Switch gear equipment at Pacific Oerlikon Co. The worker appears diminutive next to the huge electronic machinery mounted above his head. Pacific Oerlikon, a subsidiary of Oerlikon Engineering Co. of Switzerland, manufactured large equipment for the power grid. It occupied the site of the former Henry Mill and Timber Co. in a building specially designed to accomodate the sheer height of its products.
Exposure of the Tacoma Planning Commission's traffic control display in the lobby of the Puget Sound National Bank. Photograph ordered by the Condon Co. The display shows the Commission's plans for a street program that will provide for a growing Tacoma's traffic needs. The plan is the result of a long range study of Tacoma's future traffic needs completed by the City Planning Commission. Emphasis is placed on the development of a Tacoma- Everett toll road, the forerunner of a freeway system. It is predicted that in the future Tacoma will have several freeways with one way traffic, no left turns, no parking and no commercial traffic. (TNT 7/12/1955, pg. 4)
The Shafer Apartments at So. 9th & K. Photograph ordered by the Fred Stobbert Co., Inc. to show the "Kwick Brick" finish. The apartments were built in 1889 and designed by F.A. Sexton, Architect. There are two street level entrances to what appear to be three story apartment buildings. One story is at basement level. Two television antennas protrude from the roof. Open wooden staircases lead from the apartments back doors to the ground level. The building contained 10 apartments.
The Tacoma City Lights Administration Building, also known as the Tacoma Public Utilities Center, opened in 1953. Silas E. Nelson was the architect and Roy T. Early Co. was the contractor. Photo series ordered by Bethlehem Pacific Steel Co. (SA-28) Both the administrative and engineering staffs of the Light and Water Divisions were housed here. The building's temperature was maintained by a reverse cycle heating and cooling system using heat from the water of two wells located near the building.
Tacoma Dept. of Public Utilities, Light Division (Tacoma); Silas E. Nelsen Architects (Tacoma); Public utility companies--Tacoma;
The Tacoma City Lights Administration Building, also known as the Tacoma Public Utilities Center, opened in 1953. The controversial $2,600,000 Public Utility operating headquarters was felt to be oversized and overpriced for the department's needs. Many felt that the building should be used as the new County-City building as well as the Utilities Department headquarters, eliminating the expense of designing and building a second building. The Utilities Administration building had three times as much space as Tacoma's Old City Hall. Public Utilities successfully fought to keep the building for their own use, and it is still being used.
Tacoma Dept. of Public Utilities, Light Division (Tacoma); Silas E. Nelsen Architects (Tacoma); Public utility companies--Tacoma; Facades--Tacoma--1950-1960;
In June of 1955, plywood was being promoted heavily as the building material of choice. The Condon Co. ordered this photograph of the "Harbor Wave" plywood record player and television cabinet at the residence of Harry and Edith Watson, 12005 Woodbine Lane SW. The cabinet featured a bench seat where an unidentified model lounged as she selected records. The phonograph turntable was on the top of the cabinet with the television possibly inside the larger covered area to the right. "Harbor wave" possibly referred to the wavy pattern in the plywood grain. Mr. Watson was an account executive with the Condon Co.
Comedian Chico Marx speaks at the ground breaking of the U.S. Oil and Refining plant on the Tideflats. His remarks are carried live over radio station KTAC with dignitaries on the packed platform appearing amused at his comments. Officer center may be state draft chairman Captain Chester Chastak. A 10-million dollar plant would rise from this 120-acre location, bringing fresh employment and new dollars to Tacoma. ALBUM 5.
Comedian Chico Marx, center, entertained at the ground breaking for the new 10-million dollar oil refinery built by the U.S. Oil and Refining Company on the Tacoma tideflats. Construction began in July of 1955 on the 120-acre site. Tacoma Mayor Harold Tollefson stands next to Chico. The site had been a favorite spot for fishing, swimming and duck hunting in earlier years. ALBUM 5.
Actors; Marx, Chico (Leonard), 1891-1961; Petroleum industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; US Oil & Refining Co. (Tacoma); Ground breaking ceremonies--Tacoma; Tollefson, Harold M., 1908-1985; Mayors--Tacoma--1950-1960;
Congressman Thor Tollefson speaks at the ground breaking of the US Oil and Refining plant on the Tacoma Tideflats. Chico Marx is in third row, with dark glasses. It was a gathering of powerful political forces as Mayor Harold Tollefson is at far right, second row and Senators Warren G. Magnuson and Henry "Scoop" Jackson were also in attendance. Congressman Tollefson's remarks were carried live on KTNT and KTAC stations. The wet, marshy acreage can be seen behind the crowded platform. ALBUM 5. TPL-9630
Actors; Marx, Chico (Leonard), 1891-1961; Tollefson, Thor C., 1901-1982; Mayors--Tacoma--1950-1960; Tollefson, Harold M., 1908-1985; US Oil & Refining Co. (Tacoma); Ground breaking ceremonies--Tacoma;
A young baseball player with the 1955 Washington Cheney Studs team. The Cheney Studs were an amateur team made up of the most talented high school and college talent in the Seattle-Tacoma area. This is possibly Fred Emerson, outfielder, for the Studs and student at the University of Washington. Emerson was 18 years of age, 5'11", 180 pounds and originally from Kent, Wa. The Studs finished second in 1955 at the nationals of the American Baseball Congress. They were scouted heavily by the professional teams. Those scouts felt that the team was the best behaved, quietest and had the most major league prospects of any team in the playoffs. Ben Cheney emphasized that the young men on his team finish college before turning professional to better prepare them for life.
