In March of 1952 an unidentified man was photographed tearing off an entry blank for the $20,000 "Room-for-Improvement" contest sponsored by the Douglas Fir Plywood Association. Contestants could win up to $4,000 by filling out an official entry form. Each contestant had to explain what remodeling project he wanted to complete and why plywood would be the best material to use. To win, the entry had to include both a written description of the project and before and after draws. The highest prize of $3,000, with a possible bonus of $1,000, was for the best plan to "Add-a-Room." Every contestant received an official entry form and a folder of home improvement ideas - all using plywood.
Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Tacoma); Contests--Tacoma;
ca. 1920. Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, Engine #10252. Copy of Asahel Curtis print #51601 requested by the Washington State Historical Society on April 1, 1977. The electric powered train may have been departing/arriving at the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Tacoma location. The Washington State Historical Society has 60,000 Curtis images in its collection.
Railroad locomotives; Railroads; Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad Co.;
ca. 1920. Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad, Engine #10253. This is an Asahel Curtis print, #46216, which was requested copied by the Washington State Historical Society on April 1, 1977. Three men are standing next to the electric powered engine, spaced far apart, with the man in the foreground seemingly prepared to give the "go ahead" signal. Photographer Curtis documented industry in Washington State as well as historic events and geographic features. He was based in Seattle and worked there until his death in 1941. 60,000 of his images are held in trust by the Washington State Historical Society. (www.wshs.org/wshm/online-exhibits/curtis/exhibitb.htm)
Railroad locomotives; Railroad cars; Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad Co.; Railroads;
Ship under construction at Tacoma Boatbuilding in late summer of 1968. Tacoma Boatbuilding had suffered a devastating fire on August 17, 1968, with more than $2,000,000 in damages. Two Navy gunboats and the primary ship assembly plant were destroyed in the three-alarm fire. The company vowed to rebound from the loss and work did continue on undamaged vessels by the end of August. (TNT 8-17-68, p. 1, TNT 8-18-68, p. 1) TPL-9132
Boat & ship industry--Tacoma--1960-1970; Tacoma Boat Building Co., Inc. (Tacoma);
Wharf scene on Commencement Bay, terminus of the Northern Pacific Railroad, Tacoma, Washington Territory. Photograph was taken circa 1885. Masted ships are docked waiting to unload/load cargo.
View looking south of the Northern Pacific Railroad track along Commencement Bay, Tacoma, Washington Territory, circa 1885. Sidewheeler steamship North Pacific at dock. The Northern Pacific wharf lay below today's Stadium Way and would serve, according to historian Murray Morgan, as a "third world between Old Tacoma and New Tacoma." (Morgan: South on the Sound, p. 48-49) KING-001, TPL-018.
ca. 1931. Two men in the quality control lab at Tacoma Grain Company do chemical tests on the flour being produced. A bag of Centennial silk-sfted flour sits on the lab bench.
ca. 1931. Testing bakery at the Tacoma Grain Company. A woman hold a fresh loaf of bread as she stands next to a testing oven. There is a line of seven loaves of bread on the shelf behind her. A bag of Centennial Silk-Sifted Flour is prominently displayed on the shelf next to the oven.
ca. 1931. A line of men employees work at the flour bagging machines at the Tacoma Grain Company. A supervisor in white shirt, vest and tie oversees their work. The machines are used to fill a number of different bags. Bags are marked "Centennial - Silk Sifted - Family Flour"; "Cross Spears - Wong Sui Yuen"; and "Seattle - 100% Entire Whole Wheat Flour".
ca. 1931. A male employee at the Tacoma Grain Company holds a large filter that is used in the nearby grain sifter. This photograph was taken circa 1931.
ca. 1931. Copy of the architect's watercolor rendering for the remodeling of the building at 105-07 E. 26th St., Tacoma for the Northwest Brewing Company. The watercolor is labeled - R.H. Ullrich, Brewery Engineer
ca. 1930. View of Pier No. 1 and the waterfront of Seattle - looking toward the city from the water. Buildings in photograph include: Luckenbach Steamship Co. Inc. on Pier No. 1, and the L. C. Smith Tower in the background. To the right is the Pacific Steamship Co. (building labeled Pier A.)
