Service area at Mueller- Harkins Buick Agency. Car going through the "Washmoblie", automatic car washing machine. Bare concrete walls, reflection of outdoor advertising for the agency in window at top right in photo.

Buick automobile; Automobile dealerships--Tacoma; Vehicle maintenance & repair--Tacoma; Mueller-Harkins Motor Co. (Tacoma);

Mueller-Harkins' employees had their lunch and recreation room located in a round glassed-in tower. Mueller-Harkins promised fast and efficient service to their customers. Interior view of service area at Mueller-Harkins Buick Agency's painting booth, unidentified man with breathing apparatus sprays a well-masked older coupe (T. Times, 12/26/48, p. 28)..

Buick automobile; Painting--Tacoma; Automobile dealerships--Tacoma; Mechanics (Persons)--Tacoma; Vehicle maintenance & repair--Tacoma; Automobile equipment & supplies; Mueller-Harkins Motor Co. (Tacoma);

View of window display at Fisher's Department Store; the display features modern "Morton and Kelvinator" kitchen appliances and cabinets, with a female mannequin on right side. "Morton" pantryettes and kitchen cabinets are along the walls of the display; "Kelvinator" range, freezer, double kitchen sink and refrigerator help give this kitchen all of the modern conveniences.

Department stores--Tacoma; Cupboards--Tacoma; Kitchens--Tacoma--1940-1950; Merchandise displays--Tacoma; Window displays; Appliances; Appliance stores--Tacoma; Mannequins; Fisher's Department Store (Tacoma);

Brown's Conservatory of Flowers was celebrating their re-opening; they had just gone through a remodeling and expansion of their flower shop. Brown's had invested approximately $67,000 in the latest flower ideas. Interior view of Brown's Flowers; an unidentified man is in the decorating room, this room has the floral arrangement supplies, including a flower spray painting machine; ribbons are lined up under the cabinets (T. Times, 12/16/48, p. 14-15).

Florist shops--Tacoma; Flowers--Tacoma; Decorations--Tacoma; Business enterprises--Tacoma; Commercial facilities--Tacoma; Brown's Conservatory of Flowers (Tacoma);

Brown's Flowers had one of the most qualified flower staffs in all of Tacoma. Patsy Johnson was a wedding specialist, Hazel Freeman specialized in center pieces and bowl arrangements, Margie Leingang specialized in corsages, Larry Rucker specialized in funeral arrangements, and William Durrall was the greenhouse supervisor. Interior view of Brown's special order and arrangement room, refrigerated cabinets and storage compartments are located below the spacious counters (T. Times, 12/16/48, p. 14-15).

Florist shops--Tacoma; Flowers--Tacoma; Decorations--Tacoma; Business enterprises--Tacoma; Commercial facilities--Tacoma; Brown's Conservatory of Flowers (Tacoma);

Brown's Flowers had an extra wing added, roof gardens and an apartment were also an addition on the second floor. The building houses a large display room, rock garden, corsage room, special order room, and the store is proud to offer their customers new and exotic flowers from South America and Hawaii. View of Brown's Flowers modern display case, a recent addition in the remodeling project (T. Times, 12/16/48, p. 14-15).

Florist shops--Tacoma; Flowers--Tacoma; Window displays; Decorations--Tacoma; Business enterprises--Tacoma; Commercial facilities--Tacoma; Brown's Conservatory of Flowers (Tacoma);

Griffin Fuel Company delivered coal, oil, wood and charcoal to the Western Washington area. Ed Griffin was the President and General Manager of the tacoma office. Ed attended Stadium High School, the University of Washington and the Harvard School of Business. Interior view of Griffin Fuel Company, an unidentified office worker is working on customer accounts; photo ordered by Diebold Inc., locked file cabinets and safes dealers.

Fuel supply; Fuel--Tacoma; Offices--Tacoma--1940-1950; Locks (Hardware); Safes; Office equipment & supplies; Office furniture; Office workers--Tacoma; Fuel trade--Tacoma; Griffin Fuel Co. (Tacoma); Diebold, Inc. (Tacoma);

Griffin Fuel Company was started at the turn of the 20th century by Fred Griffin, his son Edwin Griffin was now running the Tacoma office. The company was a leader in the fuel delivery industry in Tacoma and Seattle. Interior view of Griffin Fuel Company, new filing cabinet is opened and files are pulled out; new filing cabinet would ensure account security. Photo ordered by Diebold Inc., locked file cabinets and safe dealers.

