Home of "Wonder Bread"; the Wonder Bakery at 703 S. Sprague. Continental opened its Wonder Bread Bakery here in 1934.

Continental Baking Co. (Tacoma); Bakeries--Tacoma--1930-1940;

Continental Bakery Co., 703 So. Sprague, home of Wonder Bread, in June of 1939. Exterior shot of front and north side of Sprague Street. The structure was built in 1913 for Matthaei Bread Co. It was occupied by Continental Baking Co. and their Wonder Bread Bakery beginning in 1934. (filed with Argentum)

Continental Baking Co. (Tacoma); Bakeries--Tacoma--1930-1940;

Continental Bakery employees in Western clothes and wearing Jubilee hats posed in front of bakery and two Wonder Bread trucks with sign "Picnic Days Are Here Again." A large sign on top of the roof proudly proclaims Continental as the "Home of Wonder Bread."

Washington State Golden Jubilee, 1939--Tacoma; Continental Baking Co. (Tacoma); Trucks--Tacoma--1930-1940;

Model Bakery trucks photographed for International Harvester in February of 1939. The delivery trucks have signs advertising the bakery's Star Loaf bread. (filed with Argentum)

Model Bakery (Tacoma)--Associated objects; Trucks--Tacoma--1930-1940;

Model Bakery's new truck in front of Olympic Ice Cream Store. Publicity for Titus Motor Company.

Business Enterprises - Food Industry - Bakers - Model Bakery Confectionaries - Olympic Ice Cream Store Truck Dealers - Ford Dealers - Titus Motor Company

In December of 1949, the Jordan Baking Company at 5233 So. Washington St., received recognition by the Quality Bakers of America for their high quality bread. Joe Kehoe (center), the Pacific Coast representative of Quality Bakers of America holds the silver trophy that Jordan's was awarded for "The Best Loaf of Bread". Arthur K. Jordan, owner of the Jordan Baking Company, is on the right. W.J. Casteel, the company sales manager, is on the left and Anthony J. Tosic, superintendent, is standing. (TNT, 1/10/1950, p.8)

Jordan Baking Co. (Tacoma); Bakeries--Tacoma--1940-1950; Bread--Tacoma; Awards; Jordan, Arthur K.; Kehoe, Joe; Casteel, W.J.; Tosic, Anthony J.;

The interior of the Federal Bakery. The Federal Bakery was located at 1107 So. K St. (now Martin Luther King Jr. Way) and owned by Mrs. Esther M. MacPherson. Mrs. MacPherson and an unidentified man stand behind a dazzling display of baked goods. The bakery had belonged in the MacPherson family since 1889 when Donald MacPherson built the original "Sunrise Bakery." It was demolished in 1923 to make way for this modern bakery building, called the Federal Bakery. Wallace & Esther MacPherson ran the bakery for many years and were an important component of the K Street shopping district, one of the largest neighborhood shopping areas. This building, along with others, was demolished in 1998 to make way for a new Rite Aid store. TPL-8121

Federal Bakery (Tacoma); Bakeries--Tacoma;

Jordan Baking Company banquet at the Winthrop Hotel. The bakery was introducing a new and improved loaf of bread, "Sunbeam Bread". The new trademark showed a little blonde girl eating a slice of bread and butter. "Sunbeam Bread was an achievement of many years experimentation to produce a truly superior loaf of bread," according to Arthur K. Jordan, owner of the bakery. The new wrapper design was executed in a light blue and white with a floral border and a picture of the girl eating a slice of bread and butter. Arthur K. Jordan is seated in the middle of the front row wearing a lei. (TNT, 3/6/1952, p.16)

Jordan Baking Co. (Tacoma); Bakeries--Tacoma--1950-1960; Jordan, Arthur K.; Hotel Winthrop (Tacoma);

Tacoma Bread Co.'s main product appeared to be their Kream Krust Bread. It was heavily advertised on both the wholesale bakery's building and on their fleet of delivery trucks. Employees of Tacoma Bread stand proudly alongside the neatly aligned row of trucks on a foggy August, 1954, morning. The company was owned and operated by the Manthou family, with Mrs. Irene Manthou listed as president-treasurer in the 1954 City Directory. They had been at their (then) Center St. location for over 20 years. Begun as a small one-man shop by owner Chris Manthou, Tacoma Bread had expanded to a 37-employee bakery by 1954. It was Tacoma's oldest bakery. (TNT 8-30-54, p. 9) TPL-9774