Luckenbach Steamship Co. Inc. (Seattle); Pacific Steamship Co. (Seattle); Smith Tower (Seattle); Port of Seattle (Seattle);
ca. 1906. Tacoma smelter smokestack. At the time of its completion in 1905, this was the largest concrete chimney in the world. It was located on the grounds of the American Smelting & Refining Co. (ASARCO) plant in Ruston. It would be superceded by the 571-foot smokestack completed in 1917. (Tacoma New Herald Annual NWR 917.97 T119N 1906)
American Smelting & Refining Co. (Tacoma); Smelters--Tacoma; Industrial facilities--Tacoma; Smokestacks--Tacoma;
ca. 1893. Tacoma smelter. This photograph of the Tacoma Smelting & Refining Co. (previously named the Ryan Smelter) was taken for the New England Magazine and published in their February, 1893, issue. The smelter was owned by prominent businessman William R. Rust who had purchased it four years before. The smelter was originally built to produce lead but in a few short years, would become a major supplier of copper. A comparison of an earlier view of the smelter, taken circa 1888, now shows a completed pier on the right and an additional large building on the property. In 1905 the American Smelting & Refining Co. (ASARCO) bought the company and it remained an important part of Tacoma's economy until its closure in 1985. (New England Magazine - February, 1893 p.800) (Scan of original print - no negative or print on file)
American Smelting & Refining Co. (Tacoma); Smelters--Tacoma; Industrial facilities--Tacoma;
ca. 1893. Tacoma smelter. This photograph of the Tacoma Smelting & Refining Co. (previously named the Ryan Smelter) was taken for the New England Magazine and published in their February, 1893, issue. The smelter was owned by prominent businessman William R. Rust who had purchased it four years before. The smelter was originally built to produce lead but in a few short years, would become a major supplier of copper. A comparison of an earlier view of the smelter, taken circa 1888, now shows a completed pier on the right and an additional large building on the property. In 1905 the American Smelting & Refining Co. (ASARCO) bought the company and it remained an important part of Tacoma's economy until its closure in 1985. (New England Magazine - February, 1893 p.800) (See Rutter, image 01, for view of smelter circa 1888)
American Smelting & Refining Co. (Tacoma); Smelters--Tacoma; Industrial facilities--Tacoma;
ca. 1900. Pacific Brewing & Malting Co. operations circa 1900 with the Malt House, Bottling department and Main plant clearly visible. By 1900 Pacific Brewing & Malting Co. was considered the best brew house on the North Coast. The company was in continuous building mode from 1891 through 1916 with stockhouse, cooling plant, stable and warehouse as some of the additions. They manufactured Tacoma and Pacific beer brands and by 1909 was the second largest brewing company in the state with output of 200,000 barrels of beer per year. Prohibition caused the plant to shut down in 1916. Pacific Brewing & Malting Co. has been added to the City and National registers.
ca. 1905. This drydock is believed to be the Dockton drydock on Vashon Island circa 1905. It was the only drydock in the south Puget Sound at that time for large boats. See TPL 1007 for another view of the drydock.
ca. 1888. In this photograph from 1888, over a half-dozen ships crowd up to the dock of a lumber yard in Tacoma to take on lumber. The dock shown is probably the Tacoma Mill Company dock which was located on the waterfront by present day Old Tacoma, close to the Jack Hyde Park at the south end of Ruston Way. TPL-8608
ca. 1888. Eight loggers pose with two large sections of logs that are sitting on a flat-bed railroad car. On the side of the railroad car are the words - W. F. McKay, Tacoma, Wash. T. One of the logs is larger in diameter then the out stretched arm of one of the loggers. Two loggers hold a long hand saw. The Puget Sound Directory for 1888 lists a William F. McKay as a logger.
