Bethlehem Pacific Coast Steel, steel in railroad boxcars being loaded onto Foss tugs. The current service extends to Ward Cove, 8 miles north of Ketchikan, and site of the $47,000,000 construction project by Ketchikan Pulp & Paper Co. The eight 53 ft. cars, containing steel primarily, will be emptied at Ward Cove and returned to Tacoma. The Foss 250 can carry twenty 40 foot cars on her four sets of tracks and bulk tanks have been built in the barge hull to carry 1,000 tons of caustic soda north for paper plant production. The one way trip to Ward Cove takes 3 1/2 - 4 days. (TNT 7/5/1953, pg. B-3)
Bulk feed is being poured into plywood storage units at the Ken Bergman Poultry farm on May 13, 1953. The feed is being delivered by the Washington Co-op Farmers Association using their Diamond T double-tank truck. Washington Co-op Farmers was able to provide home delivery of bulk feed to its members, as well as other bulk deliveries such as petroleum and gasoline. Bulk deliveries could then be stored in appropriate facilities until needed by the customer. Photograph ordered by Tom Sias, Douglas Fir Plywood Association.
Washington Cooperative Farmers Association (Tacoma); Storage tanks; Plywood; Shipping; Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Tacoma);
Louis Weir gets pampered like a king on Father's Day by his entire family at their Midland home in this photograph from 1953. The older boys are busy painting the house and mowing the lawn while the younger children give Dad's shoes a sparkling shine and offer a cigar. A nice cup of tea and snack are gracefully offered as well. Mr. Weir had just relocated his appliance and heating store to the 84th and Portland Avenue area the month before. He appears to be enjoying all the extra attention from his four boys and four girls as he relaxes outdoors. Sepia photograph ordered by the News Tribune for a Father's Day layout. (TNT 6-21-53, D-5)
Well-drilling. L.R. Gaudio's well-drilling company is shown in the process of drilling new wells at the Tacoma Utilities building site in June, 1953. Dredging and pumping equipment is already on hand and work apparently commenced. Two wells, 95' and 215', had been dug to supply ground water for heating and cooling the new Tacoma Public Utility Building. The Washington Pump & Drilling company was one of several firms in the area that handled the digging and drilling for new wells. (TNT 6-17-53, A-1)
Wells--Tacoma; Equipment; Machinery; Washington Pump & Drilling Co. (Tacoma);
A long fleet of Ford and Chevrolet trucks stands ready to go outside the Columbia Breweries plant in May, 1953. They would be used to deliver very popular brands Columbia Ale and Heidelberg beer to waiting customers. Columbia Breweries, after much expansion, would be the largest brewery north of San Francisco and west of Milwaukee. In July, 1953, it would change its name to Heidelberg Brewing Co. and be purchased by Carling Brewery in 1959. After being a Tacoma fixture since 1900, it would finally close its doors in 1979. TPL-9289
Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Heidelberg Brewing Co. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Trucks--Tacoma--1950-1960;
Pastor Louis Kephart ministers to his congregation at the new Who So Ever Will Come chapel on Pacific Avenue in June, 1953. The small storefront church appears packed with parishioners during the mid-afternoon service. Entire families, dressed in Sunday best, attentively listen to Rev. Kephart. This was the opening service at the church's new Pacific Avenue location. According to an advertisement in the June 6, 1953, News Tribune, the church believed and preached divine healing. They invited all to attend a Holy Ghost revival featuring evangelist R. James Vaughn on the evening of June 7th. (TNT 6-6-53, p. 7 - Ad)
Churches--Tacoma--1950-1960; Who So Ever Will Come (Tacoma); Kephart, Louis;
Exterior Fred Fines residence. Large picture windows of this Brookdale home took full advantage of the outdoors in May, 1953. Fred Fines' residence was built by Yost Construction Co. The large contemporary rambler appears to have been built basically of brick with a detached two-car garage nearby. It seems to have been situated on a large, grass-filled lot. Photograph ordered by Yost Construction Co.
