hand side of the picture is Hunt and Mottet Co. wholesale hardware (2112), Coast Auto Wrecking (2120) and Tacoma Junk Co. (2128). On the left hand side of the street is the G.L. Walls Gas Station (2101), the Bone Dry Shoe Manufacturing Co. occupies 2113-2115 Pacific Ave. The city bus headed for Manitou occupies the foreground.
Commercial streets--Tacoma--1950-1960; Business districts--Tacoma--1950-1960; Buses--Tacoma--1950-1960;
Combination living and dining room designed and built by Tietz Construction for William Tietz. The formal dining room was not a feature of fifties home design; dining rooms extended off of the living room for more casual dining. The combined living-dining room is 38 feet long with 24 feet of six foot deep windows. Massive sandstone forms the modern fireplace, continuing into the slight partition and into a planting wall behind the sofa. Each stone was hand-chipped on the scene. Deep toned walls of the dining area shade into a paler tone in the living room and blend with soft rose broadloom carpet. Except the kitchen, baths and recreation room, the entire house is finished with wall to wall broadloom carpet. (TNT 4/28/1951, pg. C-12)
Living rooms--Tacoma--1950-1960; Dining rooms--Tacoma--1950-1960; Fireplaces--Tacoma--1950-1960; Tietz Construction Inc. (Lakewood); Tietz, Bill--Homes & haunts;
Exposure of Dr. Sulkosky's home in Puyallup, both interior and exterior shots. Open beam ceilings and flowered wallpaper highlight the dining and living room portions of the Leo and Lorraine Sulkosky residence in Puyallup. A large wooden etagere is prominently displayed with a chaise lounge nearby.
Houses--Puyallup--1950-1960; Sulkosky, Leo F.--Homes & haunts;
Exposure of Dr. Sulkosky's home in Puyallup, both interior and exterior. Attention is drawn in this photograph to the open beam ceiling in the Puyallup residence of Leo and Lorraine Sulkosky. Large picture windows provide plenty of light into the spacious living room areas of the home. A brick fireplace will help in heating the residence. Dr. Sulkosky is a physician and a member of the firm of Scheyer, Scheyer and Sulkosky located in Puyallup.
Houses--Puyallup--1950-1960; Sulkosky, Leo F.--Homes & haunts; Living rooms--Puyallup; Fireplaces--Puyallup;
ca. 1950. A "positively no admittance" sign is visible near the scaffolding resting against a large building. It is possible that new siding is being installed.
Building construction; Scaffolding; Signs (Notices);
Exterior exposure of house on 3732 East "I". This photograph was commissioned by Alpro Roofing Company, 1502 South Tacoma Way. This bungalow-style home was located possibly at 3732 East "I". It featured a wide pitched roof, covered porch with partial brick columns, and low, broad, horizontal lines.
ca. 1887. This view of Pacific Avenue, looking north from 10th, was taken in 1887. Horse drawn carriages and wagons fill the unpaved street. The Fife Hotel, 742-50 Pacific Avenue (at left background), was still under construction with scaffolding visible. The building at 930 Pacific Ave. was home to the Tacoma News. The News and The Daily Ledger, both founded in 1883, were the two biggest newspapers in Tacoma at this time. The Ledger was a morning paper; The News was an evening paper. Some years later, both papers were bought by Sidney A. Perkins. Ultimately, they were taken over by The News Tribune. Copy made August 31, 1950. (TPL-2297 and TPL-8147)
Commercial streets--Tacoma--1880-1890; Carts & wagons--Tacoma; The News (Tacoma); Newspapers--Tacoma--1880-1890; Fife Hotel (Tacoma); Hotels--Tacoma--1880-1890; Building construction--Tacoma--1880-1890;
Pouring concrete at the new Tacoma Transit Company building. Three men are standing on a form guiding a cabled bucket of concrete into a shaft. Buildings are seen in the background. Ordered by John Ritchie, Douglas Fir Plywood Association.
Building construction--Tacoma--1950-1960; Concrete--Tacoma; Reinforced concrete construction--Tacoma--1950-1960; Plywood; Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Tacoma); Tacoma Transit Co. (Tacoma);
The exterior of the old B.F. Goodrich building. B.F. Goodrich moved to their new location at 707 Pacific Avenue in May 1950. Lloyd Suiter Tire Company had taken over this location by 1951. Lloyd Suiter had formerly been located at 2302 Pacific Avenue. Lloyd Suiter died in April 1949. Ted L. Fix served as president of the Lloyd Suiter Tire Company in 1951. Wesley Maitland served as secretary. Ordered by Lloyd Suiter Tire Company, Mrs. McGorran.
Wollander Far West Homes at Mountlake Terrace. A row of one-story, rambler-style houses from the Mountlake Terrace housing development are shown in December of 1950. The houses appear to have similar floor plans, being turned left to right to create some variance in the facades of the homes.
