ca. 1919. This photo, taken in April or May of 1919, shows the "Fort Jackson," the smaller ship in the center of the photograph, being launched at Todd Shipyards. Visiting dignitaries stand on the podium which is draped with striped bunting. G37.1-173, TPL-1435

Launchings--Tacoma--1920-1930; Todd Dry Dock & Construction Corp. (Tacoma); Boat & ship industry--Tacoma--1920-1930;

This is the stern and one of the huge propellers of the steamship "Alaska" on the day of her launching, April 19, 1923, at the Todd yards. The "Alaska" was built for passenger and freight trade between Puget Sound and Alaska and was the first combination passenger and freight vessel built at the Todd yards. At 364-feet long, she was designed for copper ore cargo and included passenger accommodations for 250 first class and 58 steerage. The "Alaska" was the 31st ship launched by Todd and successfully slid bow first down the ways. Miss Frances Nowell of Alaska served as sponsor. G37.1-111 (TDL 4-19-23, p. 1-article; TDL 4-20-23, p.1, p. 3)

Launchings--Tacoma--1920-1930; Boat & ship industry--Tacoma--1920-1930;

The"Wheatland Montana" was docked at the Port of Tacoma on April 30, 1925, to discharge a shipment of 12-foot mahogany logs from the Philippines. The logs were transferred to the Buffelen Lumber Co. plant to be used in fine doors and panels. 12 flat cars were loaded with the logs since they were too heavy to be transported locally the usual way, by water. This was the first mahogany shipment received in Tacoma in some time. In addition to the logs, the "Wheatland Montana" also unloaded a 100-ton shipment of peanuts. She would carry as cargo upon departure 250,000-feet of short-length flooring. G49.1-198 (TNT 4-30-25, p. 23-article only)

Cargo ships--1920-1930; Logs; Shipping--Tacoma--1920-1930;

Another cargo ship in town at the end of April, 1925, was the "Lochkatrine" of the Royal Mail Steam Packet Line. She is pictured dockside at the Port of Tacoma awaiting loading of lumber. The "Lochkatrine" had arrived on Tuesday morning the 28th and docked at the smelter to take on a load of 1,150 tons of copper. That evening she shifted over to the Port of Tacoma piers for a two-day stay where she would take on lumber and miscellaneous cargo. G49.1-069 (photograph has been cropped) (TDL 4-29-25, p. 10-article only)

Cargo ships--1920-1930; Shipping--Tacoma--1920-1930;

In late June of 1925 the Japanese "turret" ship "Taiyu Maru" was docked at the Port of Tacoma. With her curved sides, raked mast and narrow decks, she was an unusual sight. The "Taiyu Maru" had been in service for more than 25 years and according to her captain, K. Okamoto, was one of only five "turret" ships still afloat. The 450-foot vessel was to return to the Suez Canal with a cargo of Northwest fir ties to discharge in Egypt. Photograph ordered by the Port of Tacoma. G49.1-091 (TNT 6-26-25, p. 22)

Cargo ships--Japanese; Shipping--Tacoma--1920-1930;

Piles of lumber wait to be loaded onto the ship "West Nimrod" on June 24, 1924, at Tidewater Mill. The vast size of the "West Nimrod" can be compared to the much smaller tugboat nearby. A barge filled with cargo is directly next to the ship. The "West Nimrod," of the Admiral-Oriental line, arrived in Tacoma late Sunday, June 22nd. She was to stow lumber for Hong Kong and other Asian ports. G49.1-099 (TDL 6-23-24, p. 10-article)

Cargo ships--1920-1930; Shipping--Tacoma--1920-1930; Tugboats--Tacoma--1920-1930; Piers & wharves--Tacoma--1920-1930;

Elevated view on June 30, 1924, of a cargo ship from the Luckenbach Line and others berthed at the St. Paul & Tacoma dock. The vessels were taking on shipments of lumber and other cargo. G50.1-001

Cargo ships--1920-1930; Shipping--Tacoma--1920-1930;

The freighter "Haxtum" in town to take on a shipment of grain in June of 1920. She is pictured above at the Milwaukee elevator. The ship was expected to take a cargo of 3000 long tons of grain to Europe. Photograph ordered by Fisher Flouring Mills. G49.1-068 (TNT 6-7-20, p. 7-article)

