ca. 1908. Northern Pacific shops in South Tacoma.

ca. 1908. Bicycle shop and Storage business. The bicycle shop is probably the Amzie D. Browning Bicycle & General Repairing business. The bicycle shop has an advertisment painted on it for the Tacoma Baking Co. Print is somewhat out of focus.

ca. 1913. A view of the west side of the 5200 block of South Union (now South Tacoma Way) looking north. The Bobbi Burns Wine House was at 5238 South Union. A boy stands by a water fountain.

In April of 1925, this was the view from the top of the flagpole on the Puget Sound National Bank building, 1117-19 Pacific Ave., looking down on the west side of Pacific Ave. between 11th and 12th. The photograph was snapped by professional steeplejack B.B. Florer with a Tacoma News Tribune employee's camera that was hoisted up to him. Mr. Florer had been engaged to paint the flagpole. (TNT 4/28/1925, pg. 9) (WSHS- negative A693-0)

Commercial streets--Tacoma--1920-1930;

ca. 1925. The Washington Building under construction. Construction on the modern American skyscraper in downtown Tacoma began in 1919 for the Scandinavian American bank, but halted a couple of years later when the bank closed. The steel structure sat deserted until it was completed in 1925 for the Washington-California Co. and dedicated on June 29, 1925. At 17 stories, it was the second tallest building in the Northwest. (WSHS)

Washington Building (Tacoma); Office buildings--Tacoma--1920-1930; Business districts--Tacoma--1920-1930;

ca. 1925. Washington Building at 1019 Pacific Ave. and on the left, the Rust building at 950 Pacific Ave.The Washington Building was finished in 1925. At 17 stories, it was the second tallest building in the Northwest. The Rust building measures in at 12 stories. It is named after its builder William R. Rust. (WSHS-negative A695-0)

Washington Building (Tacoma); Rust Building (Tacoma);

ca. 1937. Exterior elevation of the Rust Building, a multi-story office building, at So. 11th Street and Pacific Avenue. The Rust Building is named for its builder William R. Rust. It was designed by the architectural firm of Sutton, Whitney and Dugan. The twelve story building opened in 1920. Since 1986, it has been known as the Seafirst Center. For Johnson-Cox, printers, for school annuals. (Image also numbered 8A3 image 2 in Argentum)

Business districts--Tacoma; Office buildings--Tacoma--1930-1940; Rust Building (Tacoma);

ca. 1937. Full view of the Rust Building on 11th Street between Commerce and Pacific Avenue. Sandstone clad steel frame 12-story business block for William R. Rust by Sutton, Whitney and Dugan, Architects, 1920. It was known as the Townsend building from 1929- 1931. It was remodeled by Seafirst bank in 1986 and renamed the Seafirst Center.

Business districts--Tacoma; Office buildings--Tacoma--1930-1940; Rust Building (Tacoma);

ca. 1937. Corner view of Rust Building showing Bone-Dry Shoe Store. Banners in windows for Removal Sale, "Forced to vacate, all prices reduced."

Business districts--Tacoma; Office buildings--Tacoma--1930-1940; Rust Building (Tacoma); Bone Dry Shoe Store (Tacoma); Shoe stores--Tacoma--1930-1940;

Street scene in Buckley, Washington. Good view of business district with White Front Grocery and other businesses on left, Warren Dry Goods, Rexall Drugs, Puget Sound Power and Light Company on right. Automobiles parked along street. (T. Times).

Commercial streets--Buckley; White Front Grocery (Buckley);

Street scene in Buckley, Washington, showing White Front Grocery, an angled-corner building, with Stanley's Tavern, Buckley Cafe, and other businesses. A Queen Anne style building with turret, on left, carries Guy Wilson Associated sign. The townsite of Buckley was platted in 1888 and named after J.M. Buckley, division superintendent of Northern Pacific and a coal mine promoter. TPL-538 (T. Times Special Edition for Mr. Short).

Commercial streets--Buckley; White Front Grocery (Buckley); Stanley's Tavern (Buckley); Buckley Cafe (Buckley);

Business district in Gig Harbor, Washington. View of Uddenberg Grocery on right, Peninsula Hotel, Pastime Pool Hall, Elinor's Fountain and other businesses. Automobiles parked along street. (T. Times, Special Edition 2/27/1940, pg. 17). TPL-512

Commercial streets--Gig Harbor; Uddenberg Grocery (Gig Harbor); Peninsula Hotel (Gig Harbor); Pastime Pool Hall (Gig Harbor); Elinor's Fountain (Gig Harbor);

Stairwell of Provident Building, for Hansen and Rowland, Inc.

