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C. E. and Hattie King Photographs With digital objects
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Central School

This is the original Central School, built in 1883 for $18,000 and located at 1114 S Altheimer (then S G St), now the area of Bates Technical College. It was modeled after the Euclid Avenue School of Cleveland, Ohio, by architect Joseph Sherwin of Portland. It stood out along the Tacoma skyline with its 90-foot bell tower visible for miles. The school contained twelve rooms and was considered a showplace for the city. Rapid growth made the enrollment climb to 964 by 1886, taught by a staff of 18 teachers. Remodeling and additions to the school occurred before the school moved its 1000 elementary students to a new Central School located at So. 8th & Tacoma Ave. So. in 1913. The new Central School cost $165,000, almost ten times the cost of the original school. The old Central School was demolished in 1914 and served as a hobo shelter for a few months prior to its demolition. (Olsen: For the Record, p. 47-48-various photographs) King 009, TPL 1103.


Back of photo:
Central school, S.W. corner of S.W. and G. St now the Bates Vocational School Tacoma, Wash.

Northern Pacific Railroad track along Commencement Bay, Tacoma, Washington Territory

Northern Pacific Railroad track along Commencement Bay, Tacoma, Washington Territory, circa 1885. Mt. Tacoma (Rainier) and tideflats in background. The railroad tracks were built on fill dirt. The water-filled half-moon section would also be filled in to become the railroad yard, called appropriately the "half-moon yard." KING-008, G76.1-101 (Digital copy only. No print or negative available).

Old Coal Bunkers at Tacoma, W.T.

Three-masted ship "Eldorado" at old coal bunkers, Tacoma, Washington Territory, circa 1885. These are believed to be the Northern Pacific coal bunkers projecting into Commencement bay that were completed in 1882 at a cost of $250,000 and considered at that time to be the most modern of their type on the North Pacific Coast. Ships like the "Eldorado" were a common sight waiting to take on loads of coal. (Hunt, "The Coal Bunkers," History of Tacoma) KING006, TPL 1076

Members of Puyallup Tribe playing game on shores of Puget Sound

In this photograph believed to be from the mid 1880s, a group of Puyallup Indians gathers on the shore of the Puget Sound to gamble. The game they are playing appears to be the bone game, where two teams of 10-12 sit opposite each other. One team has four bones which they pass to the distracting accompaniment of the pounding of sticks and singing of chants. The other team must guess who has the bones. In the background are longboats and a bridge. The Puyallup village during this time period was believed to be at the foot of South 15th St. KING-003, TPL 2897.

Boats at Northern Pacific dock with Blackwell Hotel, Tacoma, Washington Territory, circa 1885

Boats at Northern Pacific dock, Tacoma, Washington Territory, circa 1885. The owners of the warehouse in the center of photograph were not identified. The large building to the far left is the Blackwell Hotel, considered New Tacoma's first hotel. Built by the Northern Pacific Railroad, it opened on January 1, 1874 and closed in 1884. It was razed during the summer of 1901. KING-002, TPL-1095

View looking south of the Northern Pacific Railroad track along Commencement Bay, Tacoma, Washington Territory, circa 1885

View looking south of the Northern Pacific Railroad track along Commencement Bay, Tacoma, Washington Territory, circa 1885. Sidewheeler steamship North Pacific at dock. The Northern Pacific wharf lay below today's Stadium Way and would serve, according to historian Murray Morgan, as a "third world between Old Tacoma and New Tacoma." (Morgan: South on the Sound, p. 48-49) KING-001, TPL-018.

Canoes moored along shoreline

This early 1880s photograph by C. E. & Hattie King is of the Tacoma waterfront. Several European Americans are standing near Indian canoes moored along the shoreline. The location is believed to be south of the James Williams salmon cannery in Old Tacoma. The Kings brief period of photographing Tacoma views documents the blending of cultures and history--the presence and traditions of local Native Americans and the presence of newer Americans establishing homes, industries and towns in the West. KING 016, TPL-3746.