Houses--Mountlake Terrace; Real estate business--Mountlake Terrace; Neighborhoods--Mountlake Terrace; Wollander Farwest Homes (Tacoma);
Wollander Far West Homes at Mountlake Terrace. A one-story house built of cement block located in the Mountlake Terrace housing development was photographed in December of 1950. The exterior has been painted a light color. A decorative screen has been added to the left of the front door.
Houses--Mountlake Terrace; Real estate business--Mountlake Terrace; Neighborhoods--Mountlake Terrace; Wollander Farwest Homes (Tacoma); Housing developments--Mountlake Terrace;
Wollander Far West Homes at Mountlake Terrace. A one-story house in the Mountlake Terrace housing development built of cement block is shown. The home in December of 1950 was probably occupied as several full glass bottles of milk stand on the front porch.
Houses--Mountlake Terrace; Real estate business--Mountlake Terrace; Neighborhoods--Mountlake Terrace; Wollander Farwest Homes (Tacoma); Housing developments--Mountlake Terrace;
A Trendmaker House designed by W.A. Wollander. A newly constructed, one-story ranch house with a low-pitched roof, over-hanging eves, picture windows and a wide, brick chimney sits on the highest part of the lot.
Wollander Homes. A view of several one-story, ranch-style homes built of concrete blocks with cedar shake roofs along a curving residential street. The lawns are large with concrete driveways also serving as walkways. A few trees have been left standing in the housing development. Ordered by W.A. Wollander. TPL-8309
Houses--Tacoma; Housing developments--Tacoma; Suburban life--Tacoma; Wollander Homes (Tacoma);
Progress photograph of the American Apartments, later opened as the Vista Manor Apartments, at 319 Tacoma Ave. No., for the Douglas Fir Plywood Association. The building was designed by Lance, McGuire & Muri, Architects, and built by the C.F. Davidson Construction Company. The building was constructed with 16 stories and 133 units at a cost of one million dollars.
Apartment houses--Tacoma--1950-1960; Vista Manor Apartments (Tacoma); Progress photographs--1950-1960;
The F.W. Woolworth Company celebrated the grand opening of their store # 105 (in Tacoma) on November 2, 1950. The four-story building at 955 Broadway had entrances on both the Broadway and Commerce Street levels. It replaced the Fidelity Building which had stood on the corner from 1890 until in was demolished in 1949. Woolworth closed their Tacoma store in 1993.
A view of the exterior of the F.W. Woolworth Company building recently completed in Tacoma from across Commerce Street. The store's escalator can be seen through the large window on this side of the five-and-dime's building. TPL-4551
An elevated view of Pacific Avenue looking south from the 900 block. The Riviera Theatre is shown on the lower right corner at 906 Pacific Avenue. Ghilarducci's California Florists is seen across Pacific at 909. The Provident Building is at 915 Pacific. The Bank of California and the Washington Building are prominent in the next block. Peoples Department Store was on the corner across 11th Street. Bankers Trust Building at 1111, the Puget Sound National Bank Building at 1119 and the National Bank of Washington at 1123 Pacific filled most of the following block. Shoenfeld's Furniture is seen prominently at 1423 Pacific Ave. TPL-2299
Business districts--Tacoma; Commercial streets--Tacoma--1950-1960;
The beautiful Queen Anne style home at 318 North Yakima Avenue was owned by Mabel Basham. Built in the 1890's, the house had tall, vertical proportions; balconies, overhanging porch, and chimney were added amenities. The lot was landscaped with shrubs and small trees . Sepia photograph ordered by Mabel Basham.
Exterior - Avalon Apts. The Avalon Apartments at 237 Saint Helens Avenue were undergoing some remodeling in August, 1957. Wally Stabbert, Inc., were contracted to plaster and lathe the exterior of the units; scaffolding is already in place. The Avalon Apartments were designed by architect Frederick Heath and built by contractors Olson & Young in 1906. It was twice damaged by fire, in 1933, and finally destroyed on May 2, 1969. Photograph ordered by Wally Stabbert, Inc.
View looking south at the Intermediate Building under construction at McChord Air Force Base in August, 1957. This is the SAGE Project #1557. Workers on scaffolding peer down at activity occurring below. SAGE stood for semi-automatic ground environment (air defense system.) Once completed, the buildings would store computers built by IBM. The computers would keep track of air traffic, report weather conditions, issue split-second reports on defensive weapons available to be unleased on enemy targets and direct and control jet fighters and missiles. There would be four 400-ton air conditioning units to keep the computers cool. Photograph ordered by Western Electric Co. (TNT 11-9-58, A-10)
Building construction --McChord AFB; Western Electric Co., Inc.;
View of Gehri Apartments. These modern three-story apartments, located at 302 North Stadium Way, were built on a sloping lot. The apartment complex was built by Alfred J. Gehri, longtime local builder, and designed by John Sutton & Alan Liddle, architects. The units were completed in August, 1956. Photographed a year later on August 16, 1957, these apartments featured multiple view windows and covered balconies. Photograph ordered by Douglas Fir Plywood Association.
