Tacoma Drug Company, interior and exterior of new offices, Tacoma Drug Co., Fred Osmers. The wholesale drug company had completed a new warehouse and offices on the Tacoma tideflats and were now stocking the 60,000 square feet of warehousing. The modern facilities were well lit. On the right can be seen their system for moving goods from the back of the warehouse in large tubs on a counter made of continuous rollers. Empty tubs could be returned to the back of the warehouse using an overhead conveyor.

Tacoma Drug Co. (Tacoma); Medicines; Warehouses--Tacoma--1940-1950; Business enterprises--Tacoma--1940-1950;

The S.H. Kress & Co. store in Tacoma, 934 Broadway, advertised fresh, home-made, butter cream fudge for 30 cents per one-half pound for Valentines Day 1949. In their front window, heart shapes and stripes were made of suckers on a continuous tape. Several large pieces of fudge spelled out the name "Kress," and other candies were made into bouquets at the top and near the edges of the display. S. H. Kress closed their store on Broadway in 1972. (Photo for Martin Candy Inc., Edmonds, Washington)

S.H. Kress & Co. (Tacoma); Window displays--Tacoma--1940-1950; Candy--Tacoma--1940-1950; Valentines; Variety stores--Tacoma;

Tacoma Drug Company, interior and exterior of new offices, Tacoma Drug Co., Fred Osmers. The interior of the offices of the wholesale drug company. A view from the back of the common office area shows the entry to the building on one of the exterior corners. The entry way has been walled with glass-block to let available light into the offices. Conduits in the floor made it possible to install power, telephone, or inter-communication outlets at 30 inch intervals. (TNT, 2/15/1949, p.A-14)

Tacoma Drug Co. (Tacoma); Business enterprises--Tacoma--1940-1950; Offices--Tacoma--1940-1950; Office furniture; Office equipment & supplies;

This photograph of the Tacoma Drug Company warehouse at 1815 East D Street on Tacoma's tideflats was taken in February of 1949 shortly after the warehouse was completed; the vast area is crowded with a multitude of tables and boxes, including Bayer and Bromo Seltzer products. The Tacoma Drug Company was founded in 1925 by Chis F. Osmers. By 1949 the company had become one of the largest distributors of pharmaceutical products on the Pacific Coast. Their warehouse incorporated the latest technology so that orders could be filled quickly and efficiently. In 1951, under the corporate leadership of Fred C. Osmers, Tacoma Drug became part of the Northwest Drug Company; in 1984 the company was sold to Pay n' Save.

Tacoma Drug Co. (Tacoma); Medicines; Warehouses--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Tacoma Drug Company, interior and exterior of new offices, Tacoma Drug Co., Fred Osmers. The interior of the warehouse at the wholesale drug company showing the open shelving used to store the products handled by the company. The company carried 21,000 items from 1,260 manufacturers. (TNT, 2/15/1949, p.A-14)

Tacoma Drug Co. (Tacoma); Medicines; Warehouses--Tacoma--1940-1950; Business enterprises--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Tacoma Drug Company, interior and exterior of new offices, Tacoma Drug Co., Fred Osmers. The wholesale drug company had completed a new warehouse and offices on the Tacoma tideflats. This view shows the counter with continuous rollers that runs from the back of the warehouse to the front where shipping an order was handled.

Tacoma Drug Co. (Tacoma); Medicines; Warehouses--Tacoma--1940-1950; Business enterprises--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Tacoma Drug Company, interior and exterior of new offices, Tacoma Drug Co., Fred Osmers. The wholesale drug company had completed a new warehouse and offices on the Tacoma tideflats.The interior of one of the individual offices at the new facility. A bank of windows lines the outside wall and the windows are wired for an alarm system. A sign on the desk reminds everyone to "Think". The desk has stacked in and out bins. A copy of the current City Directory sits on the work table together with other books, a lamp and a calculator.

Tacoma Drug Co. (Tacoma); Medicines; Business enterprises--Tacoma--1940-1950; Offices--Tacoma--1940-1950; Office furniture; Office equipment & supplies;

Tacoma Drug Company, interior and exterior of new offices, Tacoma Drug Co., Fred Osmers. A night-time view of the wholesale drug company warehouse and offices on the Tacoma tideflats. Glass-block was used as walls for the entry to the offices at Tacoma Drug. Large windows run in both directions from the corner entry. The alarm system wiring on the windows creates an interesting pattern.