Tacoma Bread Co. (Tacoma); Bakeries--Tacoma--1950-1960; Trucks--Tacoma--1950-1960; Signs (Notices);

Dark clouds drift over the Continental Baking Co.'s plant on August 27, 1958. The Romanesque brick buildings had arched doorways and windows. Built in 1913, it had undergone several remodelings since then, including a new addition built in 1958. Continental Baking was the home of Wonder Bread and a large banner with the brand name and familiar polka dotted wrapping was wrapped around a rooftop tower. The newly remodeled bakery now had 40,000 square feet and the capacity of 90,000 loaves of bread a day. Approximately 100 people were employed at the Wonder Bread bakery which was the oldest major bakery in Tacoma to be operated continuously by one concern. It was celebrating its 30th anniversary in Tacoma under the Continental Bakery ownership. Photograph ordered by Continental Baking Co. (TNT 9-7-58, B-2)

Continental Baking Co. (Tacoma); Bakeries--Tacoma--1950-1960; Facades--Tacoma--1950-1960; Signs (Notices);

Buchan's Baking Co. employees stand beneath a newly erected sign mounted on the exterior of the bakery's brick building on South 38th & Yakima Ave. Buchan's heavily advertised their "Bonnie Good Bread Baked in Tacoma" in its familiar tartan wrapping. It was white enriched bread. These men pictured on October 11, 1958, were in all likelihood part of the Buchan's delivery staff. They are neatly dressed in dark uniforms with bowties and white shirts. The man on the extreme right, front row, is probably Alan G. Buchan, bakery owner. Photograph ordered by Buchan's Baking Co.

Buchan's Baking Co. (Tacoma); Bakeries--Tacoma--1950-1960; Signs (Notices);

Buchan's Baking Co. had recently erected a new sign on their brick building at South 38th & Yakima Ave. Twenty-two men assembled beneath the sign on October 11, 1958, for a group portrait. All the employees, with the exception of the man on the extreme right first row, wore neat uniforms, white shirts and bowties. Each uniform had the company name on a label above a chest pocket. The suited man may have been Alan Buchan, company owner. Buchan's had a large fleet of delivery trucks; it is likely that these men were the bakery's drivers. Photograph ordered by Buchan's Baking Co.

Buchan's Baking Co. (Tacoma); Bakeries--Tacoma--1950-1960; Signs (Notices);

Employees of the U.S. Bakery posed alongside their fleet of delivery trucks in April of 1923. The bakery had just signed a contract with Sutherland Co., Inc., to operate their trucks only on General Tires. They chose to limit tires only to the General brand despite the fact they had never used them before. Good reports by others on the tires prompted them to do so. The United States Bakery was located at So. I St. and Center St. from 1921 to 1930. Chris Manthou, with partners John Kokotos and John Efandis, operated the wholesale bakery. Manthou remained as president when the Tacoma Bread Company took over operations in 1931. The building was demolished during urban renewal, about 1967. G33.1-010; TPL-909 (Tacoma Sunday Ledger, 5-6-23, C-7)

United States Bakery (Tacoma); Bakeries--Tacoma--1920-1930; Trucks--Tacoma--1920-1930; Tires;

ca. 1907. This building at 3636 E. "H" Street (now McKinley Avenue) was built by William J. Goellner and was the home of the McKinley Park Bakery from 1906 through 1914. Mr. Goellner also lived at this location. In 1915, he had moved his bakery to Pacific Ave, although his home was still listed at this address. By 1917, he had moved his home to North 25th Street. Mr. Goellner died June 27, 1942 in Sumner at the age of 64. He had been a resident of Tacoma for 53 years. He was the owner of the Northwestern Bakery and operated a chain of retail stores. He was survived only by his sisters. (TNT 7/14/1942, pg. 13; Tacoma City Directory)

McKinley Park Bakery (Tacoma); Goellner, William John; Bakeries--Tacoma--1900-1910;

According to Richards Studio notes: "Tacoma Bread Co. truck which was involved on Mountain Highway accident." Photograph ordered by Charles A. Peterson, lawyer. Delivery truck with Manthou's Kream Krust Bread logo parked in front of three bay garage. Tacoma Bread Co.'s main product appeared to be their Kream Krust Bread. The bakery was located at 2836-38 So. I St. It was owned and operated by the Manthou family. (filed with Argentum)

Tacoma Bread Co. (Tacoma); Bakeries--Tacoma--1940-1950; Trucks--Tacoma--1940-1950;

View of Rhodes Department Store Building, Fredrick Heath and A.J. Russell, Architects, 1903. View from across street, pedestrians and traffic in foreground. Publicity for three day sale.

