North Coast Service Garages on Cliff Ave., behind W. P. Fuller Co. (1117-1123 A St.), photographed in May of 1931. The ramp to the 11th Street Bridge can be seen in the background. Bowen # 310-207

This was how Tacoma Field, the Pierce County airport, located south of the city near Lakeview (now Lakewood), looked in May of 1931. View of a flat expanse of land with a hanger, some small outbuildings and several planes. Photograph taken for the Tacoma News Tribune on the first day of a three day dedication program. Bowen # 310-209

Organized by Tom Savas, the First Annual Greek-American Picnic was held at Sylvan Lodge on Fox Island, May 17, 1931. Originally built by Ed Wines as a modest bungalow, the structure grew over time until it was large enough to accomodate a large number of boarders. Originally named Sylvan-Glen, the small community on Fox Island, just 4 miles from Tacoma's west side by water, became Sylvan in 1892 when the U.S. Postal Service opened an office there.

Sylvan Lodge (Fox Island); Greek Americans--Tacoma; Ethnic groups--Tacoma--1930-1940;

Tom Sava's First Annual Greek-American Picnic at Sylvan Lodge on Fox Island. (Argentum)

Sylvan Lodge (Fox Island); Ethnic groups--Fox Island--1930-1940;

Organized by Tom Savas, the First Annual Greek-American Picnic was held at Sylvan Lodge on Fox Island, May 17, 1931. Originally built by Ed Wines as a modest bungalow, the structure grew over time until it was large enough to accomodate a large number of boarders. Originally named Sylvan-Glen, the small community on Fox Island, just 4 miles from Tacoma's west side by water, became Sylvan in 1892 when the U.S. Postal Service opened an office there.

Sylvan Lodge (Fox Island); Ethnic groups--Fox Island--1930-1940

Crown Drug Co. The Crown Drug Co. was a longtime tenant in the Pacific Savings & Loan Association building located at 1102-04 Pacific Avenue. The building was formerly known as the Equitable Building and the lower portion modernized in 1931. BU-11001

Crown Drugs (Tacoma); Drugstores--Tacoma--1930-1940; Pacific Savings & Loan Association (Tacoma); Banks--Tacoma; Equitable Building (Tacoma);

Model Maid Bread/Fletts Ice Cream display at the 1931 Home Products Show. The Armory was filled with exhibit booths showcasing locally made or sold goods. One of the displays was Model Maid Bread along with Fletts Ice Cream. Attendees could purchase a generous serving of Fletts ice cream and a slice of Model Maid cake for a mere dime. Model Maid cakes could be purchased for as little as 30 cents and they were guaranteed fresh. Model Maid had 18 delicious varieties of bread. The next booth to the right featured the Younglove Grocery with its Rock Dell pancake flour and syrup. G34.1-147

Exhibitions--Tacoma--1930-1940; Exhibit booths--Tacoma; Merchandise displays--Tacoma--1930-1940; Cakes--Tacoma--1930-1940; Bread--Tacoma--1930-1940; Dairy products; State Armory (Tacoma);

As an added attraction at the 1931 Home Products Show, a public wedding was held on May 22, 1931. Grace McCollum and Noel Carreau were the first couple to volunteer to wed in front of a large attentive audience at the State Armory. The Independent Merchants Association, sponsors of the exhibition, paid for the wedding expenses including the marriage license, wedding clothing, flowers, and gifts. C.F. Mason, president of the association, even gave the bride away. The new Mrs. Carreau was dressed in an early summer gown of white chiffon and white hat and was attended by Mrs. Flora Niccoli. Cecilia Coleman was the flower girl with Albert Morris as best man. The marriage was solemnized by Justice Blanche Funk Miller. G32.1-014 (TDL 5-23-31, p. 12-article)

Weddings--Tacoma--1930-1940; Brides--1930-1940; Grooms (Weddings); McCollum, Grace; Carreau, Noel; Niccoli, Flora; Coleman, Cecilia; Morris, Albert; Wedding attendants--Tacoma; Wedding clothing & dress--1930-1940; State Armory (Tacoma);

Walkathon participants pose for a group portrait on May 25, 1931. Two nurses stand by. Several women are wearing pants in this photograph - a rare sight at this time when newspapers still showcased women's dresses for daily wear. G25.1-043

Walking; Community service; Nurses;

This is how the intersection of McKinley Ave. and 54th St. appeared in May of 1931. The photograph was taken for court evidence. G60.1-160

Streets--Tacoma--1930-1940;

Stately Douglas fir photographed at Mountain View cemetery on May 30, 1931. This is a sight that would greet visitors on Memorial Day. All 3000-4000 graves at the cemetery would be provided with flowers in commemoration of the event. Mountain View was one of the first cemeteries in America planned with no monuments above ground, thereby providing a park-like setting. It was started in 1915 by the Thompson family. (T.Times 5-29-31, p. 3-article)

