Back of Photo:
Old Central School, Tacoma. May 30, 1889 (a Thursday noon). Looking north from South 12th between G and Yakima. Crowd is listening to Prof. F. Gault, Tacoma school supt., introduce Gov. Miles C. Moore.

ca. 1890. Built in a modified Queen Anne style, the Annie Wright Seminary took its name from the daughter of Northern Pacific Railway president Charles B. Wright who came to Tacoma in the 1880's. The school was designed by Boone & Meeker, architects, and built by F.W. Lewis in 1883. It opened in September, 1884, with 94 girls as students. Annie Wright Seminary moved to new quarters at 827 Tacoma Avenue No. in 1924; the stately old school with its sharp gables and turrets was then demolished. Only the gymnasium and a remaining building remained to be leased to the Tacoma Drama League in 1925. G10.1-091

Private schools--Tacoma; Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1880-1890;

ca. 1890. This house was built in 1889 for Henry Hewitt Jr., one of the founders of the St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co. Designed by Andrew J. Smith, it was considered to be one of the finest houses in Tacoma. The three story "castle" was occupied by several Hewitts, as well as Edgar T. Short and E. E. Rhodes. It was demolished in 1957 to make way for a parking lot for the Central Lutheran Church.

Hewitt, Henry J.--Homes & haunts;

ca. 1890. In 1890 Tacoma Fire Dept. Station # 3 was at 1212 North "G", near the corner of "G" and McCarver Streets. According to the 2nd Annual Report of the Tacoma Paid Fire Department, for the fiscal year ending May 31, 1891, Amil Krantz was listed as Captain in charge of at least five men. Krantz, age 36, was originally from Germany and was a former sailor. The station had a Silsby patent, fourth class rotary engine weighing in at 7,000 pounds which was drawn by two horses. In addition, there was an American Fire Apparatus hose wagon with two horses, which weighed 4,000 pounds and could carry 1000 feet of cotton hose. In this photograph from ca. 1890, the engines are decorated with flapping flags and garlands; it may have been taken on a holiday, perhaps the 4th of July or Memorial Day. Known as the Oldtown Station, Station # 3 occupied this building from 1885-1908. (2nd Annual Report, Tacoma Paid Fire Department, p. 24-25; 100 Years of Firefighting in the City of Destiny Tacoma, Washington, p. 30 )

Tacoma Fire Department (Tacoma); Fire stations--Tacoma--1890-1900; Fire engines & equipment--Tacoma; Fire fighters--Tacoma--1890-1900; Horses--Tacoma;

ca. 1890. Copy of customer print. Sepia portrait of J.B. (Jesse) Sutton, first president of Puget Sound National Bank. Pulling up stakes from Quincy, Michigan, the 62-year-old banker arrived in the "fastest-growing town on the Pacific Coast" in 1890. By the late 1880's, Tacoma was home to six national banks and six state and private banks. Sutton was to add one more, the Puget Sound Savings Bank which incorporated on May 8, 1890. He led the bank through the slowing Tacoma economy in the early 1890's and survived the bank closures that affected many Tacoma banks after the 1893 stock market panic. Sutton passed away in 1904. Prior to his death, the board of directors commended him for his "conservatism, good judgement (sic) and high sense of honor" that led the bank during the "stormy period of the great financial crisis of 1893, and establishing it firmly in the confidence of the people which it enjoys today." Puget Sound Savings Bank would evolve into the Puget Sound National Bank which celebrated its 75th anniversary in 1965. (Provorse: Banking on Independence)

Sutton, J.B.; Banking--Tacoma--1890-1900; Bankers--Tacoma;

ca. 1890. Copy of an old photograph ordered by Virginia Rosch. The photograph is of a woman and a small boy in front of the Bay View Hotel and Restaurant. The sign for the restaurant reads "Open Day and Night." (WSHS)