Fines, Fred--Homes & haunts; Houses--Parkland--1950-1960; Yost Construction Co. (Tacoma);
This contemporary ranch style home blends perfectly with its wooded setting in a photograph taken on May 19, 1953. Tall trees would provide shade during the hot summer months and help to blunt winter's cold winds. The nicely landscaped yard could be easily viewed by the large picture windows. A long, wide curved driveway might indicate additional parking beyond the large garage. The home was apparently built by Wallace H. Potucek Construction Co.
Houses--1950-1960; Wallace H. Potucek Construction Co. (Tacoma);
The A.E. Berger Construction Co. built this lovely brick rambler in Lakewood. There was a long concrete driveway to the one-car attached garage. The home at 8403 Bridgeport Way was situated on a large wooded lot and landscaped nicely with planted shrubs and flowers. Massive trees would have provided much shade during summer months. By 1958, the Tacoma Suburban Directory would show Leonard R. and Myrtle Rigby as owners of this attractive home. Mr. Rigby was listed as a gardener at Western State Hospital. Photograph ordered by A.E. Berger. (TNT 3-19-57, C-6)
Houses--Lakewood--1950-1960; A.E. Berger Construction Co. (Tacoma);
A young couple enjoy the spacious living room of their new Mountlake Terrace home in June, 1953. Mountlake Terrace was close enough to Seattle for an easy commute and far enough away to enjoy large tree-lined lots and suburban amenities. A large rug covers most of the darker linoleum flooring and blends well with the living room's modernistic furniture. A fire is roaring in the brick fireplace; a crouching black ceramic panther and candelabra are positioned on the mantel while books and a radio lie on the attached bookcase. Photograph ordered by Phares Advertising.
Houses--Mountlake Terrace--1950-1960; Living rooms--Mountlake Terrace--1950-1960; Fireplaces--Mountlake Terrace--1950-1960;
Exterior of "Skyliner" new home. The Arizona sandstone and wood two-story home was designed and built by the Miller Construction Co. and opened its doors to the public for viewing on June 6-7, 1953. The residence, located just inside Skyline Terrace, was designed specifically to provide maximum view of the Narrows and the Narrows Bridge from all living areas. Edward Miller, owner of Miller Construction, indicated that he was combining all the best ideas of building construction in this area. Many amenities would be included such as automatic garage door opener, an intercom system, three bathrooms with ventilator fans, cedar-lined wardrobes and a multitude of built-ins--TV's, radios, electric range & grill, and even toothbrush holders. Photograph ordered by Llewellyn Advertising Agency. (TNT 6-5-53, p. 6)
Houses--Tacoma--1950-1960; Miller Construction Co., Inc. (Tacoma);
Lyon Van and Storage trucks are shown here on June 10, 1953, unloading furniture cartons at Warehouse #46 on Fort Lewis grounds. There are numerous wooden crates waiting to be deposited at the warehouse. It appears that Lyon's motto was "Let Lyon Guard Your Goods;" it is lettered onto a delivery truck along with a painting of a majestic lion. According to the 1953 City Directory, the company was located at 109 S. 15th and managed by Orville C. Carlson.
A large gathering of the Pierce County Practical Nurses Association met at the Woman's Club House on May 14, 1953. The Woman's Club House was located at 426 Broadway and was the former residence of Isaac Anderson; it had previously been occupied by the University Club. The practical nurses listened to a speech by Dr. Scott Jones. The superintendents of nurses for several hospitals, including Northern Pacific, Washington Minor, Pierce County, and Mountain View Sanatorium, and the president of the State Association of Practical Nurses were among the dignitaries present. Mrs. Justine Palmer, president of the local association, was the mistress of ceremonies. Photograph ordered by Louise McMillan. (TNT 5-10-53, D-10)
Meetings--Tacoma--1950-1960; Nurses--Tacoma--1950-1960; Tacoma Woman's Club House (Tacoma);
