Mayor A.L." Slim" Rasmussen, wearing a Tacoma Centennial string tie, with four women and four children in the city council chamber at the County-City Building. Photo ordered by Tacoma O.P.I. ALBUM 14.

Rasmussen, Albert Lawrence; Mayors--Tacoma--1960-1970;

County-City Building. Close-up view of the County-City Building with two its wings - law enforcement on the left and courts on the right with the 12-story central structure between. Also in this October 4, 1969, aerial view is the Washington National Guard Armory in the photograph's foreground. The brick edifice was dedicated on the first day in January, 1909, and remodeled several times since then. Located in the 700 block of So. 11th St., it was across the street from the L.H. Bates Vocational-Technical Institute (formerly Tacoma Vocational). Photograph ordered by Whitacre Engineers.

Aerial views; County-City Building (Tacoma); State Armory (Tacoma); Commercial streets--Tacoma--1960-1970;

Work progresses on the new County-City Building in April, 1957. Bethlehem Pacific Coast Steel Corporation provided the steel needed for the framing. View of steelworks including plywood sheets on top. Construction would not be fully completed until 1959. Central Schools building can be seen in the far left with City Dye Works at the right rear. Photograph ordered by Bethlehem Pacific Coast Steel Corporation.

Progress photographs; Building construction--Tacoma--1950-1960; County-City Building (Tacoma); Steel; Bethlehem Pacific Coast Steel Corp. (Seattle);

Plywood barricade around construction area for the new County-City building. After much discussion and delay, a site was finally decided on for the new building. Although approved by voters Nov. 4, 1952, construction did not begin until July 25, 1956. Before construction comes demolition. Homes and offices shown here will soon be torn down to make way for the new modern office building. Coast Contractors will demolish the approximately 4 square blocks of buildings for the low bid of $48, 448. A $7,000 board fence will be erected around the site, excluding the Court House and two buildings to be used an annexes.The old County Court House will remain standing and in use until the new building is built and then be torn down to make room for the parking lot. The fence is 2800 ft long and made of 2x4 and plywood and must remain up for 2 years fencing the site. A crew of 30 men will be hired for the demolition. Walter McHugh, head of Coast Construction, estimates the actual demolition cost to be closer to $70,000, the difference and profit to be made from salvage that will be sold on the spot. (TNT 3/20/1955, pg. A-18) TPL-8168

County-City Building (Tacoma);

ca. 1959. Imposing entrance of the new County-City building, an soaring glass and aluminum structure designed by A. Gordon Lumm. Lumm was the controversial selection of the County Commissioners as architect. His selection raised the ire of the local architects as he was the only one who did not participate in the free preliminary work performed by the architects' society. Bids for the construction of the original design came in 3 1/2 million higher than available funds. Voters approved an additional $3,700,00 in a bond issue to make up the difference. The building was finally constructed according to the original design and dedicated on April 10, 1959. (TNT 4/7/1959, pg. B1+)

County-City Building (Tacoma);

April 10, 1959, saw the dedication of the new County-City Building, 930 Tacoma Avenue South. The 9 1/2 million dollar project was finally completed after years of delay. Although voters had approved its construction in November of 1952, it took until July of 1956 for building to start. A large number of business people, politicians, civic leaders and everyday Tacomans attended the ceremony. In the background, the doomed old Pierce County Courthouse awaited its demolition. It would make way for parking for the new facility.

County-City Building (Tacoma); Dedications--Tacoma--1950-1960; Building dedications--Tacoma--1950-1960; Pierce County Courthouse (Tacoma); Crowds--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Governor Albert D. Rosellini addresses his audience outside the new County-City Building during dedication ceremonies in April, 1959. Seated in the group behind the governor are members of the police, service organizations, and councilmen, including Mayor Ben Hanson, in the second row, and John Anderson, third row. Wearing a crown in the front row is Pat Baldwin, the Queen of Anchorage Alaska's Fur Rendevoux, in Tacoma for the Daffodil Festival's Salute to Alaska. To her right is the 1959 Daffodil Queen Carol Mills.