Firs; Trees--Lakewood; Mountain View Memorial Park (Lakewood); Cemeteries--Lakewood;

Landscaping kept this imposing Douglas fir in place at the Mountain View cemetery in Lakewood. Drivers had to steer around the massive tree in 1931. May 30th in 1931 was celebrated as Memorial Day. The public was invited to visit the burial park where all the graves, some 3000-4000 in number, would be decorated with flowers. Mountain View Memorial Park was estabished in 1915 as one of the first cemeteries in America with no above-ground monuments. It truly fit the "park" in its name. (T.Times 5-29-31, p. 3-article)

Firs; Trees--Lakewood; Mountain View Memorial Park (Lakewood); Cemeteries--Lakewood;

Tacoma Elks motion picture. Man and woman holding a piece of paper and standing in front of Elks casting office. Sign in window "Now Casting Tacoma Elks Own Motion Picture." The Elks had signed the Peptimist Motion Picture Corp. of Hollywood to make a motion picture comedy drama woven around the industrial life and scenic beauties of Tacoma. The script called for a cast of 500 Tacoma men, women and children, with the two lead female roles to be salaried. The cast selection was to be announced on June 27; the picture was to be completed in about two months.(TNT 6/2/1931, pg. 16; TDL 6/14/1931, pg. 10-E; TNT 6/4/1931, pg. 13)

Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Tacoma Lodge No. 174 (Tacoma); Motion picture production & direction--Tacoma--1930-1940; Motion picture industry--1930-1940;

An unidentified Tacoma motorcycle patrolman operates the camera while cameraman L.A. Tatom, in white knickers and sweater, selects the best angle. Director L. Jack Sherry crouches by a 1931 Buick eight automobile directing the action, involving three motorcycle patrolmen holding two cuties aloft. In 1931, the Tacoma Elks commissioned a motion picture comedy/drama about Tacoma to be made by the Peptimist Motion Picture Corporation of Hollywood. This staged production photograph was taken in the Stadium Bowl. Patrolmen appearing in the film were officers Bill Cordell, Edwin Janassen, Bob Marshall and George Johnson. The two female stars were Hollywood actresses Helen White and Bebe Lee. (TNT 6/2/1931, PG. 16; TDL 6/14/1931, pg. 10-E; TNT 6/4/1931, pg. 13)

Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Tacoma Lodge No. 174 (Tacoma); Motion picture production & direction--Tacoma--1930-1940; Motion picture industry--1930-1940; Motion picture cameras--1930-1940;

House at 3403 No. 18th Street, Tacoma. The home was built in 1926 on a corner lot by James McMullen, builder. Photo taken for R.E. Mahaffey & Co. realtors. Photo used in Tacoma Daily Ledger 06-07-1931 D-1, when the home was for sale.

Houses--Tacoma--1930-1940;

Washington School 4th grade girls posed in front of the school in June of 1931. The girls are all attired alike in white blouses, dark shorts and berets. They wear what may be tap or dance shoes. The three in the front are in a dance pose. (Argentum)

School children--Tacoma--1930-1940; Public schools--Tacoma--1930-1940; Washington School (Tacoma);

Washington School 6A Class in June of 1931. Building designed by Frederick Heath, Architect, 1906. The historic northend school was named after George Washington. The woman on the right is believed to be Mrs. Jennie French, principal from 1926-41. (Argentum)

School children--Tacoma--1930-1940; Public schools--Tacoma--1930-1940; Washington School (Tacoma);

Tacoma Elks motion picture crew beside an automobile at Stadium Bowl. The Elks had signed the Peptimist Motion Picture Corporation of Hollywood to create a motion picture comedy drama woven around the industrial life and scenic attractions of Tacoma. The completed picture would be shown a gala frolic June 27, 1931 at the Elks Convention. A casting call went out for 500 men, women and children to be in the picture with the two main female starring roles receiving a salary. Cameraman L. A. Tatom, dressed in bright white knickers and sweater with plaid socks, operates a motion picture camera capturing the scene of motorcycle patrolmen and two women in suits and pumps posed on a 1931 model Buick eight automobile labeled the "official motion picture car" and supplied courtesy of Mueller-Harkins Buick. Posed on the vehicle are director L. Jack Sherry, officers Bill Cordell, Bob Marshall, George Johnson and Edwin Janassen, and actresses Helen White and Bebe Lee. Miss White was an established Hollywood star while Miss Lee was a Tacoma native starting out in the talkies. (TDL 6/14/1931, pg. E-10)

Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Tacoma Lodge No. 174 (Tacoma); Motion picture production & direction--Tacoma--1930-1940; Tatom, L.A.; Sherry, L. Jack; Cordell, Bill; Mashall, Bob; Johnson, George; Janassen, Edwin; White, Helen; Lee, Bebe;

Tacoma Elks Motion Picture. Four men in police uniforms with motorcycles at Stadium Bowl, two with women on them. Sign in front "Now Casting Tacoma Elks Own Motion Picture." The Elks were casting a motion picture comedy drama about Tacoma, to be filmed by the Peptimist Motion Picture Corp. and shown at the Elks Convention at the end of June. Officers in the picture are Bill Cordell, Edwin Janassen, Bob Marshall and George Johnson. Actresses are Helen White and Bebe Lee. (TDL 6/14/1931, pg. 10-E; TNT 6/2/1931, pg. 16; TNT 6/4/1931, pg. 13)

Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Tacoma Lodge No. 174 (Tacoma); Motion picture production & direction--Tacoma--1930-1940; Motion picture industry--1930-1940; Motorcycles--1930-1940; Police--Tacoma--1930-1940;

Members of the Yamamoto family posed in front of their residence on June 7, 1931. Gentleman with the glasses and is Mr. Kichigiro "Kay" Yamamoto and to his right his wife, Masae. Children from left to right: Margaret, Edit, Katherine, George and Ray. Source: Sullivan, Michael "Legacy, part 3" Tacoma History Live Blog, July 31, 2019.

Several members of the Yamamoto family posed for a group portrait on June 7, 1931 on the front steps of Mr. Kichigiro "Kay" Yamamoto's house at 3220 54th Ave E in Fife. Mr. Yamamoto in the light colored suit wearing spectacles right behind what appear to be a bride and groom. His wife, Masae, in the second row far left. Their children in the front row from left to right: Ray, Katherine, Margaret, George and Edith. Source: Sullivan, Michael "Legacy, part 3" Tacoma History Live Blog, July 31, 2019.

Tacoma Ice Co., 2602 So. Holgate St.; photograph taken from Delin Street across the gulch in June of 1931. The plant was built in 1923, designed by A.W. Sterrett, and is on the City Registry. The ice plant was the first portion built in 1923 for $250,000. It had the capacity to produce 100 tons of ice daily and used 40 miles of piping. The cold storage warehouse was completed in 1925 for $90,000. Photograph ordered by the York Ice Machinery Co. of Seattle. Bowen # 310-230

Scenery around Chambers Creek and Lake Steilacoom, as viewed on June 14, 1931. Bowen # 310-232

Scenery at Chambers Creek and Lake Steilacoom, as photographed on June 14, 1931. There is a wide path or roadway next to the placid waters. Bowen # 310-233.

Scenery at Chambers Creek and Lake Steilacoom, taken in June of 1931. Bowen # 310-231

City Refuse Department office in Tacoma's Old City Hall. Three women and three men are working in the office. Flowers decorate the office desks, and a calander from the Tacoma Savings & Loan Association hangs on the back wall. The "Spanish steps", next to the Elks Building, can be seen through the window.

City Refuse Department (Tacoma); Refuse disposal--Tacoma--1930-1940

View of the Nisqually Flats taken from a hillside on June 19, 1931. Railroad tracks are directly below. The Nisqually Flats are basically the tidelands which are exposed when water is low and lie at the mouth of the Nisqually River. This photograph was taken for court evidence. G77.1-120

Nisqually Flats (Wash.); Railroad tracks; Nisqually River (Wash.);

A group of men and women golfers gathered in front of the clubhouse at the new Highland Golf Course on the course's first day of play, June 20, 1931. The public course, located at North 13th and Pearl Streets, was so named because the land it occupied was some of the highest in the city; the clubhouse presented a commanding view from its verandas. The 18 hole course offered velvety greens and tricky fairways. Its well-equipped, modern clubhouse offered the accommodations of a private club - yet it was open to the public. 18 holes cost $0.50. (TDL 6/19/1931 p.8)

Golf--Tacoma--1930-1940; Highland Golf Course (Tacoma)

A golfer, sleeves rolled up and wearing traditional knickers, tees off on opening day at Tacoma's newest golf course. It was the first day of golf at the Highland Golf Course. A well dressed crowd watches and waits its turn.

Golf--Tacoma--1930-1940; Golfers--Tacoma--1930-1940; Highland Golf Course (Tacoma);

Fisher's Department Store, 1104 Broadway. Crowd outside Fisher's store in June of 1931. Vaudeville act in window. Girls in costume, with trumpets, standing on marquee of store. Photo for Fox Broadway Theater. Bowen # 310-240a