ca. 1937. Rhodes Department Store, showing elaborate linoleum work around elevators. Shoe Repair and Shine station to right, vacuum cleaner in far right foreground. Dress displayed on mannequin and man working behind column at left.

Rhodes Brothers Department Store (Tacoma); Mannequins; Department stores--Tacoma--1930-1940; Shoe shining--Tacoma--1930-1940;

ca. 1939. Rhodes Department Store, advertising for three day sale. Two young women carrying packages are receiving assistance from two sales clerks in the knit (sweater) department of the store.

Sales personnel--Tacoma; Rhodes Brothers Department Store (Tacoma);

Window display at Rhodes Department Store for Boys Department featuring items relating to archery champion Sonny Johns. Sonny Johns was the 1938 Washington State Jr. Archery champion and the Northwest Junior Champion. He won the Northwest title at Portland, Oregon, when he shot three "perfects," a feat never performed before in any world competition. In the display are bow and arrows, photographs and awards. Ordered by father Harry C. Johns, 4911 No. 27th. (filed with Argentum)

Window displays--Tacoma--1930-1940; Rhodes Brothers Department Store (Tacoma); Johns, Sonny--Associated objects;

This group of second grade students from Whitman school were literally put on display for National Education Week during November of 1939. Their library class was held in a display window of the Rhodes department store at 950 Broadway. The students being watched by proud parents and curious shoppers are (l to r): George Mills; Dorothy Powell; Dolores Duncan, writing her name on the blackboard; Ann Truitt, with her back to the camera; Richard McCulloch; and Allyn Hultman with back to camera. (T. Times, 11-10-1939, p.18)

School children--Tacoma--1930-1940; Children reading & writing--Tacoma; Duncan, Dolores; Mills, George; Powell, Dorothy; McCulloch, Richard; Truitt, Ann; Hultman, Allyn;

National Education Week. Whitman School, 2B, holding library class in display window of Rhodes Department Store on November 9, 1939. The proud parents of these seven-year-olds peek from the outside. Glady J. Christie was the classroom instructor. Students were : Dolores Duncan writing her name on the blackboard, (seated) George Mills, Dorothy Powell, Richard McCulloch, and Ann Truitt and Allyn Hultman with backs to camera. (T. Times, 11-10-1939, p.18)

School children--Tacoma--1930-1940; Children reading & writing--Tacoma; Duncan, Dolores; Mills, George; Powell, Dorothy; McCulloch, Richard; Truitt, Ann; Hultman, Allyn;

Olympic Peninsula Playground display in window of Rhodes Department Store. American flag, maps and photographs, two mannequins in summer dresses and hats. Photograph taken prior to 1940's 4th of July.

Rhodes Brothers Department Store (Tacoma); Department stores--Tacoma--1940-1950; Window displays--Tacoma--1940-1950; Mannequins; Flags--United States; Maps;

An unidentified fashion model from Rhodes Department Store stands by a curved glass brick wall in Rhodes Crystal Room. The photograph appeared in the News Tribune Spring Fashion edition. The outfit follows the war industry's plea to conserve and not waste. The hip length jacket is shown over a dress with a box pleated skirt. The dress can be worn alone or with the jacket for two different looks. The hat is of pettipoint straw of tobacco brown and the shoes and bag are of alligator calf. (TNT 3/4/1942, PG. 32)

Clothing and dress--Tacoma--1940-1950; Rhodes Brothers Department Store (Tacoma);

Rhodes Bros., Tacoma's premiere department store, offered quality merchandise and a plethora of services. One of those services was the 6th floor podiatrist's office of Dr. August C. Mirenta where downtown shopper's aching feet received attention. In this publicity photograph, Dr. Mirenta is describing his trade-marked shoe insert to an unidentified woman patient. Dr. Mirenta was born in Italy and came to Tacoma with his family in 1896. The enterprising podiatrist manufactured foot remedies and deodorants as the A. Mirenta & Co. and the In-No-Scent Corp., served as president of several organizations, and raised peaches at Peach Acres, his property near Chambers Creek where the Charles Wright Academy is located today.

Department Stores--Tacoma; Rhodes Brothers Department Store (Tacoma); Medical offices--Tacoma; Health care; Mirenta, August C.,1888-1951;

At the end of December of 1942, Rhodes Brothers Department store devoted its windows to the sale of war bonds and stamps. The Tacoma Parent Teacher Association staffed the Victory Window, selling stamps and bonds from 11-4 each day.