Family in longboat docked near shore

In this circa 1886 photograph, a Native American family lounges in their long boat near the shore. In the background can be seen the Northern Pacific Railroad bridge. The canoe is loaded with supplies, probably returning or setting off for the family's hunting ground. The Puyallup tribe members were primarily hunters, gatherers and fishermen. During this time period, their village was believed to be located at the foot of North 15th. KING-015, TPL 2894.

Puyallup with longboats on shore of Puget Sound

A group of Puyallup Indians with their longboats (canoes) on the Puget Sound around 1886. Behind them can be seen the Northern Pacific Railroad bridge. The Puyallups were primarily fishermen, hunters and gatherers. The local salmon provided their primary food source, but was also a symbol of reverence to the tribe. In the Medicine Creek Treaty of 1854, they ceded many of their territories but retained their fishing rights. Their village at this time was believed to be at the foot of North 15th. KING-014, TPL 2895.

Tacoma Alert Hose Company No. 2 volunteer firefighting company

Tacoma's Alert Hose Co. No. 2 volunteer firefighting company, in uniform, were photographed on August 8, 1885 as they prepared to join the funeral parade to be held that day for former President Ulysses S. Grant. President Grant's portrait is framed in black and placed aboard the company hose wagon. He had died on July 23, 1885, and the Territorial Governor of Washington had declared that the day of his funeral would be an official day of mourning. The firehouse was located at So. 13th & A Street, which was later the location of the Tacoma Railroad & Power substation. Alert Hose Co. No. 2 was probably one of four hose companies organized between March and August, 1885. The company's hose apparatus may have been built by the volunteers themselves. Adelbert Uriah Mills, center in black beard holding bouquet, was the captain and would later become the Commissioner of Public Safety. A partial list of firefighters' names appears in a Tacoma Daily Ledger article on March 9, 1913. (Talbot: 100 Years of Fire fighting in the City of Destiny Tacoma, Washington, p. 15, TDL 3-9-1913, p. 45) KING-013, TPL 2896.

Tacoma High School Class of 1900 with faculty

Members of the Tacoma High School faculty and the senior class, class of 1900, posed on the porch and steps of the school then located at 714 Tacoma Avenue South. The site was the former location of the Washington College, private school for boys. Two students have been identified in the photograph: George (or Georgia) Armstrong and Roy Knapp. Roy Knapp is seated in the second row of steps, second from left, next to an unidentified female. He was the business manager in 1899-1900 for the "Tahoma," the monthly publication of the Tacoma High School students and would pass away in 1906. Two cadets sit on the step railings. They are holding their distinctive hats and appear to be wearing similar clothing, i.e. uniforms. Cadets would participate in drills and would have an armory prepared for their use. KING 012, TPL 1038.

Washington College, Tacoma, W.T.

Finishing touches were being put on the newly built Washington College building at 714 Tacoma Ave. So. Thanks to the generosity of Charles B. Wright, money had been donated to start the private school for boys, the male equivalent of Annie Wright Seminary. It opened on September 2, 1886, with an enrollment of 65 boys, half of them day students. The Depression of 1892-93 forced many students to leave and the school closed in 1892. This building later served as the Tacoma High School from 1898 to 1906 when the high school moved to the remodeled Tourist Hotel at N. 1st & E Streets. It was later demolished in the summer of 1912 to make way for the new Central School Building and the site address changed to 601 So. 8th St.

Annie Wright Seminary, Tacoma, W.T.

This is the original Annie Wright Seminary designed by architects Boone & Meeker as it appeared circa 1886. The private school for girls opened two years before in September of 1884, thanks to its benefactor, Charles B. Wright. The building's foundation came from Wilkeson stone and brick. Its sharp gables and turrets added to the impressive ediface. A gymnasium was added in 1899 and was the sole remaining building left when the school was razed in 1924. Due to growing enrollment, a new campus arose at 827 Tacoma Ave. N. the same year.