The Pierce County Practical Nurses Association met at the Woman's Club House on May 14, 1953, and enjoyed a delicious banquet. Spring flowers and lighted blue tapers decorated the tables. Dr. Scott Jones was the principal speaker that evening. Honored guests included the superintendents of nurses for several local hospitals and the president of the State Association of Practical Nurses. The gathering occurred in the historic former residence of Isaac Anderson, built in 1890, and formerly occupied by the University Club. Photograph ordered by Louise McMillan. (TNT 5-10-53, D-10)
Meetings--Tacoma--1950-1960; Nurses--Tacoma--1950-1960; Tacoma Woman's Club House (Tacoma); Banquets--Tacoma--1950-1960;
Ostruske-Murphy, Inc. were the contractors for the Trade Secrets home being built for the 1953 Tacoma Home Show. The home was located at 1312 (North) Skyline Drive, overlooking the Narrows Bridge. Construction appears to be nearly completed on the model home with only a portion of the covered patio yet to be done. Large windows would permit viewing patio activities from within the home. The patio would be fenced for privacy from neighbors and the street, using a California style design. A contemporary styled rambler with vertical redwood siding, the home had a carport, open on both ends, with a long cement driveway. It was planned to be a practical easy-to-build house. Photograph ordered by Don Murphy. (TNT 5-19-53, B-4)
Ostruske-Murphy, Inc. (Tacoma); Model houses--Tacoma; Building construction--Tacoma--1950-1960; Houses--Tacoma--1950-1960;
Aerial view of American Smelting & Refining Co.'s (ASARCO) smokestack, smelter plant and surrounding area. ASARCO occupied a large area near Point Defiance and contributed greatly to Tacoma's economy in the fifties. As we know now, the by products of the smelting process were highly toxic, and qualified this area as a Superfund clean up area. TPL-9290
American Smelting & Refining Co. (Tacoma); Smelters--Tacoma--1950-1960; Copper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;
Weisfield's Jewelers, exterior exposure of the entire store front. This six story brick building was built in 1890 and designed by Pickles & Sutton, architects. Its original tenant was the Holmes and Bull Furniture Co., followed by the Orpheum Theatre, a vaudeville house, in 1904. In 1906, the Theatre closed and the building was remodeled into offices and called the J.J. Roberts Building. Various stores occupied the building including S.A. Andrews Co.(in 1920) and Pessemier's Bootery (in 1936.) The building was modernized in 1938 and occupied by Weisfield and Goldberg Jewelers. The store front was altered again in 1941, under the direction of Pearson & Richards, architects.
Department stores--Tacoma; Window displays; Home furnishings stores--Tacoma; Merchandise displays--Tacoma; Weisfield's, Inc. (Tacoma); Jewelry stores--Tacoma--1950-1960;
Downtown Seattle. Aerial view of the Alaskan Way Viaduct, waterfront and skyline of Seattle. Ferries are docked and also returning to the terminal. A large ship with sails and a commercial vessel can also be seen docked at the piers. Prominent in the skyline is the point of the Smith Tower, once the tallest building in the west. The Viaduct, an elevated two level roadway along the waterfront, was built in 1951. It was designed to offer smooth sailing for motorists who wished to avoid the traffic of downtown Seattle. In 2001, it is undergoing extensive testing and retrofitting for earthquake safety. TPL-6194
Bethlehem Pacific Coast Steel Corp. A variety of bars and structural shapes are rolled on the 12 inch and 8 inch finishing mills. The hot steel is looped by hand from one set of rolls to the next, until it is rolled to finished size and shape. Three finishing mills at the Seattle plant turn out bars and structural shapes in hundreds of different sizes and shapes. Hot steel billets are fed directly into these mills were grooved rolls transform them into angles, channels, I-beams, rounds, squares, flats, strip, reinforcing bars and special sections. ("Bethlehem Coast Steel, in the Northwest" - brochure)
Engine Build Up building at Fairchild Air Force Base, Spokane, Wa. Ordered by Smith & Murray, consulting engineers. The warehouse type building is empty with steel rafters supporting the ceiling.