Business Enterprises - Department Stores - Tacoma - Rhodes Brothers

ca. 1924. Tacoma Biscuit and Candy Company. Boxes of Skookum, Graham, and Snowflake crackers. The company was located at the corner of East F and 25th. Charles Hotchkiss was the president and J.G. Bassett was the manager. (WSHS)

Tacoma Biscuit & Candy Co. (Tacoma); Crackers;

Group at Continental Baking Company, M. Hook. The wholesale bakery was first built as Matthaei Bread Company in 1913. Continental took over the location in 1934. W.E. Taylor served as manager of the bakery. Nineteen employees stand together on the steps of the bakery. A sign advertising Wonder Bread is on the door behind them.

Continental Baking Co. (Tacoma); Bakeries--Tacoma--1940-1950; Employees--Tacoma--1940-1950;

In December of 1950, Arthur K. Jordan (left) and an unidentified baker proudly watched another gentleman taste their freshly toasted bread. In 1950, the Jordan Baking Company won the "First Prize for Quality" in the Better Bread contest staged by the Quality Bakers of America. The competition featured bread baked by over 100 bakeries nationwide. Mr. Jordan began his bakery in 1937 when he purchased the Bert Nichols plant in Old Tacoma and opened it under the Jordan name with six employees and one delivery truck. The bakery quickly outgrew this location and in 1939 moved to 5233 S. Washington St., formerly home to the DuLac Auto Body Co. By 1950, the company employed 131 people in Tacoma with a payroll of a half million a year. In 1952, they introduced their most famous product, Sunbeam Bread, with its mascot, the blond cherub Little Miss Sunbeam. Ordered by Jordan Baking Company.

Jordan Baking Co. (Tacoma); Bakeries--Tacoma--1940-1950; Bread--Tacoma; Jordan, Arthur K.;

A young employee, pencil behind his ear, carefully inserts loaves of bread into cardboard boxes at the Jordan Baking Company. A Slice Master machine stands ready to slice the freshly baked bread while additional loaves are waiting on nearby racks. According to the 1951 City Directory, the wholesale bakery was located at 5233 South Washington and owned by Arthur K. Jordan. Photograph commissioned by Container Corporation of Seattle.

Jordan Baking Co. (Tacoma); Bread--Tacoma; Bakeries--Tacoma--1950-1960; Business enterprises--Tacoma;

Interior exposure of conveyor belt equipment at Jordan Bakery Co. Pictured is a large and mostly empty room with conveyor equipment between metal shelves with racks holding bakery goods. Jordan, long known for the excellence of their bread, launched a new product in 1952 "Sunbeam Bread," soon to become the lunchtime favorite of baby boomers.

Jordan Baking Co. (Tacoma); Bakeries--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Continental scenes. Since 1928 Continental Baking Co., bakers of Wonder Bread and Hostess Cakes, have been baking Wonder Bread products at their bakery at 701 S. Sprague Ave. Continental has been producing Tacoma products for Tacoma residents in one of the most modern bakeries in the Northwest. There is an oven with a capacity of over 3,500 loaves per hour, a new proof box and other equipment to give the plant a capacity of 90,000 loaves a day. Employees number 95, with an annual payroll of nearly a million dollars. The bakery operates 45 vehicles, distributing as far south as Olympia, Centralia and Chehalis. (TNT 09-01-1961 B5)

Continental Baking Co. (Tacoma); Bakeries--Tacoma--1950-1960; Baking--Tacoma; Bread--Tacoma;

The days when fresh bread had to be wrapped by hand were apparently gone by the 1950's. Continental Baking Co. used modern equipment to efficiently wrap the multitude of baked goods it produced daily. Loaves of bread enter a wrapping machine and emerge on a roller completely wrapped in the familiar polka dotted Wonder Bread design. View of wrapping machines taken on August 27, 1958; one man is placing wrapped loaves of bread onto racks. There are several racks completely filled with Wonder Bread while others wait on a table to be shelved. Photograph ordered by Continental Baking Co.