Cargo ships--Tacoma--1920-1930; Shipping--Tacoma--1920-1930; Flour & meal industry--Tacoma--1920-1930;

A "Modern Method" crane No. 40 is pictured on September 8, 1921, on the wide dock at the Port of Tacoma. It was manufactured by Colby Steel & Engineering Co. The legs of the crane were tall enough that a freight train could easily pass through. At the dock is the cargo ship, "West Jappa," out of Seattle. G49.1-203;

Hoisting machinery; Cargo ships--1920-1930; Piers & wharves--Tacoma--1920-1930; Port of Tacoma (Tacoma);

The vessel "Alvarado" (in foreground) is berthed at the Osgood & Wheeler dock on January 25, 1922. She was in Tacoma to load lumber for her return trip to San Pedro. The "Alvarado" was just one of 20 deep-sea vessels were lined up at Tacoma wharves on January 25th. That particular week Tacoma led all coast ports in tonnage with 124,410. G49.1-070 (TDL 1-26-22, p. 1-article; TNT 2-2-22, p. 1-article)

Cargo ships--Tacoma--1920-1930; Piers & wharves--Tacoma--1920-1930;

The crew and possibly guests aboard the cold storage ship, "Glory of the Seas," are silhouetted against the white background and appear miniscule when compared to the large vessel. The ship is moored at the Glacier Fish Co. dock in February of 1922; among the items visible on the dock are pipes and oddly, what appears to be a bathtub. The "Glory of the Seas" was one of the largest cold storage plants afloat and was being dismantled after being in service for 53 years. This photograph was used in an advertisement in The News Tribune's March 22, 1922, edition. Maingault & Graham were the sellers involved in the dismantling process. G50.1-114 (TNT 3-22-22, p. 26-Ad)

Ships--Tacoma--1920-1930; Glacier Fish Co. (Tacoma); Piers & wharves--Tacoma--1920-1930;

The "Lillian Luckenbach" was in town on February 8, 1929, to take on a load of pulp from the Union Bag & Paper Co. plant. She was one of the largest in the Luckenbach fleet and was able to load nearly 1000 tons of paper pulp bound for Union Bag's Hudson Falls, N.Y. location. It was the company's first shipment sent from Tacoma by water. Built in 1919 by the Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. of Chester, Pennsylvania, the freighter was sunk in a collision with Cape Henlopen in March of 1943. G49.1-096 (TDL 2-8-29, p. 1-article; TDL 2-9-29, p. 1-article)

Cargo ships--Tacoma--1920-1930; Shipping--Tacoma--1920-1930;

The USS West Virginia at anchor in Commencement Bay in July of 1931. The ship, under command of Rear Admiral R.H. Leigh, was in town to participate in Fleet Week. The battleship had been commissioned in 1923 and was the most recent of the "super-dreadnoughts." She would be heavily damaged during the attack on Pearl Harbor but was completely rebuilt at the Puget Sound Navy Yard in Bremerton. Although missing much of the war, the West Virginian would still earn five battle stars. She was decommissioned in January of 1947. (www.usswestvirginia.org; TDL 6-30-31, p. 5-article) G71.007

Battleships--1930-1940; Commencement Bay (Wash.);

Undated photograph of a ship docked at the Port of Tacoma.

Port of Tacoma (Tacoma);

The freighter "Lillian Luckenbach," part of the Luckenbach Steamship Co. fleet, was dockside on February 8, 1929 at the St. Paul mill dock #2. She was here to pick up the first shipment of paper pulp sent by water by the new Union Bag & Paper Co. Tacoma plant which had commenced operations in January. The nearly 1000 tons were loaded onto the ship through four hatches. The cargo was headed to Hudson Falls, N.Y., the location of a Union Bag plant. The ship was commanded by Captain G.C. Bown of Tacoma. G49.1-110 (TDL 2-8-29, p. 1-article; TDL 2-9-29, p. 1-article)

Cargo ships--Tacoma--1920-1930; Shipping--Tacoma--1920-1930; Piers & wharves--Tacoma--1920-1930;

