The back of the old Tacoma Transit property. Several buses are seen inside the building being serviced. Ordered by Rinaldo Keasal.

Tacoma Transit Co. (Tacoma); Mass transit--Tacoma; Bus terminals--Tacoma; Transportation facilities--Tacoma;

This building, which used to stand at 13th and A St., was originally built in 1889 as the power house for the Tacoma Railway and Motor Company. On June 2, 1920 is was destroyed by a major fire. After being rebuilt, it was used by Tacoma Transit until a fire in February of 1950 destroyed it for the second time. The building was razed in July of 1959 to make way for a parking lot.

Tacoma Transit Co. (Tacoma); Mass transit--Tacoma; Bus terminals--Tacoma; Transportation facilities--Tacoma;

A sign affixed to the exterior of the old Tacoma Transit property. The sign reads, "Site of First Tacoma Building in the Street Car Industry, 1888, Erected by Tacoma Women's Club, June 7, 1927". Ordered by Rinaldo Keasal.

Tacoma Transit Co. (Tacoma); Tacoma Women's Club (Tacoma); Plaques--Tacoma; Street railroads--Tacoma;

Power shovel at City Bus Barns. The Tacoma Transit Co.'s garage, destroyed by fire the previous year, was being torn down to make room for a 118 car parking lot for use by Puget Sound Bank. The garage began life as a street car facility; the building housed the huge wheels that dragged the cables for the cable cars. The garage also had a lower level, possibly the area that the man is gazing into, that had a blacksmith shop, streetcar wheel storage area and machine shop, among other things. The bricks left from the destruction of the garage were used to fill the holes where once were foundries and mysterious caverns. (TNT 3/4/1951, pg. A-9)

Tacoma Transit Co. (Tacoma); Tacoma Transit Co. Garage (Tacoma); Mass transit--Tacoma; Bus terminals--Tacoma; Transportation facilities--Tacoma; Steam shovels--1950-1960; Digging--Tacoma--1950-1960; Puget Sound National Bank (Tacoma); Banks--Tacoma;

Progress picture of Puget Sound Bank parking lot. A heavy crane has been brought in to assist in the demolition of the Tacoma Transit garages, partially destroyed by fire. A worker poses atop the structure and another on the crane itself. This was the original site of the old street car company cable building. The plaque presented in 1927 by the Tacoma Women's clubs commemorating the "Site of the First Tacoma Building in the Street Car Industry" had been removed until it can be placed on the parking lot attendant's structure. (TNT 5/24/1951, pg. 23)

Tacoma Transit Co. (Tacoma); Tacoma Transit Co. Garage (Tacoma); Puget Sound National Bank (Tacoma); Hoisting machinery; Progress photographs--1950-1960; Banks--Tacoma;

Progress picture of Puget Sound Bank parking lot, being constructed on the site of the burned and demolished Tacoma Transit garages. Most of the upper building has been removed, exposing the warren of rooms underneath used when the building housed the street car cables and shops. Puget Sound Bank, following the trend of offering free parking to entice customers, had been looking for a parking lot site for their downtown building and happily purchased the site.

Tacoma Transit Co. (Tacoma); Tacoma Transit Co. Garage (Tacoma); Puget Sound National Bank (Tacoma); Progress photographs--1950-1960; Banks--Tacoma;

Progress picture of Puget Sound Bank parking lot being built on the site of the demolished Tacoma Transit Co. Garages. The Eleventh Street Bridge can be seen in the background. The Richards photographer captured his own vehicle in the foreground. Earth moving equipment can be seen at the center of the picture. This site will soon become the 126 car courtesy parking lot for Puget Sound Bank. The bank for several years had seen the need for a parking area and was pleased to purchase the transit site. As more customers owned their own autos and mass transit was less utilized, free parking was essential to the survival of downtown businesses.

Tacoma Transit Co. (Tacoma); Tacoma Transit Co. Garage (Tacoma); Puget Sound National Bank (Tacoma); Progress photographs--1950-1960; Banks--Tacoma;

Progress photograph of Puget Sound Bank's new parking lot, formerly the Tacoma Transit garages. A steam shovel and trucks are being used for excavation and hauling away of the debris.The bricks from the Transit building demolition were used to fill in the warrens left below ground from the street car days. The ground has now been leveled and the site looks more like the parking lot it will become. The parking lot will measure 320 ft by 144 ft and will have a capacity of 126 automobiles. Bank customers will be able to enjoy a half hour of free parking in which to attend to their banking needs. The lot will also employ an attendant during hours of operation, 8:30-5 weekdays. Schoenfelds Furniture, at 1423 Pacific Ave., can be seen in the background of the picture. (TNT 5/24/1951, pg. 23)

Tacoma Transit Co. (Tacoma); Tacoma Transit Co. Garage (Tacoma); Puget Sound National Bank (Tacoma); Progress photographs--1950-1960; Steam shovels; Banks--Tacoma;

Fire damage at Tacoma Transit. A fire destroyed four Tacomna Transit Company buses, several private automobiles and gutted the firm's repair shops and maintenance depot February 15, 1950. Losses were estimated at $267,000. The buses, in the process of repair, were probably totally ruined by the gasoline-fed flames. Ordered by United Pacific Insurance Company, Mr. Littlemore. (TNT, 2/16/1950, p.1)

Tacoma Transit Co. (Tacoma); Fires--Tacoma--1950-1960; Buses--Tacoma--1950-1960; Bus terminals--Tacoma;

Fire damage at Tacoma Transit. The fire at the Tacoma Transit Company terminals destroyed four buses, several private automobiles and gutted the firm's repair shops and maintenance depot. Bricks, placed more than 50 years earlier in the two-story building, withstood the heat and flames. The framed interior of the building was a total loss, however. During streetcar days, in the section of the building damaged, were housed the old power house and the giant 12 and 15-foot diameter wheels which furnished power for the fleet of Tacoma cable cars. Ordered by United Pacific Insurance Company, Mr. Littlemore. (TNT, 2/16/1950, p.1)

Tacoma Transit Co. (Tacoma); Fires--Tacoma--1950-1960; Buses--Tacoma--1950-1960; Bus terminals--Tacoma;

Four Tacoma Transit buses were totally destroyed on February 15, 1950 when a gasoline-fed fire swept through the Transit Company's repair shop at 1301 A Street. The repair shop was located in the historic Tacoma Railway & Motor Company Power House which was built in 1889; it was originally built as the main powerhouse for Tacoma's streetcars. Although the brick walls withstood the heat and flames, the frame interior of the building and the buses inside were a total loss. Today the site of the old Transit building is occupied by the Columbia Bank Center which was built in 2001. Pictured above removing a "school bus" sign from one of the destroyed buses is Herbert "Herb" Emerick. His primary bus route was "Old Tacoma," which was also the area he lived in with his wife, Ida Strubstad Emerick. "Herb" Emerick would retire from Tacoma Transit and pass away in 1955. (Ordered by United Pacific Insurance Company, Mr. Littlemore.) (TNT, 2/16/1950, p.1. Additional information provided by a reader.)

Tacoma Transit Co. (Tacoma); Fires--Tacoma--1950-1960; Buses--Tacoma--1950-1960; Bus terminals--Tacoma; Emerick, Herbert;