Baseball players--Tacoma--1950-1960; Baseball--Tacoma--1950-1960; Washington Cheney Studs (Tacoma);
Ron Dodge; baseball player with the 1955 Washington Cheney Studs team. The Cheney Studs were an amateur team made up of the most talented high school and college players in the Seattle-Tacoma area. Ron Dodge was one of the catchers for the 1955 team. He was 19 years of age, 6 feet tall and 170 pounds. During the school year he attended the University of Oregon. He was a native of Olympia, Washington. The 1955 Studs team placed second in the nation at the 1955 nationals of the American Baseball Congress from an initial field of 2,500 teams.
Baseball players--Tacoma--1950-1960; Baseball--Tacoma--1950-1960; Washington Cheney Studs (Tacoma); Dodge, Ron;
Young baseball player with the 1955 Washington Cheney Studs team, possibly Dick Minice. The Cheney Studs were an amateur team made up of the most talented high school and college talent in the Seattle-Tacoma area. The average age of the team in 1955 was 19 years of age. The Studs finished second nationally in the American Baseball Congress from an original field of 2,500 teams across the country. They qualified for the nationals by winning the Cascade League flag with 16 wins and no losses, the state tournament in 4 straight wins and a 5 game sweep at the Northwest series. They lost at nationals to Houston, Texas, who won for the second year in a row.
Baseball players--Tacoma--1950-1960; Washington Cheney Studs (Tacoma); Baseball--Tacoma--1950-1960;
A toast is proposed at a party honoring Dr. Glenn H. and Mrs. Elvina Brokaw. Dr. Brokaw wears a Scottish kilt and regalia. The Brokaws resided at 3612 No. 25th St.
Exterior of the new location for Burroughs Corp. Burroughs, previously known as Burroughs Adding Machine Co., sold and serviced business machines. This larger building was constructed to accomodate their larger selections and increased business, as offices became increasingly more mechanized in the mid to late fifties.
Cheney Lumber Co. Midget Baseball League. Summer was baseball time and the Metropolitan Parks offered many leagues based on the age of the players. Each team had a commercial sponsor and many of the different age teams bore the name of Tacoma philanthropist and sports enthusiast Ben Cheney. Ben Cheney made it possible for athletes of many different ages to experience the joys of competitive sports.
Two men stand in front of Fagerholm's Food Market with a new Underwood typewriter in its case. It looks like canning season as they are separated by bags of U and I sugar and cases of Kerr mason jars. Appointment book labels this series as Pease & Sons Appliances. Photographs ordered by David Evans & Assoc.
Fagerholm's Food Market (Tacoma); Typewriters; Pease & Sons Appliance Center (Tacoma);
The Thew Shovel Co.; mobile gas shovel. The shovel works picking up dirt near the railroad tracks in front of Dock Street. A Great Northern railway car can be seen behind the crane.
Informal portrait of 13 unidentified people from Roberts Fine Foods of Portland, Oregon. The group, here for the Stewards and Caterers' Convention August 12-18, poses in front of Johnny's Dock restaurant on and around a late model car. Approximately 500 delegates will be attending the 53rd annual International Stewards & Caterers' Association convention. (TNT 8/16/1955, pg. 24) TPL-8125
Johnny's Dock (Tacoma); International Stewards & Caterers Association, Tacoma branch (Tacoma); Roberts Fine Foods (Portland, Oregon);
Ground breaking of the U.S. Oil and Refining plant on the Tacoma Tideflats. Senators Warren G. Magnuson and Henry M. Jackson flank Dr. Ernest Lyder, president of the oil company. Dr. Lyder would get a chance to sit behind the controls of the giant diesel shovel used in the ground breaking. The plant, costing ten million dollars, would be built on a 120-acre site, parts of which were used for duck hunting and swimming. ALBUM 4.
Magnuson, Warren G., 1905-1989; Jackson, Henry M., 1912-1983; Lyder, Ernest; US Oil & Refining Co. (Tacoma); Legislators--Washington--1950-1960; Ground breaking ceremonies--Tacoma;
ca. 1955. Pacific Oerlikon Co. An employee works on a precision grinder. Pacific Oerlikon manufactured electrical components, including huge breakers used in the power grid. It occupied the site of the former Henry Mill and Timber Co. Pacific Oerlikon was a subsidiary of Oerlikon Engineering Co. and was entirely Swiss owned.