Department stores--Tacoma; Rhodes Brothers Department Store (Tacoma); War bonds & funds--Tacoma--1940-1950; World War, 1939-1945--Economic aspects of war--Tacoma;

Mrs. Roy Kneeland (left), chairman of the PTA war bond campaign, looks on as John Carradine carefully types a bond application form for Sgt. Norma Oaks (right). The bond campaign sales office was set up in the "Victory Window" at the Rhodes Brothers Department Store. Mr. Carradine had brought his own theater troupe, The Shakespeare Players, to Tacoma for a series of live performances at the Temple Theater. On Wednesday November 24, 1943, they presented "Merchant of Venice" with Carradine as Shylock. On Thanksgiving, the 25th, they performed "Hamlet" as a matinee and "Othello" in the evening, again with John Carradine as the lead. There were so many curtain calls for "Othello" that the curtain operator was physically exhausted by the cranking. (TNT 11-25-43, p.20, TNT 11-26-43, p. 6 ) ALBUM 5.

Carradine, John; Actors--Tacoma--1940-1950; War bonds & funds; Typewriters; Oaks, Norma;

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);

A look at the boys clothing section of Rhodes Department Store on April 19, 1946. Piles of shirts, socks and other accessories await customers.

Rhodes Brothers Department Store (Tacoma); Department stores--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Rhodes Department Store had everything a customer could want or need for their home. Rhodes had recently finished a remodeling and modernization of their departments. View of unidentified woman looking at a refrigerator in the appliances department. A stove and an automatic washing machine are in foreground, Bendix home laundry advertisements in background.

Refrigerators; Washing machines; Stoves--Tacoma; Department stores--Tacoma; Rhodes Brothers Department Store (Tacoma);

Rhodes Department Store fabric section.

Business Enterprises - Department Stores - Tacoma - Rhodes Brothers - Fabric Department

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);

In June of 1945 three unidentified women prepared to send Father's Day messages to servicemen from the special Post Yarns mailing center in Tacoma's Rhodes Department Store; an unidentified clerk working in the booth took their addressed messages. Rhodes joined with the Saturday Evening Post magazine in a special wartime Father's Day offer. The Saturday Evening Post made copies of Post Yarns, a pocket size version of their magazine, available at the department store; Rhodes provided free delivery for the miniature magazine - with a personal note from the sender.

World War, 1939-1945--Social aspects--Tacoma; Women--Tacoma--1940-1950; Rhodes Brothers Department Store (Tacoma); Fathers & children;

Maurice P. Gribbon, in charge of the shoe department at Rhodes Department Store, fitted T/3 Gertrude E. Totten with a new pair of sling pumps in October of 1945. T/3 Totten had been chosen to receive a complete new civilian outfit from Rhodes Department Store because she was the high point WAC aboard the USS General William Mitchell which had just returned from New Guinea. The only thing Rhodes could not provide was a pair of nylon stockings. As luck would have it, Miss Totten still had one pair that she had saved through the war while she served in the Pacific. (T.Times, 10/31/1945, p.6)

Rhodes Brothers Department Store (Tacoma); World War, 1939-1945--Peace--Tacoma; Womens Army Corps; Totten, Gertrude E.; Awards;

Rhodes Department Store window display, "See Your West," photographed on May 23, 1947. A mannequin wears a striped coat and shoppers are encouraged to visit the Coat Salon. Posters with photographs from the American Southwest are shown in the display.

Window displays--Tacoma--1940-1950; Rhodes Brothers Department Store (Tacoma); Mannequins; Clothing stores--Tacoma--1940-1950; Clothing & dress--Tacoma--1940-1950; Department stores--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Window display at Rhodes Brothers Department Store. The entire window display is filled with Soap Box Derby memorabilia in a photograph taken in July, 1950. A small mannequin is dressed in racing attire and stands in front of a "Soap Box Derby Tacoma, Wash." banner. In front of the #135 Tacoma News Tribune racer is a trophy and photograph of the 1949 winner, Duane Swanson. There is a 26 piece Stanley tool board on display which is to be awarded for the best constructed racer, donated by Shell Oil Co. The 1950 Soap Box Derby is to be held on Sunday, July 23, on South 38th St. Boys 11-15 are eligible to enter and Rhodes Brothers will award each contestant a pair of "Buck-o-Brand" jeans as shown in the window.

