ca. 1936. Interior of Pacific First Federal Savings and Loan, circa 1936, showing desks and business equipment behind tellers' counter. For Mr. Goff. (Argentum)

Banks--Tacoma--1930-1940; Pacific First Federal Savings & Loan Association (Tacoma);

ca. 1936. Pacific First Federal Savings & Loan with entrance on So. 11th Street. Building is divided by modernized lower floors and the 19th century facade of Equitable Bldg. on upper floors. Original structure dates from 1891, Proctor & Dennis, architects. Crown Drug located in Pacific Ave. storefront. (Argentum)

Pacific First Federal Savings & Loan Association (Tacoma); Banks--Tacoma; Pacific First Federal Building (Tacoma); Crown Drugs (Tacoma);

ca. 1956. This venerable building at the corner of 11th and Pacific was constructed in 1891 as the home of the Merchants National Bank. Proctor & Dennis were the architects with Barrett & Herold, contractors. It was of Romanesque architecture, using stone and brick with Roman arches. In 1897, the name was changed to the Equitable Building, to reflect occupancy of the Equitable Life Assurance Society. In later years, the Pacific First Federal Savings & Loan Association moved in and made many renovations, including the first escalator in Tacoma, and the first revolving clock of its kind on the Pacific Coast. Earthquake damage in April, 1949, necessitated the removal of the cornice. The massive structure had entrances on both Pacific and South 11th St. View of Pacific First Federal Building was probably taken in 1956. TPL-5667

Pacific First Federal Building (Tacoma); Pacific First Federal Savings & Loan Association (Tacoma); Banks--Tacoma;

In September of 1958, Day Ward (kneeling) and an unidentified man examined the huge Univac system installed in the Pacific First Federal Savings & Loan building at 1102-04 Pacific Avenue in downtown Tacoma. Mr. Ward became vice president of the savings & loan association and worked for them for 27 years prior to his passing in 1980. "Univac" stood for Universal Automatic Computer. It was the first commercial computer built in the United States as well as the first computer designed for business use. The first sales in about 1951 were to governmental agencies, such as the Census Bureau, and private companies such as the A.C. Nielsen Co., and Prudential Insurance. General Electric Appliance Division purchased the first Univac using business applications to calculate payroll in 1954. By 1958 when this photo was taken, Univac had become slightly more common in the American workplace. Photograph ordered by Pacific First Federal Savings & Loan Assn. (Computer Science Club > csclub.@cs.ucdavis.edu; TNT 5-18-80, A-6-obit. of Mr. Ward) (Additional identification provided by a reader)

Computers; Banking--Tacoma; Pacific First Federal Savings & Loan Association (Tacoma); Ward, Day;

Downtown Tacoma street scene. Foot traffic was heavy at 11th & Pacific in the downtown business district on April 1, 1922. Built originally for the Merchant National Bank in 1891, the large building occupying the center of the photograph was now the home of Pacific Savings & Loan Association. Its clock tower outside the structure was a familiar sight for pedestrians and motorists alike. G61.1-039

Commercial streets--Tacoma--1920-1930; Business districts--Tacoma--1920-1930; Pacific Savings & Loan Association (Tacoma); Pedestrians--Tacoma; Clock towers--Tacoma;

Exterior of Pacific First Federal Savings Building. The large revolving corner clock indicates that it is 11:50 a.m. and the Pacific First Federal Savings Building is open for business. Plaques on the marbled foundation indicate that the bank offered a safe deposit vault for protection of valuables as well as insuring customers' savings and issuing home loans. Situated in the downtown business district of 11th & Pacific, the venerable building had been a local presence since 1891. Photograph ordered by Puget Sound Office Equipment.

Pacific First Federal Savings & Loan Association (Tacoma); Banks--Tacoma; Pacific First Federal Building (Tacoma);

ca. 1892. Merchants National Bank building at the corner of South 11th Street and Pacific circa 1892. Cablecar tracks can be seen going up 11th. Built in the heart of the Tacoma financial district, the Merchants National Bank was considered a "modern bank" upon its completion in 1891. The bank had reorganized in 1884 and was led by Walter J. Thompson. He remained its president until May of 1893 when bank failures swept the nation. Although Nelson Bennett, a director of the bank, agreed to assume the presidency and attempted a last minute influx of money to save the bank, the bank failed to open its doors on June 1, 1893. ( Hunt: "The Bank Failures of 1893,"History of Tacoma, Vol. 2, p. 110-115-article)

Merchants National Bank (Tacoma); Banks--Tacoma; Commercial streets--Tacoma--1890-1900;

Models Helene Williamson and Dani Rae Sweet examine one of the many safe deposit boxes in the vault at the Pacific First Federal Savings & Loan. Ponytailed Dani Rae helps to pull out the rectangular metal box. Safe deposit boxes came in many shapes and sizes; each was individually marked and two keys were necessary to open the mini-vault. Tacoma was the savings & loan's home office although it had branches in Western Washington and Oregon. Photograph ordered by Pacific First Federal Savings & Loan Association.

