On August 22, 1934, several men standing on the roof of the Jones Building (now known as the Pantages) craned their necks to watch the airship Macon fly over the downtown skyline. Thousands lined the streets and rooftops of buildings to watch the dirigible make a wide circle over the city around 8 a.m. Construction of the dirigible cost the US two and a half million dollars. Tacoma was also visited by airships Shenandoah in 1924 and Akron in 1932. The Macon was lost over the Pacific Ocean offshore of Point Sur Feb. 12, 1935. (T. Times 8/22/1934, pg. 1)

Airships--Tacoma; Jones Building (Tacoma); Historic buildings--Tacoma;

The ghostly USS Macon, a dirigible, flew over the Jones Building (now known as the Pantages) in downtown Tacoma on August 22, 1934. The eerie airship was almost disguised by the clouds. Thousands of spectators lined the streets and rooftops of buildings to watch the dirigible make a wide circle over the city around 8 a.m. The Daily Ledger called the airship "a great silver fish of the skies." The Macon was lost over the waters of the Pacific Ocean offshore from Point Sur on February 12, 1935. (T. Times 8/22/1934, pg. 1)

Airships--Tacoma; Jones Building (Tacoma); Historic buildings--Tacoma;

A Beachcraft T-34, owned by the McChord Flying Club, is being wheeled into a T-shaped hangar at the South Tacoma Airport on September 9, 1958. An unidentified man in a checkered shirt and cap is maneuvering the airplane by a wing while Frank Bly is pushing with his hands on the propeller. Another parked aircraft can be glimpsed in the adjacent hangar space. Mr. Bly would build a hangar at the South Tacoma Airport in the late '50s. He would use the hanger to restore and keep his 1931 Stinson W. Photograph ordered by Douglas Fir Plywood Association. (Additional information provided by readers)

Airplanes--Tacoma--1950-1960; Hangars--Tacoma; Bly, Frank; Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Tacoma);

Tacoma Chamber of Commerce. Large group of people in front of and on ramp to inside of airplane. This photograph is possibly connected to the inaugural direct flight of Pacific Northern Airlines from Portland, Seattle and Tacoma to Anchorage, Alaska in October of 1951. It took the DC-4 flagliner 7.5 hours of non-stop flying from Boeing Field to get to Elmendorf Field in Anchorage. Chamber of Commerce presidents from Seattle, Portland and Tacoma were among the dignitaries participating in the event. (TNT 10-4-1951, A-8-article on flight only)

Airplanes;

ca. 1950. Copy of customer print. Two airmen, backs to the camera, grip the wing of an Air Force jet in an undated photograph. The plane is a F-102A fighter intercepter. Each serviceman is wearing a flight jacket with a "318th F15" label on the back, along with the same Mach Wave emblem shown on the tail of the plane. The logo consisted of two overlapped chevrons, suggesting space age theme. These men may have been assigned to the 318th Fighter Interceptor Squadron at McChord Air Force Base. The photograph was possibly part of a set produced by the Public Relations Office when the 318th was upgrading their aircraft from the F-94c two seat fighters to the pictured version. The F-102A fighters were later assigned to the 57th Fighter Group 64th FIS, Paine Field. They were assigned to the Philippine Islands for support during the Vietnam War. Photograph ordered by Munson-Smith Motors. Copy of print was made on March 25, 1957. (information on the fighter and emblem supplied by patron)

Airplanes; Military air pilots;

ca. 1950. Copy of customer print. Six Air Force personnel, three of them pilots, pose in front of three jets in an undated photograph. The pilots are equipped with parachutes and holding helmets. These men are probably assigned to the 318th Fighter Interceptor Squadron. The actual date of the original print is unknown; a print was made on March 25, 1957. Photograph ordered by Munson-Smith Motors.

Airplanes; Military air pilots;

Copy of customer print. A man appears to be studying plans on perhaps how to complete the body of the aircraft behind him. The fuselage is not finished although windows have been positioned. The plane appears to have been largely constructed of plywood. Photograph ordered by Douglas Fir Plywood Association. Original print was imprinted 11-23-1955 with "SM 197293" also on print. Copy of print was made in March, 1958.

Airplane industry; Airplanes;

The dirigible "Shenandoah," commissioned by the US Navy, paid a two day visit to Camp Lewis in October of 1924. A special 165 foot tall striped mooring mast was specially constructed for the visit. The giant dirigible, patterned after a German Zeppelin captured by the French in 1917, hovered silently in the air over gawking spectators and their automobiles. On September 3, 1925, a mere nine months later, the airship was caught in a thunderstorm and torn to pieces over Noble County, Ohio. Miraculously, 29 of its 43 crew members survived. The mast stood at Fort Lewis until 1936. (Richards copy negative)

Airships; Mooring masts; Camp Lewis (Wash.); Military camps--Tacoma--1920-1930;

Drawing of an airplane with the propeller behind the cockpit and two wings that point towards the back after coming straight out to the sides of the craft.