Tacoma Drug Co. (Tacoma); Medicines; Warehouses--Tacoma--1940-1950; Business enterprises--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Studio set-up of model, Peoples Store, Mrs. Ehrlich. A model is seen from the back wearing a street-length coat with a yoke and full sleeves with broad cuffs. She is holding a purse and gloves. She is also wearing nylon stockings with seams in the back and sling-back pumps. Coats similar to this one were on sale at Peoples for $22.00 during February 1949.

Peoples (Tacoma); Coats; Fashion models--Tacoma--1940-1950; Clothing & dress--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Tacoma Drug Company, interior and exterior of new offices, Tacoma Drug Co., Fred Osmers. The interior of the offices of the wholesale drug company showing their modern inventory and invoicing equipment housed in a sound-proofed room. The company used a punch card tabulating system for perpetual inventory control and preprinting invoices. This was the latest in equipment of its type and Tacoma Drug was the first drug firm in the northwest to employ this system. (TNT, 2/15/1949, p.A-14)

Tacoma Drug Co. (Tacoma); Medicines; Business enterprises--Tacoma--1940-1950; Offices--Tacoma--1940-1950; Office furniture; Office equipment & supplies;

Tacoma Drug Company, interior and exterior of new offices, Tacoma Drug Co., Fred Osmers. The wholesale drug company had completed a new warehouse and offices on the Tacoma tideflats. This view of the interior of the offices shows two rows of desks running to the back of the large room. Individual offices with windows into the common area are on the left. The desks had space for telephone order taking, buyers and clerks. (TNT, 2/15/1949, P.A-14)

Tacoma Drug Co. (Tacoma); Medicines; Business enterprises--Tacoma--1940-1950; Offices--Tacoma--1940-1950; Office furniture; Office equipment & supplies;

Rebuilding Ford engine at Titus Motor, Times, Buzz. A man is operating one of the machines at Titus Manufacturing Company. During the past summer at least four motors a day were reconditioned at the facility. (T.Times, 2/20/1949, p.3)

Titus Manufacturing Co. (Tacoma); Gasoline engines; Vehicle maintenance & repair--Tacoma--1940-1950; Mechanics (Persons)--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Mystery Farm Winner, Mrs. O.H. Stevenson, Times, Frank Herbert. Mrs. O.H. Stevenson was the happy winner of the Tacoma Sunday Times "farm identification" contest. She is seen here accepting a cyprus azureum plant from L.H. McGuire, superintendent of Puget Sound Nursery and Garden Shop at 9201 Pacific Avenue. Mrs. Stevenson chose the plant from 10 acres of stock maintained at the nursery, known as "where you see the little house". The Stevensons had a 20 acre farm on Route 9, Orchard Road, where they raised some young stock and had laying hens. (T.Times, 2/13/1949, p.18)

Tacoma Times Publishing Co. (Tacoma); Puget Sound Nursery & Garden Shop (Tacoma); Contests; McGuire, L.H.;

Tribune, Panhellinic Luncheon, Top of the Ocean, Mrs. Hosmer.The Panhellenic Conference held a luncheon at the Top of the Ocean followed by bridge. The conference was attended by 300 guests. Three women are seen leaving the Top of the Ocean. (T.Times, 2/16/1949, p.6)

Top of the Ocean (Tacoma); Restaurants--Tacoma--1940-1950; Tacoma Panhellenic Conference (Tacoma); Fraternities & sororities--Tacoma--1940-1950; Clubwomen--Tacoma--1940-1950;

S.L. Savidge Company, Dodge and Plymouth Dealers at 9th and Lenora in Seattle. A view of the service area showing automobile lift racks, several late 1940's Dodge automobiles being serviced, and a banner for a clearance sale on Philco Auto Radios and Seat Covers.