Fuel supply; Fuel--Tacoma; Offices--Tacoma--1940-1950; Safes; Locks (Hardware); Office equipment & supplies; Office furniture; Fuel trade--Tacoma; Griffin Fuel Co. (Tacoma); Diebold, Inc. (Tacoma);

Olga Maijala (later Massie), a Griffin Fuel Company office worker, is busy filing customer account information into a new lockable file cabinet in December of 1948. The cabinet was purchased from the local distributer of cabinets and safes manufactured by Diebold, Incorporated. In the pre-computer, pre-"paperless" age roll-top cabinets like this were used to keep accounts in order and under lock and key. Besides the main lock on the rolling top, each separate drawer had its own lock. Griffin Fuel was a major local fuel delivery company in business since 1889. Photo ordered by Diebold, Inc. (Additional identification provided by a reader)

Fuel supply; Fuel--Tacoma; Offices--Tacoma--1940-1950; Safes; Locks (Hardware); Office equipment & supplies; Office furniture; Office workers--Tacoma--1940-1950; Fuel trade--Tacoma; Griffin Fuel Co. (Tacoma); Diebold, Inc. (Tacoma); Maijala, Olga;

Motors Insurance Co., several different views at Mueller-Harkins Motor Company, Mr. Mueller. Two men stand at the Insurance Department service window. An employee explains the plan to a customer wearing a three-piece tweed suit.

Mueller-Harkins Motor Co. (Tacoma); Automobile dealerships--Tacoma--1940-1950; Offices--Tacoma--1940-1950; Insurance;

Gus and Mike Peters and family members celebrate the opening of their new restaurant, Peters Golden Gate Oyster House. Gus and Mike immigrated from Greece and have been in Tacoma for more than 30 years. The brothers have 35 years of experience in seafood catering. Interior view of the noon time crowd at Peters Golden Gate Oyster House. (T.N.T., 12/9/1948, p. B9).

Oysters; Restaurants--Tacoma; Restaurant workers--Tacoma; Waitresses--Tacoma; Peters Golden Gate Oyster House (Tacoma);

Daily operations at Dalgety Foods. Assembly line workers inspect bags of vegetables, possibly corn, as the bags pass by on the conveyor belt. Dalgety Foods were frozen vegetable and fruit processors. Photograph ordered by Dalgety Foods.

Dalgety Foods (Tacoma); Food industry--Tacoma--1970-1980; Vegetables--Tacoma; Assembly-line methods--Tacoma--1970-1980;

Daily operations at Dalgety Foods. Sparklets Green Peas boxes are possibly being filled with the vegetables or lids mechanically sealed via assembly-line methods in this April, 1978, photograph at the Dalgety Foods plant. Photograph ordered by Dalgety Foods.

Dalgety Foods (Tacoma); Food industry--Tacoma--1970-1980; Vegetables--Tacoma; Boxes; Assembly-line methods--Tacoma--1970-1980;

Daily operations at Dalgety Foods. Dalgety Foods were frozen vegetable and fruit processors. A Dalgety employee pictured above in April of 1978 is examining trays of Western Family Cut Corn, Bel-Air Green Peas and a succotash mixture. Photograph ordered by Dalgety Foods.

Dalgety Foods (Tacoma); Food industry--Tacoma--1970-1980; Vegetables--Tacoma; Peas--Tacoma;

Dalgety Foods shipment. A White truck is either delivering or transporting Dalgety Foods frozen food products in this 1978 photograph. Dalgety foods were frozen vegetable and fruit processors and wholesalers with offices in Tacoma. Photograph ordered by Dalgety Foods.

Dalgety Foods (Tacoma); Food industry--Tacoma--1970-1980; Trucks--1970-1980; Shipping;

Daily operations at Dalgety Foods. A young Dalgety worker sifts through a wide conveyor belt full of vegetables, probably corn, on April 27, 1978. Dalgety Foods was a frozen foods processor and wholesaler located at 1501 Pacific Ave. Photograph ordered by Dalgety Foods.