Aircraft; Industrial design;

On July 28, 1948, this unidentified man, possibly the Bart's Drive-In airplane pilot, had landed his small plane on an ocean beach. It appears that he had made a quick stop for razor clams as his shovels and metal cans seem to indicate. Publicity photo ordered by O'Connell-Ragan advertising agency. (Additional information provided by a reader)

Airplanes--Tacoma; Air pilots--Tacoma; Bart's Drive-In (Tacoma); Advertising--Tacoma; Advertising agencies--Tacoma; O'Connell-Ragan Co. (Tacoma); Publicity photographs;

ca. 1950. Copy of old prints of airplanes pinned to a board. People boarding United Airlines. Large group of people next to Pacific Air transport air mail airplane. Ordered by WSHS, Chapin Foster, 2/20/50. (Argentum)

Airplanes; Airline industry;

Copies of a customer's prints, ordered by the Douglas Fir Plywood Association. Actual date of photographs is unknown. A plane is being constructed largely of plywood. A man operates a table saw, cutting the plywood to the correct shape for cabin windows. The unfinished plane body can be seen in the background.

Plywood; Airplanes; Airplane industry;

Copies of a customer's prints, ordered by the Douglas Fir Plywood Association. Actual date of photographs is unknown. A man works inside the incomplete fuselage of the plane, riveting around the cabin window.

Plywood; Airplanes; Airplane industry;

Copies of a customer's prints, ordered by the Douglas Fir Plywood Association. Actual date of photographs is unknown. A man works on the engine housing of the plane, attaching plywood to its curved surface.

Plywood; Airplanes; Airplane industry;

Copies of a customer's prints, ordered by the Douglas Fir Plywood Association. Actual date of photographs is unknown. Two men can be seen through the doorway to the right of what will be the cockpit of the new plane. The plane is being built of plywood and the workers mark a sheet of it to the needed dimensions.

Plywood; Airplanes; Airplane industry;

Copies of a customer's prints, ordered by the Douglas Fir Plywood Association. Actual date of photographs is unknown. Two men observe a wooden structure that might be the housing for the landing gear on the all wood plane.

Plywood; Airplanes; Airplane industry;

Lt. Col. Charles W. Goodwin is pictured arriving by plane in Seattle on Northwest Airlines on February 9, 1941. He will travel from Seattle to Tacoma, where he is taking over the command of the 103rd Anti Tank Battalion. The 103rd is composed primarily of Tacoma men and is the last reserve unit to be inducted into regular Army service. The military men are, left to right, Capt. M.B. Benjamin, Capt. Lawrence J. Nelson, Lt. Col. Goodwin, Capt. Jesse Haire and Capt. T. Hadley St. Claire. (T. Times 2/10/1941, pg. 2)

Airplanes--1940-1950; Goodwin, Charles W.;

Governors Review at Fort Lewis. Nine bi-planes flying in formation. These were from the 91st and 116th observation squadrons. They, along with the men of the 9th Corps. and the 5th Brigade, passed in review before Governors Charles D. Martin of Oregon, Clarence D. Martin of Washington and Roy E. Ayres of Montana and top military brass on August 21, 1937. Thousands of civilians journeyed to Fort Lewis to watch the military pageant. (T. Times 8-21-37, p. 1, 8-23-37, p. 1)

Biplanes; Military parades & ceremonies--Fort Lewis;

Aerial views of Evelyn Burleson in her airplane, "Miss Liberty," in flight from Canada to Mexico. Tacoma aviatrix Evelyn Burleson was influenced by aviation pioneer Ruth Elder. She learned to fly in 1928 in Lincoln, Nebraska and embraced aviation as her career. At the time of this October 1, 1941 flight, she was a freelance pilot but she was previously a flight instructor in Oregon. (T. Times 10/2/1941, pg. 1)

Airplanes--Tacoma--1940-1950; Burleson, Evelyn; Aerial photographs--1940-1950; Monoplanes;

On October 1, 1941, Mrs. Evelyn Burleson, of Tacoma, took off from Vancouver, B.C. for a solo flight to Tijuana, Mexico. Flying the tiny "Miss Liberty", she flew the 1,600 miles non-stop in 16 1/2 hours. This photograph, by Tacoma Times photographer Bob Richards, was taken as her plane passed over Pierce County. (T. Times 10-2-1941 p.1)

Airplanes--Tacoma--1940-1950; Burleson, Evelyn; Aerial photographs--1940-1950; Monoplanes;

Aerial views of Evelyn Burleson in her airplane, "Miss Liberty," in flight from Canada to Mexico in October of 1941. Tacoma Times photographer Bob Richards and pilot Vernon Hubert met up with her over the Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp. yards and accompanied her as far as Kelso, snapping these pictures enroute. (T. Times 10/2/1941, pg. 1)