Coaster cars--Tacoma; Rhodes Brothers Department Store (Tacoma); Shell Oil Co., Inc. (Tacoma); Mannequins;

Originally built as a three story building in 1903, the Rhodes Brothers Department Store at 950 Broadway had two stories and a roof garden added in 1911; the building continued to undergo considerable remodeling through the years. To modernize the front of the store, a new facade was added at the end of the 1940s. The facade was removed in 1980 when the building was bought by the University of Puget Sound and became home to the Norton Clapp Law Center. In the early days, in an effort to bring more trade into Tacoma from the outside, the Rhodes brothers came up with the idea of highway signs, Washington's first. The signs claimed "All Roads lead to Rhodes" and gave the number of miles to Tacoma. These signs were erected as far south as the Columbia river and into southwest Washington and the Grays Harbor areas. In the days when there were few automobiles, these signs became landmarks.

Rhodes Brothers Department Store (Tacoma); Department stores--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Tacoma News Tribune's 1951 "Christmas Gifts" layout. Nelson Davis' daughters, Diana, 10, and Jill, 8, looking at vases and figurines at Rhodes Department Store's Gift Department to get ideas for the Christmas season. The girls, with braids, are dressed in matching coats and hats.

Davis, Diana; Davis, Jill; Davis, Nelson--Family; Shopping--Tacoma--1950-1960; Gifts; Children--Clothing & dress--Tacoma--1950-1960; Rhodes Brothers Department Store (Tacoma); Department stores--Tacoma--1950-1960;

One of the best loved features at the Rhodes Brothers Department Store at 950 Broadway was the miniature Milwaukee Railroad train, the "Hiawatha". During the Christmas shopping season children could ride the "Hiawatha" to the North Pole to visit Santa. This photo from November 1951 shows a train load of children, including Janet Meyer in lead train, leaving the Hiawatha Ville station while five Rhodes employees, including the train conductor and the engineer pose for the camera. The Hiawatha train was built by the Miniature Train and Railroad Co. in Rensselaer, Indiana.

Miniature railroads--Tacoma; Rhodes Brothers Department Store (Tacoma); Passengers--Tacoma; Railroad tracks--Tacoma; Meyer, Janet;

Children attentively listen to the "engineer" while on board the Milwaukee Railroad's toy train, the Hiawatha, on November 17, 1951. The train was set up to run in Rhodes Bros. Department Store; view of train and passengers, "engineer" and "conductor". Apparently the train stopped at Hiawatha Ville, pop. 18, which had an elevation of 63 feet. A banner above the "depot" indicated that it was a treat when you traveled east on the Olympian Hiawatha, with stops ranging from Spokane to Great Falls, Montana. TPL-1713

Miniature railroads--Tacoma; Rhodes Brothers Department Store (Tacoma); Signs (Notices); Railroad tracks--Tacoma;

Rhodes Brothers showing new sign above doorway. Coast Neon Displays, Carl Eckstein. Rhodes Brothers Department Store was built at the corner of 11th and Broadway in 1903. Over the years the front has been remodeled several times. Here is a view of the front as it appeared in June of 1950. Coast Neon Displays of Tacoma had just installed a new neon sign above the front entrance. Note that there is a parking meter next to the right front fender of the Cadillac convertible.

Rhodes Brothers Department Store (Tacoma); Clothing stores--Tacoma--1950-1960; Electric signs--Tacoma--1950-1960; Coast Neon Displays (Tacoma); Cadillac automobile;

A small group of children eye the stuffed Santa standing outside the toy department of Rhodes Brothers Department Store in late November, 1952. Behind them, a large sign with a cutout of a smiling monkey proclaims the store to have the city's biggest toyland. Rhodes also offered miniature train rides for the little tykes. Left to right are Jimmy Newkirk being held by Lawrence Walker, Santa, Kathy Hall, Brenda Newkirk, and Santa's helper, Donna Walker. The Independent Order of Foresters would be holding a Christmas party at Normanna Hall on December 20th; Santa is expected to attend. Photograph ordered by Independent Order of Foresters. (TNT 12-12-52, C-5) TPL-8109