Dalgety Foods (Tacoma); Food industry--Tacoma--1970-1980; Vegetables--Tacoma;

Unidentified restaurant. The restaurant is empty at this time except for one employee in the background. Once open, donuts, pies, and pastries could be ordered as well as hamburgers and other dishes. Customers could sit at either booths or separate tables. Color photographs ordered by S & W Management.

Restaurants;

Unidentified restaurant in Des Moines photographed in December of 1978. A customer is placing an order with the restaurant's cashier as others dine peacefully. This is possibly a restaurant called the Pie Pantry where cut pies, ala mode, and whole pies to go could be purchased. Apparently other, more meatier dishes could be obtained as well as the condiments on the surrounding tables attest. Color photograph ordered by S & W Management.

Restaurants--Des Moines;

Restaurant in unidentified Mall. This may be a quick dining establishment called "Kitchen Burgers" as pictured in December of 1978. A partial glimpse into the restaurant shows a number of booths adjoining the bumped-out windows and separate tables within. Earth tones of copper and ivory are found both on the interior and exterior of the restaurant. Color photograph ordered by S & W Management.

Restaurants;

The most famous resident of E.L. Irwin's B&I Shopping Center was not a store owner, customer or employee, he was an endangered Western Lowland gorilla named Ivan. Mr. Irwin bought Ivan and a female gorilla, Burma, as infants from an animal trader in 1964. The young gorillas were born in the wild in the Congo, present day Zaire. The female died soon after arrival, but Ivan became a family favorite, even living with the Irwins until his strength became overwhelming. In 1967, he went to live permanently at the B&I in a 14 x 14 concrete and steel cage. He remained there for 27 years, until he was donated in 1994 to the Woodland Park Zoo. He was on permanent loan to the Atlanta Zoo, where he was the star of their Ford African Rainforest habitat. Ivan died in Atlanta on Monday, August 20, 2012

Gorillas; B&I Circus Store (Tacoma);

Ivan, the shopping mall gorilla, looked out from his cage at the B&I on September 5, 1973. He had been a resident at the B&I since 1967. He was acquired by store owner E.L. Irwin in 1964 from the Congo and lived the first few years of his life as one of the family. As his size and strength grew, he was moved permanently to the store. For 30 years, he drew the young and old to the mall. As attitudes towards animals in captivity changed and as zoos gave up their cages for spacious naturalistic "habitats," a "Free the Gorilla" campaign developed. Ivan was the source of much publicity and discord until 1994, when the endangered Western Lowland gorilla was donated to the Woodland Park Zoo. He was on permanent loan to the Atlanta Zoo, where he died on Monday, August 20, 2012

Gorillas; B&I Circus Store (Tacoma);

A playful Ivan the gorilla approached the camera in September of 1973. For 27 years, from 1967-1994, Ivan was the most famous resident of the B&I Circus Store, 8012 South Tacoma Way. Store owner Earl (E.L.) Irwin purchased Ivan and another infant gorilla from an animal trainer in the Congo in 1964. The pair were intended to publicize the B&I. The female Western Lowland gorilla died soon after arrival, but Ivan became a favorite of the Irwin family and took up residence at their house. By 1967, Ivan's strength, natural curiosity and playfulness ruled him out as a house pet and he went to live at the B&I full time. As attitudes toward captive animals changed with the time, Ivan's fans became the core of a "free the gorilla" movement. In 1994, the Irwin family donated Ivan to the Woodland Park Zoo. The Western Lowland gorilla was on permanent loan to the Atlanta Zoo, where he died on Monday, August 20, 2012 .

Gorillas; B&I Circus Store (Tacoma);

ca. 1973. 1973 Richards stock footage. The former Winthrop Hotel gets a good scrubbing by Allied Mobile Powerwash in 1973 as powerful streams of water remove dirt and grime from its exterior. This view is of the Winthrop's back. A glimpse of the Pantages Theater is on the extreme left edge. The Winthrop ceased operations as a hotel in August of 1971 and was converted into senior/elderly housing in 1973.