Fairchild Air Force Base (Spokane); Air bases--Washington; Building construction--Spokane--1950-1960;
Safeway store fire at 82nd & Pacific. The Safeway store sustained $260,000 in fire damage during an early morning fire on 7/7/1953. The Pacific Ave. wall of the store caved in completely. One firefighter collapsed at the site, and went to the hospital where he was reported in "satisfactory" condition. The fire was initially attributed to a faulty public address system or a forgotten cigarette. In a strange turn of events, the fire equipment had been there twelve hours before responding to an incinerator blaze. (TNT 7/7/1953, pg. 1)
Safeway Stores, Inc. (Tacoma); Grocery Stores--Tacoma--1950-1960; Fires--Tacoma--1950-1960;
Safeway store fire at 82nd & Pacific. Fire broke out at approximately 4:45 a.m. on 7/7/1953 at the Safeway store. Station 10 was the first to respond. Before the fire was under control, Fire Chief Harold Fisk was personally directing the fire fighting force of 6 engine companies, the city rescue unit and 2 hook & ladder companies. The fire fight was aided by daylight conditions and the low number of sightseers at this early hour, but hampered by low water pressure in Fern Hill district fire hydrants. (TNT 7/7/1953, pg. 1)
Safeway Stores, Inc. (Tacoma); Grocery Stores--Tacoma--1950-1960; Fires--Tacoma--1950-1960;
St. Paul and Tacoma Lumber Company milled lumber used by 20th Century Construction Company in building DeLong School. View from off-site of building under construction with rough framing and roof beams in place.
St. Paul and Tacoma Lumber Company milled lumber used by 20th Century Construction Company in building DeLong School. Interior view of office building or house. Plan for school on panel; signs leaning against wall describing concrete subfloors.
Several young women in matching dresses, possibly the Daffodil Festival princesses, pose in April of 1946 with arms full of sunshine yellow daffodils in the famed Puyallup Valley fields. Hills and the snow covered peak of Mount Rainier fill the background. The King Alfred Daffodil almost singlehandedly saved the agricultural economy of the Puyallup Valley after a virus decimated the hops crop in the mid twenties. TPL-8251 (see D2512-3 for original photograph; mountain ranges and Mount Rainier superimposed onto original photograph in 1953)
Daffodils--Puyallup; Meadows--Puyallup; Girls--Puyallup--1930-1940; Rainier, Mount (Wash.);
ca. 1953. Window display at Selden's of home appliances, including Siegler oil heaters and floor furnaces. Also displayed are Bendix Economats (clothes washing machines) and, in the left hand window, paint. Sydney C. Selden Sr. was the president of Selden's. The company sold, in addition to household appliances, linoleum, shades, carpets, rugs, venetian blinds, televisions, draperies and had an interior decorator service. They had been at this five story facility since 1942.
Furnaces--Tacoma--1950-1960; Appliances; Home furnishings stores--Tacoma; Storefronts--Tacoma; Selden's, Inc. (Tacoma); Washing machines; Paints & varnishes;
Love Electric Co. Ordered by Smith & Murray, Consulting Engineers. This new location for Love Electric opened in 1953. The company was a wholesale supplier of electrical products and appliances. This new location offered 25,000 square feet of floor space for merchandising.
First Presbyterian Church and approximately 300 children attending the 1953 Vacation Bible School. Vacation Bible School was sponsored by area churches during a week in the summer to give children a chance to study the scriptures during their free time, and for parents to keep their children busy during the long summer days. For many baby boomers, summer brings fond memories of Vacation Bible School - memorizing Bible verses, singing songs, making Biblical characters out of clothespins and having snacks of cookies and Koolaid.
Presbyterian churches--Tacoma; Christianity--Tacoma--1950-1960; First Presbyterian Church (Tacoma); School children--Tacoma--1950-1960; Christian vacation schools--1950-1960;
Lowell Elementary School. Ordered by Smith & Murray, consulting engineers. William D. Smith and Clyde E. Murray were construction engineers and maintained an office at the Perkins Bldg. Ste. 238. This building replaced the Lowell school at 1210 No. Yakima destroyed in the 1949 earthquake. Lowell students attended Grant, Bryant or Jason Lee until the new school opened in November of 1950. The school is named after James Russell Lowell, American poet and diplomat.
Smith & Murray (Tacoma); Building construction--Tacoma--1950-1960; Lowell Elementary School (Tacoma)--Buildings; Public schools--Tacoma--1950-1960;
Washington Coop Farmers Association, a truck carrying bulk feeds being filled directly from the feed mill. Built on 8 1/2 acres on the Hylebos Waterway, the feed mill was one of the most modern structures in the country. The Coop used both trucks and railroads to move its product across the country .
Washington Cooperative Farmers Association (Tacoma); Grain elevators--Tacoma; Shipping--Tacoma--1950-1960; Trucks--Tacoma--1950-1960;