Christmas--Tacoma; Children--Tacoma--1950-1960; Rhodes Brothers Department Store (Tacoma); Signs (Notices); Independent Order of Foresters 327 (Tacoma); Newkirk, Jimmy; Newkirk, Brenda; Hall, Kathy; Walker, Donna; Walker, Lawrence;

A day shopping at the downtown Tacoma Rhodes Department Store in October of 1956 was not necessarily just a quick shopping junket; it could be an elegant all-day affair including a luxurious shampoo and style at the pictured beauty salon and lunch at the store's cafe. The store at 950 Broadway was elegantly appointed and intended to provide a full shopping experience with a beauty shop, restaurant and full selection of goods and services. The store's new Beauty Salon was located on the 6th floor and offered skin care, hair styling and tinting and nail care. It was open until 9 p.m. on Monday through Friday. For this publicity photograph, the stylists posed beside their stations. The men wore coats and ties and the women dresses with corsages. The Rhodes store opened in 1903 and closed in 1974, a victim of the desertion of downtown for suburban shopping. The most forward stylist on the left is believed to be Paul Faust and behind him, Bernard Natucci. The front two stylists on the right are believed to be Lee Amundson and Lorraine Hudson. (TNT 11/11/1956, pg D-11- see ad for individual stylists' pictures) (Additional identification provided by a reader)

Department stores--Tacoma--1950-1960; Rhodes Brothers Department Store (Tacoma); Beauty shops--Tacoma--1950-1960;

The beauty salon at Rhodes Department Store. A day shopping at the downtown Tacoma Rhodes Store in the mid fifties was not just a quick shopping junket; it could be an elegant all day affair including a luxurious shampoo and style at the beauty salon and lunch at the store's cafe. Women would dress up in hats, gloves and dresses to peruse the latest in fashions and home apparel and enjoy the day at the store. The salon is beautifully appointed with elegant lighting, a mirrored makeup table and a receptionist stand with styling stations behind. The standing hair dryers can just be glimpsed in the background.

Department stores--Tacoma--1950-1960; Rhodes Brothers Department Store (Tacoma); Beauty shops--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Window display, Rhodes Bros. Department Store, ordered by Rhodes Bros. Just prior to Christmas Day, a window display at the downtown Rhodes Bros. Department Store highlights a fine selection of glassware and delicate evening wear. A small banner suggests thoughtful ideas for the last-minute shopper could be found in the Gift Department, fourth floor. Rhodes had been in business in Tacoma since 1892 and at their 9th & Broadway location since 1903. Their famous slogan was "All Roads Lead to Rhodes." Sixteen years after this photograph was taken, Rhodes closed the downtown store. It was spared the wrecking ball to become the University of Puget Sound Law School and later purchased by the State of Washington for office space. Photograph ordered by Rhodes Bros.

Rhodes Brothers Department Store (Tacoma); Department stores--Tacoma--1950-1960; Window displays--Tacoma--1950-1960; Mannequins;

Two mannequins are delicately posed in the storefront windows of Rhodes Bros. Department Store three days before Christmas, 1958. They are dressed in pink nylon gown sets whose prices apparently ranged from $14.95 to $19.95. To accessorize the gowns, soft slippers, creams, makeup and jewelry are displayed nearby. Christmas lights and gift boxes flank the window and help to illuminate the recessed display. Photograph ordered by Rhodes Bros. Department Store.

Rhodes Brothers Department Store (Tacoma); Department stores--Tacoma--1950-1960; Window displays--Tacoma--1950-1960; Mannequins;

Capturing the attention of a full house is Suzanne (Suzy) Christel (now Fox), dressed in a plaid coat with fur collar and dark hat. Seventeen Magazine in conjunction with the Rhodes Brothers Department Store sponsored a "back-to-school" style show at Rhodes' Broadway location on August 8, 1963. The fashion show gave its audience a preliminary look at the newest clothing styles and trends. The Rhodes high school and college fashion board modeled the clothes featured in the August issue of Seventeen Magazine. The fashion board was composed of a representative from each high school in the area who worked part-time at the store and modeled in their fashion shows. (TNT Ad 8-7-63, A-20) TPL-9825

Fashion models--Tacoma--1960-1970; Fashion shows--Tacoma--1960-1970; Women--Clothing & dress--Tacoma--1960-1970; Rhodes Brothers Department Store (Tacoma); Christel, Suzanne;