"Working Broadway" was the caption given to this February 13, 1929, scene of ice and snow. Two unidentified businessmen are prepared to shovel the chunks of ice and snow along Broadway. They are across the street from the A.H. McConnell Co., 728-30 Broadway, dealers in Dodge Bros. cars and Graham trucks. Tacoma was just emerging from three weeks of heavy snow and icy conditions about the time this photograph was taken. The cost to the city of (street) repairs and loss of business may have run as high as $100,000, a huge expense in 1929. G59.1-019 (TNT 2-19-29, p. 1-article on economic loss)

Shovels; Ice--Tacoma; A.H. McConnell Co. (Tacoma);

Docked at Shaffer Terminal #2 on September 25, 1929, was the "Bellingham" of the Tacoma Oriental Line. She appears to be in the process of loading large logs. The "Bellingham" departed on September 28th bound for South China and the Philippines. G49.1-061 (TNT 9-25-29, p. 18-small article on ship)

Cargo ships--Tacoma--1920-1930; Shipping--Tacoma--1920-1930; Logs;

A longshoreman keeps a careful eye on cargo being unloaded from a ship docked at the Port of Tacoma in November of 1931. G50.1-009

Shipping--Tacoma--1930-1940; Longshoremen--Tacoma--1930-1940; Hoisting machinery;

St. Regis' floating log dump as viewed in early May of 1937. Docked nearby is the Japanese vessel, "Gyokoh Marudairen." In the distance are prominent city structures: the towers of City Hall, Pierce County Courthouse, and Central School and the Art-Deco styled Medical Arts Building. The floating logs will eventually be pulped and the product shipped via water to St. Regis' eastern paper mills and exported to foreign countries, including Japan. Japan was St. Regis' best customer at 35,000 tons annually. G37.1-010 (T.Times 1-27-37, p. 1-article on St. Regis)

Logs; Cargo ships--Japanese; Shipping--Tacoma--1930-1940; Cityscapes;

Stacks of lumber are being loaded onto the "Commercial Pathfinder" while docked at the Tidewater Mill on December 6, 1922. The mill was located on the east side of the Hylebos and most of its timber was exported. G49.1-201 (print has deteriorated)

Cargo ships--1920-1930; Lumber industry--Tacoma--1920-1930; Tidewater Mill Co. (Tacoma);

The vessel "Lewis Luckenbach" of the Luckenbach Line was berthed at the Port of Tacoma on June 20, 1924, to take on a shipment of lumber. Cargo is being hoisted from a Foss barge while other barges loaded with lumber wait their turn. The big carrier would be in town for eight days while its eight hatches were filled with a little more than seven million feet of lumber. The "Lewis Luckenbach" was the largest vessel of the entire Luckenbach Line. G49.1-097 (TNT 6-18-24, p. 16-article; TNT 6-19-24, p. 5-alternate photograph)

Cargo ships--1920-1930; Shipping--Tacoma--1920-1930; Port of Tacoma (Tacoma);

The "Lewis Luckenbach" of the Luckenbach Line is in the process of loading lumber at the Port of Tacoma dock when this photograph was taken on a cloudy July 2, 1924. Several hundred board feet have already been transported onto the ship. G49.1-050

Cargo ships--1920-1930; Shipping--Tacoma--1920-1930; Piers & wharves--Tacoma--1920-1930;

The "Hakutatsu Maru" is pictured taking on a shipment of lumber at the Port of Tacoma on November 13, 1924, before heading back to Japan. Much of Washington's lumber was destined for the Far East. The "Hakutatsu Maru," under the command of Capt. M. Iriyh, had arrived at the St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co. dock on the morning of November 12th. Some 200,000 feet of lumber was loaded onto the ship before she moved to the Port of Tacoma piers that afternoon to complete loading. G49.1-173 (TNT 11-12-24, p. 20-article)

Cargo ships--Japanese; Shipping--Tacoma--1920-1930;

Freighter "Hyades" at Pratt Dock on February 19, 1920. White sacks are on small hand-drawn carts for either loading or unloading onto the ship. A cluster of men stay with their cargo. The "Hyades" was operated by Matson Navigation Co. and took on over 2000 tons of general freight for Hawaii. She would sail for the Islands on or about February 25th. G49.1-199 (TNT 2-18-20, p. 13-article)

Cargo ships--Tacoma--1920-1930; Shipping--Tacoma--1920-1930; Piers & wharves--Tacoma--1920-1930;