Automobile dealerships--Seattle; Dodge automobile; S.L. Savidge Co. (Seattle); Vehicle maintenance & repair--Seattle;

This photograph of journalism students from Stadium High School was taken in February of 1949 in front of the Tacoma Times building at 919 Market Street. The Stadium High students assisted in all the departments to help get out the five daily editions of the Times. Stadium, Lincoln, Clover Park and Ballarmine each had an opportunity to have their journalism students work at the newspaper office during the spring. The students names are listed in the newspaper. (T.Times, 2/2/1949, p.1) TPL-10470

Tacoma Times Publishing Co. (Tacoma); Stadium High School (Tacoma); Teenagers--Tacoma--1940-1950; Students--Tacoma--1940-1950; Publishing industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Journalism--Tacoma;

Rebuilding Ford engine at Titus Motor, Times, Buzz. Two men are shown rebuilding Ford engines at the Titus Manufacturing Company. The plant was one of two in the northwest which Ford Motor Company had authorized to recondition Ford motors. Skilled mechanics put new life in old motors restoring them to factory-new shape. (T.Times, 2/20/1949, p.3)

Titus Manufacturing Co. (Tacoma); Gasoline engines; Vehicle maintenance & repair--Tacoma--1940-1950; Mechanics (Persons)--Tacoma--1940-1950;

S.L. Savidge Company, Dodge and Plymouth Dealers at 9th and Lenora in Seattle. A view of the service area showing automobile lift racks, several late 1940's Dodge automobiles being serviced, overhead hoses, roll-away tool box and other equipment along the wall.

Automobile dealerships--Seattle; Dodge automobile; S.L. Savidge Co. (Seattle); Vehicle maintenance & repair--Seattle;

Winthrop Motor Company, Plymouth and De Soto dealers. View through agency windows, crowd admiring 1949 De Soto as salesman discusses its features. Neon signs in windows, advertising signs and banners and TV-like slide viewer in showroom. The 1949 Plymouths had a longer, 118", wheelbase, and a lower center of gravity. The body and frame were 23% more rigid and easier to park because of less overhang. Fenders flowed into the body but they were separate and detachable. (T.Times, 3/17,1949, p.17) TPL-9282

Automobile dealerships--Tacoma--1940-1950; Plymouth automobile; DeSoto automobile; Winthrop Motor Co. (Tacoma); Electric signs--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Crowd at Selden's Rug Show, Selden's, Mrs. Selden. Selden's took part in the nationwide rug fashion show held in early March 1949. The carpet fashion show coincided with Selden's 9th anniversary. Two members of the staff hold a rug sample board and drapery fabric on the right.

Selden's, Inc. (Tacoma); Rugs;

Crowd at Selden's Rug Show, Selden's, Mrs. Selden. An organist plays while a member of Selden's staff shows rug and drapery samples to a crowd at Selden's rug show. Large rolls of carpeting hang against the far wall.

Selden's, Inc. (Tacoma); Rugs;

Mrs. Longstreth Curtis and four children, (l to r) Carolyn Ketring, Nancy Long, Jay Smalling and Penny Long, gaze in wonder and admiration at the "Snow Maiden" created by Tacoma sculptor Andrew Bergaloff in February of 1949. Mr. Bergaloff, a student of Kenn Glenn at the College of Puget Sound, had been hired by the Tacoma Junior League to chisel an ice statue to be used for a children's theater production of the Grimm story "The Snow Maiden." He created the statue in a zero degree room at the Tacoma Ice Company building at 2602 Holgate. The ice maiden was kept in storage until March when she was transported to the Temple Theater for unveiling. (T.Times, 2/20/1949, p.25) TPL-9389

Tacoma Ice Co. (Tacoma); Bergaloff, Andrew; Ice sculpture--Tacoma--1940-1950; Junior League (Tacoma); Curtis, Longstreth--Family; Ketring, Carolyn; Long, Nancy; Smalling, Jay; Long, Penny;

Selden's interior of model kitchen, Selden's, Mr. Plat. Selden's displayed a model kitchen showing all that was modern in post-war America at the end of the 1940s. An electric range and refrigerator stand side-by-side. Cupboards with a shiny, bright, white surface line two wals.