Safe-deposit boxes--Tacoma; Vaults (Strong rooms)--Tacoma; Pacific First Federal Savings & Loan Association (Tacoma); Williamson, Helene; Sweet, Dani Rae;

It took a large crew of workers over 24 hours, in May of 1949, to dismantle and remove the 100 ton brick cornice from the top of the Pacific First Federal Building at the corner of South 11th and Pacific. The cornice had been badly damaged by the April 13, 1949 earthquake, and it was feared that it would collapse, injuring or killing pedestrians in the street below. It took an 85 foot crane with a 15 foot extension, 30 laborers, a big steel bucket, walkie-talkies and a swinging steel ball to dismantle the damaged cornice. This building was torn down in the early 1960s, and replaced with a new Pacific First Federal building. The newer building is now home to Washington Mutual. (T.N.T., 5/9/49, p. 1).

Laborers--Tacoma--1940-1950; Building failures--Tacoma; Building deterioration--Tacoma; Bricks; Disasters--Tacoma--1940-1950; Hoisting machinery; Pacific First Federal Building (Tacoma);

Horluck's was having their grand opening and would offer free ice cream and coffee to their customers. Horluck's was located in the Pacific First Federal Building at South 11th Street and Pacific Avenue. Horluck's was owned by Aldrich Fox and Lloyd Knutsen, well known dairy and fountain men; Jack Fox would be the restaurant's manager. Interior view of Horluck's Danish Ice Cream Shop (T.N.T., 9/23/49, p. C-2,3).

Bars (Furniture)--Tacoma; Soda fountains--Tacoma; Restaurants--Tacoma; Equipment; Horluck's Danish Ice Cream Shop (Tacoma); Pacific First Federal Building (Tacoma);

ca. 1956. The grand building at 11th & Pacific was the home of Pacific First Federal Savings & Loan Association for decades. The Merchants National Bank was the Romanesque structure's first tenant back in 1891. The brick and marble edifice had two entrances, one on 11th and the other on Pacific, to catch traffic on both streets. It would eventually be demolished about 1961 and a new Pacific First Federal Savings & Loan Association building be constructed on the same site. BU -11,004

Pacific First Federal Savings & Loan Association (Tacoma); Banks--Tacoma; Pacific First Federal Building (Tacoma);

Pacific Savings & Loan Association occupied the Equitable Building (former location of the Merchants National Bank) in 1928. Other tenants included Crown Drugs and Pyro-Kure Dentists. The building adjoining the Equitable Building was the home of the F.W. Woolworth 5 & 10 cent store.

Pacific Savings & Loan Association (Tacoma); Banks--Tacoma; F.W. Woolworth Co. (Tacoma); Variety stores--Tacoma--1920-1930;

An 85 foot crane with a 15 foot extension was being used to remove 100 tons of cornice bricks from the Pacific First Federal Building. View of laborers working on removing the bricks that were loosened during the big earthquake; view of large crane and truck on South 11th Street and Pacific Avenue (T.N.T., 5/9/49, p. 1).

Laborers--Tacoma--1940-1950; Building failures--Tacoma; Building deterioration--Tacoma; Bricks; Disasters--Tacoma--1940-1950; Hoisting machinery; Pacific First Federal Building (Tacoma);

Exterior of Pacific First Federal Building, home of the Savings and Loan Association, at the corner of 11th and Pacific Ave. Gerrit Vander Ende, President. This Romanesque style building was originally built in 1891 and designed by Proctor & Dennis, Architects. It was demolished and replaced by the current First Federal Building in the sixties.

Pacific First Federal Building (Tacoma);

Elegant, but simple, interior of the Pacific First Federal Savings & Loan Association building. Elaborate grill work and Art Deco-style ceiling light fixtures. Free-standing panels display house plans.

Banks--Tacoma--1930-1940; Pacific First Federal Savings & Loan Association (Tacoma);

American flags flank the marbled entrance to Pacific First Federal Savings on Flag Day, 1957. Pacific First Federal Savings & Loan Association was a mutual savings institution with branches in Bellingham, Seattle, Tacoma, Longview, Portland and Eugene. It served over 57, 000 families with $170 million in resources. Tacoma was its home office, established in 1907. Gerrit VanderEnde was the longtime president of the savings & loan.

Pacific First Federal Savings & Loan Association (Tacoma); Banks--Tacoma; Flags; Doors & doorways--Tacoma--1950-1960; Pacific First Federal Building (Tacoma);

Rows and towers of safe-deposit units greet customers of Pacific First Federal Savings in June, 1957. Each box is numbered and two keys would be necessary to open each individual box, much as is done in 2002. Carpeted floors would muffle the tread of many footsteps. Pacific First Federal Savings was located at the corner of 11th and Pacific in downtown Tacoma. The Romanesque-style building was constructed in 1891 as the home of Merchants National Bank. Photograph ordered by Puget Sound Office Equipment.

Pacific First Federal Savings & Loan Association (Tacoma); Banks--Tacoma; Safe-deposit boxes--Tacoma;