Rosellini, Albert D.; Governors; County-City Building (Tacoma); Dedications--Tacoma--1950-1960; Hanson, Ben; Anderson, John H.; Baldwin, Pat; Mills, Carol;

Superior Court judge William F. LeVeque, in official robes, offered Carolee, Dairy Princess Donna Starkel's Holstein, refreshments on June 21, 1966. Carolee was penned in a corral outside Superior courtrooms on the County-City Building's second floor lobby as a prime exhibit for June Dairy Month. The bovine was reportedly well-behaved and greeted her owner, Princess Donna, with a joyful - and - loud "moo-OO!" Princess Donna and her royal court served ice cream cones to visitors and planned to visit Puget Sound National Bank branches later in the week to promote ice-cold valley milk, ice cream and other dairy foods. (TNT 6-22-66, C-5)

LeVeque, William F.; Judges--Tacoma; Starkel, Donna; Cows; Pails; Signs (Notices);

ca. 1960. 1960 Richards stock footage- the County-City Building, taken from Tacoma Avenue South. This twelve story central structure towers 167 feet above the street level. The court wing sits to the left and the law enforcement wing to the right. The glass and aluminum building was dedicated in April of 1959 and built from a design by architect A. Gordon Lumm. The building is still in use and the central structure looks much the same, however the side wings have been remodeled and greatly expanded.

County-City Building (Tacoma); Courthouses--Tacoma;

A large placard advertising the coming of Master Charge, the Interbank card, lies across the desk of Maurice Raymond, County Treasurer, on September 25, 1968. Howard O. Scott, Bank of California manager, is pictured standing next to Mr. Raymond. Photograph ordered by Bank of California.

Credit cards; Scott, Howard O.; Raymond, Maurice;

Pierce County District and Superior Court

Scenic view of Mount Rainier with the Pierce County Court House on the left and the old courthouse on the right.

ca. 1977. A large group of visitors from Tacoma's sister city in Japan, Kitakyushu (formerly Kokura) pose with their American hosts in front of the County-City Building. Two of the men are holding keys to the City of Tacoma as presented by government officials. At the far right is George M. Nalley; he served on the City Council in the 1970's. Gordon Johnston, who was Tacoma's mayor from 1970-78, is in the center of the photograph, first row.

Foreign visitors--Japan; Keys (Hardware); Johnston, Gordon N.; Mayors--Tacoma--1970-1980; Nalley, George M.; County-City Building (Tacoma);

On January 12, 1965, Tacoma police counted coins from five confiscated slot machines on a makeshift table in the basement of the County City Building. According to a News Tribune article the following day, Detective Ritchie Mace, City Prosecutor Jack Majeres and Captain John Gookins tallied the coins from slot machines seized in a September 15, 1964, raid on Tacoma barber George Parrott's residence. The slots had been opened and smashed by police per court order. The two 25 cent slots, one nickel slot, and two penny slots had coins totaling $117.33. (TNT 1-13-65, A-3)

Slot machines--Tacoma; Tacoma Police Department (Tacoma); Police--Tacoma--1960-1970; Coins--United States; Gookins, John; Mace, Ritchie; Majeres, Jack;

Newly-elected Mayor A.L. "Slim" Rasmussen poses with two women at the County-City Building on November 29, 1967. Rasmussen had defeated incumbent Harold Tollefson in the recent general election. Photograph ordered by Tacoma-Pierce County Economic Opportunity.

Rasmussen, Albert Lawrence; Mayors--Tacoma--1960-1970;

County treasurer Maurice Raymond, believed to be on the right, observes the signing of a Pierce County document on September 25, 1968. Howard O. Scott, manager of the Bank of California, is on the left. It appears that Master Charge is now available in this area, specifically at Scott's bank. Photograph ordered by the Bank of California.