Drifted snow flour is being transported onto the steel steamship "Edmore" from the Sperry Flour Co. facility on March 13, 1920. 400 tons of flour would join the previously loaded cargo of copper ingots from the smelter. The "Edmore" was the first of the Oriental liners to call at Tacoma under a new schedule by the Pacific Steamship Co. She had sustained damage to her structure due to heavy seas on her voyage to the Puget Sound region. Sperry Flour had completed a big grain elevator project less than two years before in time for the tremendous trade expansion that would occur. The Tacoma Daily Ledger would report on March 22, 1920, that "Flour (was the) Greatest Tacoma Industry." Three export flouring mills on the waterfront, including Sperry, had their warehouses filled with 200,000 barrels of flour. Three shifts had run both night and day since August of 1919 with combined daily capacity exceeding 10,000 barrels. Flour operations at Sperry (by then a division of General Mills) would cease in 1965. TPL-904 G34.1-127; BU-13919 (TNT 3-12-20, p. 2-article; TDL 3-22-20, p. 7-article)

Cargo ships--Tacoma--1920-1930; Shipping--Tacoma--1920-1930; Sperry Flour Milling Co. (Tacoma); Flour & meal industry--Tacoma--1920-1930;

Sacks of flour will shortly be loaded onto the freighter, "Haxtum," in June of 1920. The flour was from the Fisher Flouring Mills, one of several flour mills in Tacoma at that time. The "Haxtum" was expected to take a cargo of 3000 long tons of grain to Europe with her first stop in Liverpool. She was built in Oakland with 9400 dead weight tonnage. G49.1-195 (TNT 6-7-20, p. 7-article)

Cargo ships--Tacoma--1920-1930; Shipping--Tacoma--1920-1930; Flour & meal industry--Tacoma--1920-1930; Piers & wharves--Tacoma--1920-1930;

The ship "Liberator" is berthed at Terminal Dock while taking on cargo in June of 1921. Stadium High School, Stadium Bowl and the Washington State Historical Society building overlook the bay and the ship. The steamer had arrived from New York via ports on June 11th with a shipment of general cargo. The 6,027-ton ship sailed on June 13th for New York with a shipment of flour from Puget Sound Mills. TPL-6468; G49.1-064 (TDL 6-7-21, p. 7-article; TDL 6-10-21, p. 7-article)

Shipping--Tacoma--1920-1930; Piers & wharves--Tacoma--1920-1930; Cargo ships--Tacoma--1920-1930; Stadium High School (Tacoma); Stadium Bowl (Tacoma); Washington State Historical Building (Tacoma); Washington State Historical Society (Tacoma);

Tacoma's wharves were crowded in late January of 1922 with many ships taking on and discharging cargo. A large steel sailing ship, the "William T. Lewis," was photographed berthed at Terminal Dock. The four-masted vessel was discharging a shipment of nitrates from South America. The thirty-year-old bark was under the command of Capt. N.P. Carlson and had survived an attack by a German submarine during the Great War. G50.1-099; TPL-2306 (TDL 1-26-22, p. 1-article; Tacoma Sunday Ledger 1-29-22, 6A-alternate picture; 10E-article)

Sailing ships; Cargo ships--1920-1930; Shipping--Tacoma--1920-1930; Piers & wharves--Tacoma--1920-1930;

By February of 1922, the well-known "Glory of the Seas," a large cold storage floating plant, had been moored at the Glacier Fish Co. dock for some time. At 53 years of age, she was being broken up and scrapped. The "Glory of the Seas" was the last product of prolific master clipper ship builder Donald Mackay. He had built a total of 82 ships. The carved figurehead of a woman that had graced the prow of the "Glory of the Seas'" had already been removed and sold to a collector back East. G34.1-072 (Tacoma Sunday Ledger, 2-22-22, p. A6-article)

Ships--Tacoma--1920-1930; Glacier Fish Co. (Tacoma);

The "Eastern Prince" docked in Tacoma in early April of 1922 at the Port of Tacoma. She would sail on April 6th for Hong Kong with 250-tons of spelter from British Columbia (originally via the steamer Eastholm). The "Eastern Prince" would also share a load of 4 million feet of lumber with the "Kaisho Maru." G49.1-083 (TDL 3-30-22, p. 9-article; TDL 4-6-22, p. 10-article)

Cargo ships--1920-1930;