Selden's, Inc. (Tacoma); Kitchens--Tacoma--1940-1950; Stoves--Tacoma--1940-1950; Appliances; Refrigerators;

Seldens Rug Display, Times Display Ads, Dick Tilton. Walter Kelly, the rug buyer at Selden's, is showing customers the newest carpet fashions. Selden's had been specializing in floor coverings for years and had made extensive plans for celebrating the first annual National Carpet Fashion Week opening Marcn 1, 1949. (T.Times, 2/27/1949, p.6)

Selden's, Inc. (Tacoma); Rugs; Merchandise displays--Tacoma--1940-1950; Showrooms--Tacoma--1940-1950; Furniture stores--Tacoma--1940-1950; Home furnishings stores--Tacoma--1940-1950; Kelly, Walter;

Ted Grunden, Tacoma's singing barber, locks the door of his barber shop in the Olympus Hotel with the tools of his trade held under his arm. After working 19 years at the same spot he relocated to the Riviera Barber Shop down the street at 908 Pacific Avenue. The Olympus Hotel was expanding their present tavern into a cocktail lounge. Ted Gunden had been the unofficial barber for the Tacoma Times employees for many of those 19 years. Taken for Prescott, Tacoma Times. (T.Times, 2/27/1949, p.36) TLP-6386

Olympus Hotel (Tacoma); Hotels--Tacoma--1940-1950; Gunden, Ted; Barbers--Tacoma; Barbershops--Tacoma;

Industrial edition, Banks, Times, Buzz. A view of the exterior of the National Bank of Washington. The building, designed by Sutton, Whitney and Dugan architects, was built of Wilkeson sandstone in 1921. The building became the home of the Tacoma Art Museum in May 1971 and contained the Dr. Lester S. Baskin Hall, Sara Little Center for Design Research, Helen B. Murray Gallery. TPL-9203

National Bank of Washington (Tacoma); Banks--Tacoma; Tacoma Art Museum (Tacoma); Business districts--Tacoma;

Industrial edition, Banks, Times, Buzz. A view of the exterior of the Pacific 1st Federal. Merchants National Bank had stood at this location from 1890. The name of the building was changed to the Equitable Building in 1898. In 1922 it became the home of the Pacific Savings and Loan Association and the name was changed again in 1939 to become Pacific First Federal Savings and Loan Association. The appearance of the building changed significantly when the cornice, damaged in the 1949 earthquake, had to come down.

Pacific First Federal Savings & Loan Association (Tacoma); Banks--Tacoma; Business districts--Tacoma;

Comus Club dance at Winthrop Hotel, circus theme, Tribune, Mrs. Hosmer. The Comus Club held their February dance, the "Comus Circus," at the Hotel Winthrop February 19, 1949. The welcoming committee is seen at the main entrance to the dance party, L-R, Ethelyn and Joseph Baker, Al and Florence Kemp, Mr. and Mrs. Roscoe Miller, Mr. and Mrs. Harold Peters, and James A. and Verona J. Melbostad. (TNT, 2/27/1949, p.D-1)

Hotel Winthrop (Tacoma); Comus Club (Tacoma); Clubs--Tacoma--1940-1950; Dance parties--Tacoma--1940-1950; Clothing & dress--Tacoma--1940-1950; Baker, Joseph; Baker, Ethelyn; Kemp, Al; Kemp, Florence; Miller, Roscoe; Peters, Harold;

Comus Club dance at Winthrop Hotel, circus theme, Tribune, Mrs. Hosmer. The Comus Club held their February dance, the "Comus Circus," at the Hotel Winthrop February 19, 1949. Choosing favors at the circus table are, L-R, Erma Otto, Elmer H. Otto, William Webber, and Ann B. Webber. (TNT, 2/27/1949, p.D-1)

Hotel Winthrop (Tacoma); Comus Club (Tacoma); Clubs--Tacoma--1940-1950; Dance parties--Tacoma--1940-1950; Clothing & dress--Tacoma--1940-1950; Otto, Erma; Otto, Elmer H.; Webber, William; Webber, Ann B.;

Pickup trucks delivering small drums, Griffin Fuel Company, Otto Salverson. Heavy trucks were banned on county oil mat or gravel roads because of poor road conditions after winter damage. To provide needed fuel oil Griffin Fuel Company brought out an emergency "thaw" service with a fleet of pickup trucks served by tanker trucks stationed at strategic points to deliver oil to rural homes cut off by the ban.Two Griffin employees are placing a large drum in the back of a panel truck. (T.Times, 2/20/1949, p.36) TPL-9844

Griffin Fuel Co. (Tacoma)--Employees; Trucks--Tacoma--1940-1950; Streets--Tacoma--1940-1950;