Office buildings--Tacoma--1940-1950; Stairways; Provident Building (Tacoma);

ca. 1940. The city of Bremerton. Photograph is taken looking east down 4th street. Photographed businesses include Leary Hotel at 540 4th, Tower Theatre at 522 4th, Apex Baking Co. at 603 4th, Daily News Searchlight 545-547 4th and the "Poudre Puff" Beauty Salon 611 4th.

Commercial streets--Bremerton; Business districts--Bremerton; Leary Hotel (Bremerton); Tower Theatre (Bremerton); Apex Baking Co. (Bremerton); Daily News Searchlight (Bremerton); Poudre Puff Beauty Salon (Bremerton);

Buildings on left on Pacific Ave. looking south include Shaub Ellison Company, American Plumbing Supply and Harmon Manufacturing Company. For United Pacific Insurance Company. Photograph was taken in January of 1941. See D10723, image 9 for additional view of this portion of Pacific Ave.

Commercial streets--Tacoma--1940-1950; Shaub-Ellison Co. (Tacoma); American Plumbing & Steam Supply Co. (Tacoma); F.S. Harmon Manufacturing Co. (Tacoma)--Buildings;

This is a view of Pacific Avenue looking south in January of 1941. Buildings on right in the 1900 block include Shaub-Ellison Co. featuring Goodyear tires, the American Plumbing & Steam Supply Co., Wiegel Candy Co. and Harmon Manufacturing Co. Photograph taken for the United Pacific Insurance Co.

Commercial streets--Tacoma--1940-1950; Shaub-Ellison Co. (Tacoma); American Plumbing & Steam Supply Co. (Tacoma); Wiegel Candy Co. (Tacoma); F.S. Harmon Manufacturing Co. (Tacoma)--Buildings;

In October of 1941, the city had nearly completed the long awaited "face lift" of 6th Avenue. The work included widening and repaving Sixth Avenue at Pine Street (pictured) and near Sprague (in front of Jason Lee) to eliminate "jogs." The street was straightened by razing a building once occupied by Applings store. On the left are the new Safeway store (608 N. Pine) and gas station. The Safeway was located on property vacated in the straightening. The overall plan called for 6th to be widened as far south as 7th St. and for new road surfacing Sprague to Proctor St. (TT 10/3/1941, pg. 7)

Business districts--Tacoma--1940-1950; Safeway Stores, Inc. (Tacoma); Grocery stores--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Exterior of Anderson Building showing Federal Insurance offices and sign. 10th and Pacific. Knapp Business College was located on the second floor.

Anderson Building (Tacoma); Knapp College (Tacoma); Storefronts--Tacoma--1940-1950; Federal Insurance Group (Tacoma);

Exterior of Anderson Building showing Federal Insurance offices and sign. 10th and Pacific. Knapp Business College was located on the second floor.

Anderson Building (Tacoma); Knapp College (Tacoma); Storefronts--Tacoma--1940-1950; Federal Insurance Group (Tacoma);

This photograph of the modern, Art-deco style Mottau Building was taken for Safeway Stores one year after the building opened. At its opening, the Tacoma News Tribune wrote: "The K street district may well be proud of this new addition to the several modern buildings erected there in the past two or three years." Russell & Lance, architects, designed the aluminum- and Virolite-clad (polished green and black glass) building for Pauline Mottau. It replaced an early 1880s structure, a two-story, Queen Anne-style wooden building with five stores on the first floor and apartments above. Mottau's husband, Robert, built two of Tacoma's first hotels in the early 1880s--the St. Charles and the Villard--and later built several apartment buildings in Tacoma. In 2000, the Mottau Building was razed for construction of another new building in the district where other older structures are being replaced with new additions. (T.N.T., 10/6/1933, p. 13).

Commercial buildings--Tacoma--1940-1950; Business districts--Tacoma; Grocery stores--Tacoma--1940-1950; Appliance stores--Tacoma; Paulson's Radios & Appliances (Tacoma); Mottau Building (Tacoma); Safeway Stores, Inc. (Tacoma);

Interior of Broadway Branch, Puget Sound National Bank General View. Wooden counter with glass partitions, fancy wall covering and light fixtures, terrazzo flooring and countertops. Fueled by the wartime economy and the able leadership of bank president Reno Odlin, Puget Sound Bank began to grow dramatically. With the increased business, the bank needed additional help as well as replacements for those men serving in the war. The bank could not find enough employees to cover both the Broadway and the Lincoln branches, as well as the main branch. The Broadway branch was closed and the main branch remodeled in 1942.

Commercial facilities--Tacoma--1940-1950; Puget Sound National Bank (Tacoma); Banks--Tacoma;

Interior of Broadway Branch, Puget Sound National Bank. Wooden counter from customer's side. Glass partitions, fancy wall covering and light fixtures, terrazzo flooring and countertops. Fueled by the wartime economy and the able leadership of bank president Reno Odlin, Puget Sound Bank began to grow dramatically. With the increased business, the bank needed additional help as well as replacements for those men serving in the war. The bank could not find enough employees to cover both the Broadway and the Lincoln branches, as well as the main branch. The Broadway branch was closed and the main branch remodeled in 1942.