Rosch, Virginia--Associated objects;

ca. 1890. Fire Station #2, Tacoma Fire Department. View of firemen posed in the act of responding to an alarm, taken in the fire station's bedroom. Fire fighters had to be prepared to respond at all hours of the day and night and speed was of the essence. The actual date of this sepia photograph is not known; it may have been roughly in the 1890's. A similar picture is TPL 4118 which portrays the men of Station No. 5 in the same situation. Engine Co. #2 was first established in 1889 at 1735 South "E" (Fawcett). According to the 2nd Annual Tacoma Paid Fire Department Annual Report, fiscal year ending May 31, 1891, the company roster consisted of six men, including Captain P.W. Chapman, age 22, a former salesman. He appears to have been the 4th captain in less than a year at this station. In 1907, a new Station No. 2 was built at 2701 Tacoma Avenue So.; subsequent remodeling was done in 1935. The station is on both the City and National Registry. (2nd Annual Report Tacoma Paid Fire Department, p. 22; 100 Years of Firefighting in the City of Destiny Tacoma, Washington, p. 17, 42)

Tacoma Fire Department (Tacoma); Fire stations--Tacoma--1890-1900; Fire fighters--Tacoma--1890-1900;

ca. 1890. Frank C. Ross (right) and Charles A.E. Naubert were two of the early boosters of Tacoma. This photograph is a copy negative made in July of 1939 of an old tintype, taken around 1890 when they were in their early thirties, and were actively developing the Tacoma & Lake City Railway. The T & LC started at No. 26th and Union, ran south past Snake Lake to Manitou, and from there to American Lake. Although the railroad operated for less then ten years, it was instrumental in opening both the north end and the south end of Tacoma to development. Charles Naubert died in 1940; Frank Ross in 1947. Copy was made for Mr. Short of the Tacoma Times. Ross & Naubert was a real estate firm in Tacoma. (Casey Jones Locker, by F. Shaw pp.79-82)

Naubert, C. A. E.; Ross, Frank C.; Business people--Tacoma--1890-1900;

ca. 1890. Copy of customer print. A woman, elegantly dressed in a long sleeved black blouse and long black skirt, has one hand on an ornate wooden chair. She wears a watch tucked in the waistband of her skirt; it is attached to a long gold chain. Her lighter colored hair is rolled and probably fastened in the back. This undated sepia photograph was copied for Lindstrom's Home Furnishings on August 11, 1954; the original was possibly taken in the 1890's.

Portraits; Women--Clothing & dress; Chairs; Lindstrom's Home Furnishings (Tacoma);

ca. 1890. This copy of an old lantern slide shows the original Annie Wright Seminary at 611 Division Avenue as it appeared around 1890. The large building, with its tall vertical proportions, steeply pitched roofs, towers and decorative shingles, appears to be in the Queen Anne style of architecture. The school, named in honor of the daughter of its benefactor, Charles Barstow Wright, opened on September 3, 1884, with a student body of 93 girls from Washington, Oregon, British Columbia, and one from Alaska. In 1924, a new school was built on a ten-acre campus a few miles west on Tacoma Avenue, and this building was dismantled. The site where it stood is home to Stadium Thriftway and the Chevrolet dealership recently purchased by Bruce Titus. ( Date of original glass plate may have been about 1890; copy made on October 3, 1958.)

Annie Wright Seminary (Tacoma)--1880-1890; Private schools--Tacoma;

ca. 1890. This photograph, made from an old glass plate negative, shows the Tacoma Hotel as it looked in the 1890s. The massive modified Tudor design structure was built in 1884 by F.W. Lewis, contractor, using the architectural plans of McKim, Mead & White/Stanford White. Built of red brick and white stucco with white stone trim, the hotel cost $267,000. It was 300 feet long and five stories high and covered an entire block between 9th & 10th Sts. on A St. in downtown Tacoma. The lavish hotel had a beautiful view of Mount Rainier and Commencement Bay. Over the years guests at the hotel included Sarah Bernhardt, Babe Ruth, Teddy Roosevelt and Calvin Coolidge. The showpiece of Tacoma, the hotel was reduced to ruins on October 17, 1935, in a spectacular fire, and never rebuilt. (Copy made on October 3, 1958.) (Martin: Tacoma: A Pictorial History, p. 149) TPL-9500

Tacoma Hotel (Tacoma); Hotels--Tacoma;

ca. 1890. Horse-and-buggy in front of Fidelity Trust Company Building, 11th and C, Tacoma, Washington, circa 1890. Driver is unidentified. Sidewalk appears to be of concrete but the street is made of boards. The Fidelity Building was new in 1890 and originally built as a six-story brick structure. It later added six more stories in 1909. It was demolished in 1949 to make way for the F.W. Woolworth Co. building. S7.1, G66.1-124