In September 1955, you could watch (l to r) Beverlee Crombie, Callie Mernaugh and Connie Mernaugh every Friday and Saturday night in the Gay Nineties room at Steve's Gay Nineties, 5238 So. Tacoma Way. Steve's was famous for its use of local talent and was known as a place where the whole family could enjoy an evening out. The Mernaugh girls were twins and graduates of Stadium High School. Their dancing was an artistic outlet, not a profession; both girls held "day jobs." Connie worked at Northwest Chair and Callie worked at St. Regis. Connie Mernaugh was Miss Tacoma of 1956. Beverlee Crombie left Tacoma for Los Angeles where she studied dancing with Vera Ellen, Leslie Caron and Sheree North. By 1956, she was appearing in the revue at the Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas and was booked for an engagement at the Moulin Rouge in Los Angeles. Miss Crombie was a 1955 graduate of Clover Park High School. (TNT 5/9/1956, pg. A-13, 5/29/1957 pg. 4, 8/12/1956, pg. D-12) TPL-8435
Beryl Evelyn Thrasher, parents Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Howard Johnson, and F. Roy Patrick Johnson at St. Patrick's Catholic Church. Reception at Women's Club House. Bride, dressed in long, organdy wedding gown, and groom cutting cake in dining room.
Masonic memorial at Mountain View Memorial Park. Masonic symbols adorn the memorial and it is inscribed with the virtues of brotherly love, relief, truth, fortitude and prudence. This is possibly a portion of the cemetary set aside for members of Masonic organizations to be buried.
Cemeteries--Lakewood; Mountain View Memorial Park (Lakewood); Monuments & memorials--Lakewood;
American Wholesale Grocers. Exterior of new IGA Foodtown store located at Park Ave. and Airport Way. A planter box, including two trees that extend through the roof line, and flagstone paving lead to the entrance of the store. The Van de Camps bakery windmill logo can be seen on the neon sign to the right. Parking fans out around the building. Fluorescent tube lighting illuminates the inside and outside of the store. The 20,000 square foot concrete block and Roman brick building has large plate glass windows across the north side. (TNT 8/16/1955, pg. 7-10)
IGA Foodtown (Parkland); Grocery stores--1950-1960; Supermarkets;
This was how the new IGA Foodtown store located at Park Avenue and Airport Way in Parkland appeared on the evening of August 16, 1955. One of the earliest strip malls in Pierce County, the complex contained the supermarket, bakery, variety store, cafe, beauty and barber shops, real estate office and dry cleaning plant.The entrance to the grocery store is to the right. Checkout registers and baskets can be seen behind the glass entrance. The variety section may have had its own entrance to the left of the brick wall. The store had the new feature of automatic doors and ample self service; 66 feet of self service meat, self service Van de Kamps bakery and large self service variety store. The parking lot provided space for 150 cars. Photograph ordered by American Wholesale Grocers. (TNT 8/16/1955, pg. 7-10)
IGA Foodtown (Parkland); Grocery stores--1950-1960; Supermarkets;
ca. 1955. Three members of the nursing staff pose in front of the Laboure Nursing Home at 901 Tule Lake Rd. The Laboure Home was owned and operated by Grace M. Hoffman and Florence B. Moore. It was a rest home for the aged and convalescent. It had a licensed nursing staff and a house physician. It was a member of WALNH (Washington Association of Licensed Nursing Homes.)
Laboure Nursing Home (Parkland); Houses--Parkland--1950-1960;
Set-up for boat promotion. Two men are pouring over plans to build an 8'9" Pram dingy; more and more companies were following the 1950's do-it-yourself trend in offering their customers easy-to-understand instructions on building their own plywood boats. Ads on a nearby wall advise that eight boat plans would be available for only 10 cents each by the Fir Plywood Fleet. Tools and paint could also be purchased at the same location. Photograph ordered by the Condon Co., an advertising agency.
Advertising--Tacoma--1950-1960; Signs (Notices); Saws; Hammers; Condon Co., Inc. (Tacoma);
Two massive trophies are being held for display at a banquet honoring the Washington Cheney Studs amateur baseball team on October 30, 1955. The Studs were the National Runner-up in the American Baseball Congress tournament in Battle Ground, Michigan, the previous month. The heavy trophy on the left is from the Coca-Cola Bottlers, sponsor of the event. The equally enormous trophy on the right is from the Washington Amateur Baseball Association, an indication that the Studs also swept awards from the state organization. Sepia photograph ordered by Cheney Lumber Co.
The Cheney Studs were the proud recipients of the Coca-Cola Bottler Award as the 1955 American Baseball Congress National Runner-up. Here sponsor Ben Cheney (R) stands with Studs coach, Joe Budnick; they are jointly gripping the large and heavy trophy. Cheney owned and operated Cheney Lumber but was also well known for his love of sports and generosity in sponsoring teams in a variety of activities. Photograph ordered by Cheney Lumber.
Baseball players--Tacoma--1950-1960; Cheney, Ben B., 1905-1971; Budnick, Joe; Awards;