Airplanes--Tacoma--1940-1950; Burleson, Evelyn; Aerial photographs--1940-1950; Monoplanes;

Aerial views of Evelyn Burleson in her airplane, "Miss Liberty," in flight from Canada to Mexico. The Taylorcraft monoplane was painted especially for the trip: white with red and blue stripes, a depiction of Miss Liberty and the letters "WAD," for Women Also Defend. (T. Times 10/2/1941, pg. 1)

Airplanes--Tacoma--1940-1950; Burleson, Evelyn; Aerial photographs--1940-1950; Monoplanes;

Aerial views of Evelyn Burleson in her airplane, "Miss Liberty," in flight from Canada to Mexico. (T. Times)

Airplanes--Tacoma--1940-1950; Burleson, Evelyn; Aerial photographs--1940-1950; Monoplanes;

On October 1, 1941, Mrs. Evelyn Burleson flew her Taylorcraft monoplane, the "Miss Liberty," nonstop from Vancouver, B.C., to Tiajuana Mexico. She arrived on the morning of the 2nd at 7:30a.m., completing the 1700 mile flight in 16 1/2 hours, 3 hours ahead of schedule. (T. Times 10/2/1941, pg. 1)

Airplanes--Tacoma--1940-1950; Burleson, Evelyn; Aerial photographs--1940-1950; Monoplanes;

Aerial views of Evelyn Burleson in her airplane, "Miss Liberty," in flight from Canada to Mexico in October of 1941. This picture was captured by a neighboring plane as she passed through Pierce County. (T. Times)

Airplanes--Tacoma--1940-1950; Burleson, Evelyn; Aerial photographs--1940-1950; Monoplanes;

On October 1, 1941, Tacoma aviatrix Mrs. Evelyn Burleson took off from Vancouver, B.C. for a solo nonstop flight to Tijuana, Mexico. She flew a petite Taylorcraft monoplane called "Miss Liberty." The plane was painted white with red and blue stripes, a torch bearing Liberty and emblazoned with "WAD" (Women Also Defend.) The plane usually held 12 gallons of gasoline, but 80 gallon tanks were installed for the flight. Tacoma Times photographer Bob Richards and pilot Vernon Hubert took to the air over Pierce County to snap these pictures. They communicated with Mrs. Burleson by sign language as she carried no radio due to weight restrictions. Thursday morning, October 2nd, 16 1/2 hours after leaving Vancouver, she arrived in Tijuana, a 1700 mile flight. (T. Times 10-2-1941 p.1)

Airplanes--Tacoma--1940-1950; Burleson, Evelyn; Aerial photographs--1940-1950; Monoplanes;

Evelyn Burleson beside her airplane, "Miss Liberty", at Mueller-Harkins Airport. On October 1, 1941, the Tacoma aviatrix flew her pictured Taylorcraft monoplane nonstop from Vancouver, Canada to Tijuana, Mexico. She arrived on the morning of the 2nd at 7:30a.m., completing the 1700 mile flight in 16 1/2 hours, 3 hours ahead of schedule. The plane was painted especially for the flight in white with red and blue stripes, a torch bearing Liberty and emblazoned with "WAD" (Women Also Defend.)

Airplanes--Tacoma--1940-1950; Burleson, Evelyn; Monoplanes;

Helicopter descending. Chauncey L. Griggs, president of Export Pacific, Inc., was expecting two log buyers, one from France, to visit him in early June, 1964. The smiling passenger aboard the helicopter descending on company property on June 3, 1964, was one of them. Mr. Griggs was a member of a well known pioneer family and had been associated with the St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co. Export Pacific were lumber exporters located at 900 Milwaukee Waterway. Photograph ordered by Export Pacific, Inc. TPL-9644

Helicopters--Tacoma--1960-1970; Export Pacific Co. (Tacoma); Guests--Tacoma--1960-1970; Lumber industry--Tacoma--1960-1970;

An FH110 helicopter practices landing on a temporary helipad on January 19, 1971, at So. 19th & "J" Sts. The pad is marked with an enormous "H." St. Joseph's Medical Evaluation personnel may have been testing the feasibility of this temporary site. The church in the background is believed to be St. John Baptist Church. Photograph ordered by St. Joseph Hospital.

Helicopters--Tacoma--1970-1980;

The St. Joseph Medical Evaluation team prepares to board the waiting FH110 helicopter on January 19, 1971. A temporary helipad, marked with an enormous "H," has been laid on muddy ground. A white ambulance with hatch open is parked nearby. Photograph ordered by St. Joseph Hospital.

Helicopters--Tacoma--1970-1980; Ambulances--Tacoma--1970-1980;