Fidelity Building (Tacoma); Office buildings--Tacoma--1890-1900; Carriages & coaches--Tacoma--1890-1900; Horses--Tacoma--1890-1900;

ca. 1890. It seems to be a slow business day at the Charles Berger Carriage Manufacturing & Supply Company at 15th and Commerce in Tacoma around 1890. Employees, some in leather aprons, pose outside of the blacksmith and wagon making company. The company also does carriage painting and trimming. Board sidewalks run down the hill beside the building and the Waverley Hotel can be seen in the right background. (Copy of original)

Charles Berger Carriage Manufacturing & Supply Co. (Tacoma); Waverley Hotel (Tacoma); Forge shops--Tacoma--1890-1900;

ca. 1890. It seems to be a slow business day at the Charles Berger Carriage Manufacturing & Supply Company at 15th and Commerce in Tacoma around 1890. Employees, some in leather aprons, pose outside of the blacksmith and wagon making company. The company also does carriage painting and trimming. Board sidewalks run down the hill beside the building and the Waverley Hotel can be seen in the right background. (Copy of original)

Charles Berger Carriage Manufacturing & Supply Co. (Tacoma); Waverley Hotel (Tacoma); Forge shops--Tacoma--1890-1900;

ca. 1890. In this photograph from 1890 the crew of Fire Station No. 5 of the Tacoma Fire Department, 1215-17 So. I Street, demonstrate how they could quickly dress when awakened by a "midnight alarm". The unidentified fireman at the far right has his baggy pants draped around his boots to speed his response. Engine Co. No. 5 was placed in service October 13, 1890, with a third class Ahrens Piston steam fire engine weighing 5,800 pounds and California Fire Apparatus four wheeled hose wagon with 4,485 pounds weight carrying 1000 feet of hose. Jess Poyns was the Captain, age 25 in 1890; he later became Department Chief. This fire station was a very busy one in 1890, answering 45 alarms and performing duty at 15 fires. In 1935 the company moved to new quarters at 1453 So. 12th; the old quarters were subsequently demolished. (2nd Annual Report, Tacoma Paid Fire Department, p. 28-29; 100 Years of Firefighting in the City of Destiny Tacoma Washington, p. 21, p. 72)

Tacoma Fire Department (Tacoma); Fire stations--Tacoma--1890-1900; Fire fighters--Tacoma--1890-1900;

ca. 1890. Copy of photograph of a 19th century Military Field Hospital. Medics, tents, patient on stretcher. Reproduced for Mr. Edgar Short for his column in the Tacoma Times. (T. Times) (Argentum)

Medical aspects of war--1890-1900; Military medicine--1890-1900; Military personnel--United States--1890-1900; Tents; Military uniforms--1890-1900;

ca. 1890. Reprint of photograph of military men and some civilians assembled outside of tent. Photograph ordered by Edgar T. Short for his column in the Tacoma Times.

Military personnel--United States--1890-1900; Military uniforms--1890-1900; Tents; Clothing & dress--1890-1900;

ca. 1890. This portrait of Frank C. Ross was taken in 1891, the year he sold the Tacoma and Lake City Railroad to the Union Pacific Railroad for $153,000. His top hat, double breasted Prince Albert, light overcoat, boutonniere and mutton chop whiskers were typical dress for an affluent businessman of the period. The Tacoma railroad operated from North 25th Street & Union to Lake City. Union Pacific proposed to extend the line from Portland to the Canadian border in exchange for concessions from Tacoma, such as city right of way, land for terminals and waterfrontage for warehouses and docks for their Pacific Mail ships. The Union Pacific sold the Tacoma line to John S. Baker and Robert Wingate whose attempts to keep the railroad afloat failed. They stopped operations in 1897. Mr. Ross celebrated his 80th birthday on March 3, 1938. He was still championing the development of the Tideflats that he had proposed 50 years before. Copy made for T.Times columnist E. T. Short, June of 1936. (T. Times 6/11/1936, pg. 5; T. Times 3/21/1938, pg. 5)

Ross, Frank C.; Tacoma & Lake City Railroad (Tacoma); Men--Clothing & dress--Tacoma--1890-1900;

ca. 1890. The original of this photograph was taken circa 1890. Several masted sailing ships are waiting to take on shipments of lumber at an unidentified dock believed to be on Tacoma's waterfront. Tacoma would become known as the "Lumber Capital of the World" due to its many sawmills and access to vast forestlands.