Credit cards; Document signings--Tacoma--1960-1970; Raymond, Maurice; Scott, Howard O.;

On June 12, 1968 Wallace Walker, Sr. (seated at center) and a group of members and officers of the Central Area Progressive Improvement Association met with Mayor A.L. "Slim" Rasmussen in the mayor's conference room at the County-City Building, 930 Tacoma Avenue South. The Association, a non-profit self-help organization with 475 members had just received a Credit Union charter from the State of Washington. The non-profit group, composed of various ethnic, religious and political groups, sought to promote the development and well-being of the Central Area of Tacoma. It was led by Wallace Walker, Sr., president. Standing L-R: R.E.E. Hutchine, Jimmie Smith, Vernal Garrett, Lou Skala, Louie Johnson and vice-president Anthony Clark. Seated are treasurer Vernon Garrett, president Wallace Walker, Sr., and Mayor Rasmussen. (TNT 6-17-68, p. 10)

Rasmussen, Albert Lawrence; Mayors--Tacoma--1960-1970; Central Area Progressive Improvement Association (Tacoma); Meetings--Tacoma--1960-1970;

ca. 1960. The County-City Building, dedicated in April of 1959, over 7 years after the voters' approval, and designed by A. Gordon Lumm. The building stretches over 2 city blocks and was built at a cost of 9 1/2 million dollars; 3 1/2 million over the original amount approved by the voters. Shown is the four story law enforcement wing that was completed and occupied last. It housed both the Pierce County Sheriffs and the Tacoma Police Department. It is connected to the twelve story central structure. The photograph is taken from the intersection of 9th and Tacoma Ave. South with the structure facing onto Tacoma Ave. So. Photograph from the 1960 Richards stock files.

County-City Building (Tacoma); Courthouses--Tacoma;

ca. 1959. Aerial of downtown Tacoma and the almost completed County City Building at 930 Tacoma Ave. South. The CC building lies in the center of the photograph. To the left of the building is the new (1952) Tacoma Public Library at 1102 Tacoma Ave. So. Directly behind the CC building is the old Pierce County Courthouse, at 1012 So G. St., still in use until the CC building is completed but scheduled for demolition. Directly behind the Courthouse is the Washington National Guard Armory, at 715 So. 11th St., which remains at this location. The erection of the County City Building was a long time in coming; from its voter approval in 1952 to the start of construction in 1956 to the dedication of the new building April 10, 1959.

Progress photographs; County-City Building (Tacoma); Building construction--Tacoma--1950-1960; Tacoma Public Library (Tacoma); Pierce County Courthouse (Tacoma); State Armory (Tacoma);

ca. 1958. Mount Rainier can barely be seen in the distance on an overcast day, to the right of the new County-City Building under construction. The smaller unit is the new law enforcement wing which will eventually become four stories tall. The steel frame work is now up; structural steel used in fabricating the framework was probably provided by Bethlehem Pacific Coast Steel's Seattle plant. The large dirt area to the foreground will become parking. Photograph ordered by Bethlehem Pacific Coast Steel Corporation.

Progress photographs; County-City Building (Tacoma); Building construction--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Aerial photographs taken on September 9, 1958, show the nearly completed County-City Building on Tacoma Avenue South. The parking lot and landscaping still need to be done. The old Courthouse to the rear of the new building would be the last to be demolished. The land there, too, would become necessary parking. The State Armory, directly behind the Courthouse at 715 South 11th St., still remains. The Tacoma Public Library can be seen to the new County-City Building's right, at 1102 Tacoma Avenue South. Other prominent features include the Schoenfeld's furniture store and Union Station on Pacific Avenue and a portion of the City (now Thea Foss) Waterway. This view, looking southeast, was very similar to A116584-2. Hazy smoke or clouds nearly obliterate Mount Rainier in the distance as well as parts of the industrial Tideflats.

Aerial photographs; Aerial views; County-City Building (Tacoma); Pierce County Courthouse (Tacoma); State Armory (Tacoma); Tacoma Public Library (Tacoma); Streets--Tacoma--1950-1960; Commercial streets--Tacoma--1950-1960;

An unidentified female employee of the Pierce County Data Center was photographed on July 26, 1972, at the controls of a RCA 70/97 Console. The data processing center was located on the seventh floor of the County-City Building. Photograph ordered by Moore Business Forms.