Commercial facilities--Tacoma--1940-1950; Puget Sound National Bank (Tacoma); Banks--Tacoma;

Exterior of General Paint Corporation at 102 So.10th, Tacoma. Rolls of wallpaper are displayed in the store windows, beckoning passerbys to redecorate with the latest styles. A large sign of a uniformed toy soldier at attention, the emblem of General Paint, outlined with neon adorns the building. Above the retail space is the second floor office of O'Connell-Ragan Advertising.

Buildings--Tacoma--1950-1960; Stores & shops--Tacoma--1950-1960; Paints & varnishes; General Paint Corp. (Tacoma);

The exterior of the old B.F. Goodrich building. B.F. Goodrich moved to their new location at 707 Pacific Avenue in May 1950. Lloyd Suiter Tire Company had taken over this location by 1951. Lloyd Suiter had formerly been located at 2302 Pacific Avenue. Lloyd Suiter died in April 1949. Ted L. Fix served as president of the Lloyd Suiter Tire Company in 1951. Wesley Maitland served as secretary. Ordered by Lloyd Suiter Tire Company, Mrs. McGorran.

Commercial facilities--Tacoma; Lloyd Suiter Tire Co. (Tacoma); B.F. Goodrich Co. (Tacoma);

Exposure from Lloyd Suiter Tire Co., 1955 Pacific Ave., looking each way down Pacific Ave. On the right hand side of the picture is Hunt and Mottet Co. wholesale hardware (2112), Coast Auto Wrecking (2120) and Tacoma Junk Co. (2128). On the left hand side of the street is the G.L. Walls Gas Station (2101), the Bone Dry Shoe Manufacturing Co. occupies 2113-2115 Pacific Ave. The city bus headed for Manitou occupies the foreground.

Commercial streets--Tacoma--1950-1960; Business districts--Tacoma--1950-1960; Buses--Tacoma--1950-1960;

ca. 1887. This view of Pacific Avenue, looking north from 10th, was taken in 1887. Horse drawn carriages and wagons fill the unpaved street. The Fife Hotel, 742-50 Pacific Avenue (at left background), was still under construction with scaffolding visible. The building at 930 Pacific Ave. was home to the Tacoma News. The News and The Daily Ledger, both founded in 1883, were the two biggest newspapers in Tacoma at this time. The Ledger was a morning paper; The News was an evening paper. Some years later, both papers were bought by Sidney A. Perkins. Ultimately, they were taken over by The News Tribune. Copy made August 31, 1950. (TPL-2297 and TPL-8147)

Commercial streets--Tacoma--1880-1890; Carts & wagons--Tacoma; The News (Tacoma); Newspapers--Tacoma--1880-1890; Fife Hotel (Tacoma); Hotels--Tacoma--1880-1890; Building construction--Tacoma--1880-1890;

The F.W. Woolworth Company celebrated the grand opening of their store # 105 (in Tacoma) on November 2, 1950. The four-story building at 955 Broadway had entrances on both the Broadway and Commerce Street levels. It replaced the Fidelity Building which had stood on the corner from 1890 until in was demolished in 1949. Woolworth closed their Tacoma store in 1993.

Commercial facilities; F.W. Woolworth Co. (Tacoma);

A view of the exterior of the F.W. Woolworth Company building recently completed in Tacoma from across Commerce Street. The store's escalator can be seen through the large window on this side of the five-and-dime's building. TPL-4551

Commercial facilities; F.W. Woolworth Co. (Tacoma);

An elevated view of Pacific Avenue looking south from the 900 block. The Riviera Theatre is shown on the lower right corner at 906 Pacific Avenue. Ghilarducci's California Florists is seen across Pacific at 909. The Provident Building is at 915 Pacific. The Bank of California and the Washington Building are prominent in the next block. Peoples Department Store was on the corner across 11th Street. Bankers Trust Building at 1111, the Puget Sound National Bank Building at 1119 and the National Bank of Washington at 1123 Pacific filled most of the following block. Shoenfeld's Furniture is seen prominently at 1423 Pacific Ave. TPL-2299

Business districts--Tacoma; Commercial streets--Tacoma--1950-1960;

A view along the east side of the 900 block of Broadway looking south features Oakes Apparel at 921 Broadway, Weisfield's at 925 Broadway, and Lerner Shops at 931 Broadway. Two buildings further along the street are undergoing renovations with scaffolding along their facades. In the left foreground, a large clock stands on the sidewalk in front of Mahncke & Company Jewelers at 919 Broadway.

Commercial streets--Tacoma--1950-1960; Cities & towns--Tacoma; Clocks & watches;