ca. 1979. The skyline in 1979 was adorned with the ornate turrets of the Samson Hotel, 1152-56 Fawcett Ave. It was built in 1889 and designed by F.A. Sexton, architect. The Hotel was converted to apartments in 1928. After several fires, the building was demolished in 1989. The site, in 2007, is a vacant lot.
ca. 1979. View of lower Pacific Ave., 1300 block, in 1979. On the left is the Tacoma Magazine Center, specializing in adult material, at 1346 Pacific. On the right is the J& M Tavern at 1344 Pacific. Both businesses were located in the Cogswell & Meath Building built in 1908; Darmer & Cutting, Architects. The building was demolished around 1986 in a attempt to clean up lower Pacific Ave.
Building deterioration--Tacoma--1970-1980; Tacoma Magazine Center (Tacoma); J & M Tavern (Tacoma);
ca. 1979. View of lower Pacific Ave., 1300 block, in 1979. On the left is the Tacoma Magazine Center, specializing in adult material, at 1346 Pacific. On the right is the J& M Tavern at 1344 Pacific. Both businesses were located in the Cogswell & Meath Building built in 1908; Darmer & Cutting, Architects. The building was demolished around 1986 in a attempt to clean up lower Pacific Ave.
Building deterioration--Tacoma--1970-1980; Tacoma Magazine Center (Tacoma); J & M Tavern (Tacoma);
ca. 1979. Door padlocked; pop art poster of Mick Jagger on door window, partial street number 1?07. Chairs sit on the tables inside, seen through glass windows.
ca. 1928. "Robert" - portrait photo of young child, circa 1928, wearing a polka-dotted jersey with a large collar shirt. In 1930 Haffer received her first national exposure when this photograph of "Robert" was reproduced by the American Annual of Photography. (A Turbulent Lens: The Photographic Art of Virna Haffer, p. 106)
ca. 1935. "Untitled" (Newell Griffith) - portrait of person's (Newell Griffith) head split with mirror, circa 1935. (A Turbulent Lens: The Photographic Art of Virna Haffer, p. 74)
ca. 1928. "Man in Derby" - portrait of person (Ralph Rosenberg) in derby hat and dark suit holding a lit cigarette, circa 1928. Haffer would use this photograph as a basis for a print, made from wood or linoleum blocks in 1929. (A Turbulent Lens: The Photographic Art of Virna Haffer, p. 95)
ca. 1933. "Onya la Tour" - portrait of person gazing upward. Dangling hoop earrings are in contrast with long dark hair. According to the book "A Turbulent Lens: The Photographic Art of Virna Haffer," title of a bas relief print which featured the same person was "Onya Latoor." It was possibly photographed in California. (A Turbulent Lens: The Photographic Art of Virna Haffer, p. 80)
ca. 1930. "Study -Kay Harshberger" - portrait of person with head distorted, circa 1930. According to "A Turbulent Lens: The Photographic Art of Virna Haffer," this work was also titled Caricature. The distorted image was created in the darkroom by rotating the horizontal printing frame slightly on its vertical axis. (A Turbulent Lens: The Photographic Art of Virna Haffer, p.19)
ca. 1930. "Isabel Morrison, Dancing Teacher" - circa 1930 portrait of person in kimono standing against a vertically striped wall with Chinese or Japanese characters written on it. According to the book "A Turbulent Lens: The Photographic Art of Virna haffer," Isabel Keith Morrison was a dancer and taught dance in Tacoma during the 1920s. She later moved to Los Angeles where she continued teaching and dancing in regional productions. (A Turbulent Lens: The Photographic Art of Virna haffer, p. 110; p. 20)
"Elizabeth Sale" - portrait of person with drawn castle in background, only head and hands are visible. Elizabeth ("Bettie") Sale was a poet who collaborated with Virna Haffer to produce a book incorporating her poetry along with photographic illlustrations by Haffer. "Abundant Wild Oats" was never published although a prototype was made. (A Turbulent Lens: The Photographic Art of Virna Haffer, p. 116-information on Bettie Sale and "Abundant Wild Oats.")
"Arrangement of Bamboo Leaves and New Shoots" - photogram. Photograms are created in a camera-less process using shadows that appear by placing objects between light-sensitive paper and a light source.
"The Unknown" - photogram. Probably created during the 1960s when Virna Haffer transitioned to camera-less photographic processes, particularly photograms. (Virna Haffer Collection)
Brightly lit head of man with deep dark-set eyes and black background. Area below the sharply etched cheekbones is in darkness. Forehead and nose area highlighted. (Virna Haffer Collection)
ca. 1929. Digitized for use by Frye Museum/jg. This is entitled "Kwei Dun" and was a bromoil print which resembled a painting. This is believed to be a portrait of Chinese finger painter Kwei Dun who arrived in Seattle in 1924 to study art and architecture at the University of Washington. (Virna Haffer Collection) (Bullock: A Turbulent Lens, p. 107)
U.S.O. #2, 713-15 Commerce St., circa 1946. During World War II, although black and white soldiers fought side by side, the United States Army was still segregated. In Tacoma, African American service men and women had their own USO Club at 713-15 Commerce. It was dedicated on September 4, 1942 and closed late in March of 1947. The Kaufman-Wolff building where it was located had previously housed the Soldiers and Sailors Clubhouse during World War I. USO #2 was enlarged in 1944 by adding an annex in the building to the north of the original club. The enlarged structure provided the following facilities: dark room, music room, hobby room, game room, showers, sleeping accommodations, library and snack bar. It was operated by the YMCA and staffed primarily by volunteers. (brochure from Recognition Ceremony USO Number Two on 3/30/1947; photograph by F.L. Powell of Tacoma).
On October 22, 1945, this group of unidentified individuals were photographed seated around a table after what appears to be a dinner at the USO #2, 713-15 Commerce St. (photograph by F.L. Powell of Tacoma)