TacomaLibrary_NW_History

On May 20, 1942, the Tacoma Fire Department, under the direction of the Coast Guard, razed the shanties located in a six block area on the Tacoma Tideflats. The area, known as "Hollywood on the Tideflats" was being destroyed as a wartime security measure for the industries located there. The 50 or so shacks began…

The James Stack Co., Inc. was a wholesaler and importer of toys. Owned by James R. Stack, it was located at 1422 Tacoma Avenue South. The company handled a wide variety of toys; pictured here in May, 1954, are just a few including Tiddley Winx and Crosswords games, a Li'l Abner & Daisy Mae Dogpatch…

This photograph of six years old Yukie Suekawa and Pvt. Howard L. Loudermilk at Union Station was chosen to grace the front page of the May 17, 1942 Tacoma Times with the caption "Goodbye for the Duration." As Pvt. Loudermilk adjusts the bonnet on the head of the little girl's doll, they are surrounded by…

For Mother's Day in 1950, the News Tribune paid special tribute to Mrs. Florence D. Smith, the mother of 10 sons, 4 daughters and grandmother to 29 grandchildren, with a front page article on May 14. The widow of Aldus A. Smith, the minister of Mason Methodist Church for many years, she had made her…

Lillian Biehner, right, supervisor of Pierce County school nurses, conducts a test on the students' hearing at Ruston School on May 6, 1941. An audiometer, in the suitcase on the right, contains a record player connected to 20 sets of earphones. Children write down the numbers they hear over the recording. Students in the left…

On May 4, 1948, Pacific Lutheran College students were getting their campus ready for the annual May Fete. These unidentified students were raking in front of Old Main and loading the debris in a wheelbarrow. The May carnival would include many fun filled activities for the students. The highlight of the festivities would be the…

April 6, 1935 saw the Grand Opening of the newest H. Berger & Sons grocery store at 8108 South Tacoma Way. In this photograph, the meat market is featured with an unidentified butcher behind the meat counter. During the opening sale, steak was available at 18 cents a pound and ground beef at 10 cents…

An automobile collided with a Northern Pacific train near the Shaffer Terminals on Commencement Bay in April 1946. Two people were seriously injured and rushed to Tacoma General Hospital. The train engineer stated that the train was travelling 20 miles per hour, the driver of the car must have felt that they had plenty of…

Aerial of new Kaiser Dome, part of the Port of Tacoma's 1.6 million dollar bulk storage facility project, taken in late April, 1967. The aluminum sheathed dome would handle alumina under contract with Kaiser Aluminum. The Port expected 40,000 tons of alumina a month shipped from Australia. Long conveyors will transferred the alumina into the…

In March of 1926, three employees at the Washington Co-Operative Egg & Poultry Association Headquarters, (left to right) Mary Zack, Sarah Gruno and Esther Christoferson, demonstrated how to decorate Easter eggs. Sarah Gruno, in the center, is dyeing eggs with natural dyes made from vegetables, such as beets, spinach and coffee. Mary Zack is cutting…