Office workers--Tacoma--1970-1980; Pierce County Data Center (Tacoma);

County-City Building. Aerial view looking south on Tacoma Ave. So. with close-up of side and rear of County-City Building, its large parking lot, and Tacoma Public Library across the street. The County-City Building had been completed in 1959 to replace the venerable Old City Hall, 625 Commerce St. Ten years later it housed both city and county offices, including the health department, auditor, assessor, sheriff and city police, city council & mayor, county commissioners and courts. The future would see many of these departments move to separate buildings including the Municipal Building (formerly the Medical Arts Building), Pierce County Annex and the new Tacoma Police Department's complex on Pine St. Photograph ordered by Whitacre Engineers.

Aerial views; County-City Building (Tacoma); Tacoma Public Library (Tacoma); Public libraries--Tacoma--1960-1970; Parking lots--Tacoma--1960-1970; Commercial streets--Tacoma--1960-1970;

Aerial view of County-City Building and vicinity on a clear early October day in 1969. The County-City Building had celebrated its 10th birthday in 1969, having replaced the dilapidated Old City Hall on Commerce. It is the multi-story aluminum and glass building on Tacoma Ave. So. in the center of the photograph; one of its wings visible is the reinforced concrete court building. To the south of the County-City Building is the Tacoma Public Library; the Carnegie Library, now home to the library's Northwest Room & Special Collections, is the rounded Renaissance-styled structure. West of the County-City Building is the Washington National Guard Armory at 11th & Yakima; across the street from the Armory is the (now) L.H. Bates Vocational-Technical Institute. This view looks much the same now in 2006 as it did 37 years ago. Photograph ordered by Whitacre Engineers. TPL-9648

Aerial views; County-City Building (Tacoma); Tacoma Public Library (Tacoma); Public libraries--Tacoma--1960-1970; Tacoma Vocational School (Tacoma); State Armory (Tacoma); Commercial streets--Tacoma--1960-1970;

Mayor A.L. "Slim" Rasmussen affixes his signature to a document proclaiming October 11-18, 1969, as "Scandinavian Days." Displaying examples of Scandinavian handicrafts are Mrs. Arvilla Dabroe, publicity chair (L) and Mrs. A. Victor Johnson (R), chairman of the Leif Erikson Memorial Committee. Hartley Kantor, promotion chairman of the Tacoma Downtown Association and Dennis Rowley, co-chairman of the "Scandinavian Days" event, are also pictured above. Scandinavian handicrafts, heirlooms and artifacts will be on display in downtown stores' windows during this time. Photograph ordered by the Downtown Tacoma Association. (TNT 10-5-69, A-19)

Rasmussen, Albert Lawrence; Mayors--Tacoma--1960-1970; Dabroe, Arvilla; Johnson, A. Victor--Family; Kantor, Hartley; Rowley, Dennis; Proclamations;

ca. 1959. Frank Stojack served as Pierce County Sheriff from 1958 to 1962. The Lincoln High School graduate played pro-football for the NFL's Brooklyn Dodgers in 1936 before launching an immensely successful wrestling career. Fans voted him the "King of Wrestling" in 1953. Stojack was elected to the Tacoma City Council the same year, running as the "Champion of Fair Play". He duties after being elected sheriff in 1958 included moving the department into the new County-City Building, seen in the background shortly after its completion in 1959. The Tacoma Boys Clubs received over $300,000 from the estate of Frank Stojack after his death in 1987.

horses

Another angle of the County-City Building construction in progress was taken on April 2, 1958, for Fentron Industries of Seattle. The taller structure is the ten story and penthouse central building. Scaffolding is in place, probably to put aluminum paneling over the exterior walls. The smaller wing would be eventually four stories tall and contain the law enforcement forces. It appears that the steel framework is up and most concrete floors poured. Parking would be provided in the vicinity of the piles of rubble and construction materials. Total cost of the project was under $10 million dollars. TPL-6568

Progress photographs; Building construction--Tacoma--1950-1960; County-City Building (Tacoma);