Continental Baking Co. (Tacoma); Bakeries--Tacoma--1950-1960; Baking--Tacoma; Bread; Machinery;

The Continental Baking Company, makers of Wonder Bread, would be celebrating its 30th anniversary with a series of photographs taken by the Richards Studio showing a typical day at Continental. Here an employee, wearing a Hostess Cake cap, is measuring bread dough prior to baking. He is using a Toledo Speedweigh scale for precise weight. Once weighed, the bread dough would be placed in separate trays in preparation for baking. The bakery would be holding an open house in early September, 1958, to allow the public to see the new addition built to their Sprague Ave. property. Photograph ordered by Continental Baking Co.

Continental Baking Co. (Tacoma); Bread--Tacoma; Baking--Tacoma; Scales;

Jordan's Baking Co. at 54th and So. Washington. The bakery was celebrating its 23rd business birthday in 1959. Jordan's began in 1936 in Old Tacoma with 3 employees and one delivery truck. They moved in 1939 to this location in South Tacoma. In 1959, Jordan's employed 110 persons with a payroll exceeding $600,000 annually. Their number 1 product was Jordan's white bread. (TNT 4/7/1959, pg. C-20)

Jordan's Baking Co. (Tacoma); Bakeries--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Mother's Day in 1931 was rapidly approaching as the Federal Bakery, 1107 So. "K" St. (now Martin Luther King Jr. Way) showcased a mouthwatering display of Betty Crocker's "Mothers' Day" cakes. The cakes sold for as low as 65 cents apiece. Photograph ordered by Sperry Flour.

Federal Bakery (Tacoma); Bakeries--Tacoma--1930-1940; Cakes--Tacoma--1930-1940; Window displays--Tacoma--1930-1940;

The Tacoma Mall Thriftway supermarket had its grand opening on October 13,1965. The store was decorated throughout with wooden panels and murals that, through color and design, imitated Pacific Northwest Indian art motifs without reproducing actual design elements from any particular tribe. In the Bakery Department, shelves offered a variety of freshly baked goods and apparently offered wedding cakes as well since a variety of bride-and-groom ornaments were displayed. The supermarket became part of the Lucky's chain in the early 1970's and was converted later into the Mall's food court. (Photograph ordered by Associated Grocers.) (TNT 10-12-65, C-8, C-9 Ad, C-13)

Bakeries--Tacoma--1960-1970; Baked products--Tacoma; Supermarkets--Tacoma--1960-1970; Tacoma Mall Thriftway (Tacoma); Merchandise displays--Tacoma--1960-1970;

Continental Baking Co. had been in Tacoma for decades and used the most up-to-date methods and equipment for their baked goods. Known widely for their Wonder Bread, the bakery turned out thousands of loaves on a daily basis. Bakery employees are pictured here on August 27, 1958, placing loaves in the massive new 40 foot long oven for baking and then putting the finished products on large racks. The bread emerges from the ovens and then is cooled. Other new equipment purchased were a new proof box, divider, slicing and wrapping machines. The men all wear caps to keep stray hairs from contaminating the bread. Approximately 100 local residents worked at the bakery. It would be celebrating its 30th anniversary here in Tacoma as part of Continental Baking Co. Sepia photograph ordered by Continental Baking Co. (TNT 9-7-58, B-2)

Continental Baking Co. (Tacoma); Bakeries--Tacoma--1950-1960; Baking--Tacoma;

Group at Continental Baking Co., M. Hook. Vincent Hook was the chief clerk at Continental at this time. A policeman and one of the men from Continental Baking Co. stand near a sign advertising Wonder Bread with a Multi-band radio.

Continental Baking Co. (Tacoma); Bakeries--Tacoma--1940-1950; Employees--Tacoma--1940-1950; Police--Tacoma--1940-1950; Radios;

The unidentified staff of the Oven Sweet Bake Shop, 8221 So. Tacoma Way, Lakewood, stand behind display cases containing fresh-baked pies, cookies, doughnuts, rolls and heart-shaped cakes. The bakery opened for business in February of 1948. The heart-shaped floral stand at the back of the shop has a ribbon wishing, "Success". The owner of the bakery may have been Mr. Filigini. The bakery only remained in business for about one year.

Oven Sweet Bakery (Tacoma); Bakeries--Tacoma--1940-1950; Sales personnel--Tacoma--1940-1950; Cakes--Tacoma--1940-1950; Cookies--Tacoma; Doughnuts; Pies; Merchandise displays--Tacoma--1940-1950; Showcases;