Hotel Winthrop (Tacoma); Cleaning--Tacoma--1970-1980;

Ivan the Gorilla, pictured here on September 5, 1973, was synonymous with the B&I Circus Store. People came from far and wide to see Ivan and visit the heavily advertised "Biggest Little Store in the World." That was exactly what owner Earl Irwin hoped for when he purchased the infant gorilla from an animal trader in the Congo in 1964. At first, Ivan lived with the Irwins as a family pet. By 1967, his size and strength made him a domestic liability and he was moved permanently to the pictured home at the store. He remained there for 27 years until 1994, when he was first donated to the Woodland Park Zoo and then loaned to the Atlanta Zoo. Ivan died in Atlanta on Monday, August 20, 2012

Gorillas; B&I Circus Store (Tacoma);

Ivan, the shopping mall gorilla, stared pensively into the camera from his cage at the B&I Circus Store in September of 1973. Ivan, a Western Lowland gorilla (now an endangered species), had lived in this 14 x 14 cage since 1967. B&I owner Earl (E.L.) Irwin had bought Ivan from an animal trader in the Congo in 1964. Irwin, a master showman, intended to use Ivan to draw crowds to the store. Ivan lived up to his part. From 1967-1994, people came to the B&I to visit with Ivan. As attitudes towards captive animals changed with the times, a "free Ivan" movement developed. After much contention, the Irwin family donated Ivan to the Woodland Park Zoo in 1994. They in turn loaned him permanently to the Atlanta Zoo, where he died on Monday, August 20, 2012

Gorillas; B&I Circus Store (Tacoma);

Ivan the gorilla posed in the doorway separating the two rooms of his cement and steel home at the B&I Circus Store, 8012 South Tacoma Way, in September of 1973. This was Ivan's home for 27 years, from 1967-1994. When it was constructed in 1967, the cage was state of the art. However, as time passed and zoo animals were released from their cages and introduced to "habitats," Ivan still remained alone at the B&I. A "free Ivan" movement developed and in 1994, the Irwin family donated Ivan to the Woodland Park Zoo. The Western Lowland gorilla was on permanent loan to the Atlanta Zoo, where he died on Monday, August 20, 2012

Gorillas; B&I Circus Store (Tacoma);

B&I Circus Store owner Earl Irwin was a master showman and an expert at promotion. His longest running promotion for the store was Ivan, the shopping mall gorilla; pictured here in September of 1973. The gorilla, acquired by Irwin in 1964, was a permanent resident at the B&I from 1967-1994. He lived in a steel and concrete cage with no contact with others of his species. In 1994, after years of controversy over his captivity, he was donated to the Woodland Park Zoo. The Western Lowland gorilla was on permanent loan to the Atlanta Zoo, where he died on Monday, August 20, 2012

Gorillas; B&I Circus Store (Tacoma);

ca. 1973. 1973 Richards stock footage. An Allied Mobile Powerwash truck is parked outside the Winthrop in 1973 as it prepares to clean the exterior of the former landmark hotel. The Winthrop, built in 1925, had closed its doors in early August of 1971. It was converted into senior/elderly apartments to be opened in August of 1973.

Hotel Winthrop (Tacoma); Cleaning--Tacoma--1970-1980;

A young woman and two young men enjoy some quiet conversation and refreshing beverages at the new Papa John's restaurant located in the Tacoma Mall's west end addition. Casual dining appeared to be the theme with the use of canvas-back chairs and plain round tables in an "old world" garden setting. Papa John's, owned by Mike Wrede and managed by Dick Zierman, featured 500 types of domestic and imported wines. Photograph ordered by Papa John's. (TNT 7-24-73, insert on expansion)

Papa John's (Tacoma); Restaurants--Tacoma--1970-1980; Eating & drinking--Tacoma--1970-1980;

Seattle-First National Bank. Two Sixth Avenue banks would open their doors in December of 1972; Seattle-First National Bank celebrated its grand opening on December 9th with Washington Mutual Savings following on December 13th. This is a view of the Sea-First branch taken a few months later on April 29, 1973. A large sign with the now-familiar red "1" welcomed customers and invited them to use the expeditious motor banking. The "Highland Hills" branch had moved from old quarters at Sixth & "L" but remained a full service facility with three drive-up windows. Color photograph ordered by Seattle-First National Bank, Seattle.

Seattle-First National Bank (Tacoma); Banks--Tacoma; Signs (Notices);