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1890-1900; Cargo ships--Tacoma--1890-1900; Sailing ships--Tacoma--1890-1900; Shipping--Tacoma--1890-1900;

ca. 1890. Old photograph copied around 1937, showing a wagon, perhaps a fire engine, being pulled at speed by two horses on what seems to be Tacoma's A Street in the 1890s. Tower in background appears to be that of City Hall. (filed with Argentum)

Carts & wagons--Tacoma--1890-1900; Horse teams;

ca. 1890s. This is one of the drugstores operated by Edward A. Roice on Sixth Avenue in the 1890's. During that period he had moved his pharmacy three different times but remained on Sixth Avenue. It is not known which particular address (2407-11, 2801-03, or 2815) on Sixth the above photograph reflected. This section of the drugstore was filled with customers examining items for sale or waiting for prescriptions to be filled.

E.A. Roice Drugstore (Tacoma); Drugstores--Tacoma--1890-1900;

ca. 1890. A glimpse into Steilacoom's past as two buildings on the north side of Commercial Street, between Main and Balch, were photographed ca. 1890. The smaller building to the right was built by George Weller in 1850 as a butcher shop. Henry Rupp later purchased it and operated a beer hall in it during the 1880's and 1890's. At the time of this photograph the larger two-story building was divided into a post office (on the left) and a butcher shop. There was a residence on the second floor. Both buildings were torn down in 1938.

Beer halls--Steilacoom; Post offices--Steilacoom; Facades--Steilacoom;

ca. 1890. Copy of customer's print. A parade/procession marches south down Pacific Avenue in 1890. At the bottom of the photograph are six riders on horseback followed by a drum major and small marching band. Military units are next. In the far left corner is Nels P. Neilson's Boots & Shoes (building with "Redfront" sign). The Luzon Building is at 1302-04 Pacific Avenue (left side, center). The historic building was demolished in September of 2009. Copy of photograph made on August 31, 1950. (TPL-3261)

Parades & processions--Tacoma--1890-1900; Commercial streets--Tacoma--1890-1900; Luzon Building (Tacoma);

ca. 1890. Copy negative of photograph of old Puget Sound Savings Bank building. Photograph was "improved" by superimposing a sketch of a man on a bicycle and a drawn horse-drawn trolley car. Copy negative produced August 19, 1939.

Banks--Tacoma--1890-1900; Puget Sound Savings Bank (Tacoma)

ca. 1890. Station # 3, Tacoma Fire Department. Location of Engine Co. No. 3 was listed at the corner of No. "G" and McCarver in 1889 with Captain Amil Krantz in charge of at least five men. A few weeks after a disastrous Seattle business district fire which saw Tacoma volunteers leap in to assist their Seattle brethren, the Tacoma City Council put its volunteers on salary. Considerable new equipment was purchased from the International Fire Engine Company of Seneca Falls, New York, and Tacoma had the first paid fire department. The 2nd Annual Report of the Tacoma Paid Fire Department, for the fiscal year ending May 31, 1891, listed a complete inventory of both employees and equipment for each fire station. Besides the Silsby steam fire engine and American Fire Apparatus hose wagon, 2 sliding poles, 6 rubber coats, 4 horse blankets, 6 spittoons, and one crowbar were among those listed. Running expenses for the fiscal year totaled $7,341.36 including $336.10 for oats, $8.05 for carrots and the largest expenditure, $5887.76 for salaries. Rosters were also listed, including the men's ages, nationality and former occupations. (2nd Annual Report, Tacoma Paid Fire Department, p. 24-25; 100 Years of Firefighting in the City of Destiny Tacoma, Washington, p. 17-18)

Tacoma Fire Department (Tacoma); Fire stations--Tacoma--1890-1900; Fire engines & equipment--Tacoma; Fire fighters--Tacoma--1890-1900; Horses--Tacoma;

Copy of Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Tacoma Lodge No. 174, charter dated May 20, 1891. Only 23 years after the national organization of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Tacoma was granted a charter upon application by several prominent citizens. On the charter is the large head of the "Cervus Alces," a European elk, as well as the terms and symbols of charity, justice, brotherly love and fidelity. Copy of this charter was ordered on August 27, 1965, possibly in time for the Tacoma Lodge No. 174's dedication of its new temple on South Union Ave.

Charters--Tacoma; Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Tacoma Lodge No. 174 (Tacoma);