TPL Blogs

The stars of the future Weaver Productions, Inc. motion picture "Totem Pole Beggar" arrived at Tacoma's Union Depot on March 5, 1926. The movie was scheduled to begin filming at the H. C. Weaver studios near Titlow Beach on March 8. H. C. Weaver, studio head, is in the back row, third from the right…

Diminutive Robert Dykeman was caught in the act of fishing for votes by Patrolman Bill Herbst, left, and Sgt. Bill Christilaw, right. Dykeman was running for Park Commissioner in the March 12, 1935 election. Four foot four inch Robert Dykeman, never one to let his size deter his commitment to the city and county, ran…

Gust Gall, 39, speaks to police upon being arrested for contributing to the delinquency of a minor in February, 1943. He was being held in city jail in lieu of $1000 bail after being arrested at the Olin Corporation plant on late Thursday, February 25, 1943. His 13-year-old daughter Phyllis was found with her ankles…

At around 9 a.m. on Saturday, February 23, 1924, an explosion in the Stone-Fisher Co. machine shop or garage at 1115-17 Market Street sparked one of the largest fires that Tacoma had seen in years. Traffic was blocked and electric power was shut off as all of Tacoma's fire companies were called to battle the…

Each new Arden Milk truck is matched with its own driver on February 21, 1953. Arden Farms had just received four new refrigerated Ford trucks for use in delivering their milk and other dairy products. Arden drivers were neat in appearance with striped overalls, white shirts, ties and company caps. See more featured images and…

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…

The S. H. Kress & Co. store in Tacoma, 934 Broadway, advertised fresh, home-made, butter cream fudge for 30 cents per one-half pound for Valentines Day 1949. In their front window, heart shapes and stripes were made of suckers on a continuous tape. Several large pieces of fudge spelled out the name "Kress," and other…

On February 7, 1968, three of the 4-year-olds attending the newly established Hilltop Day Nursery at 1407 South I Street, (l-r) Starlin Hunter, Kenneth Crockrele, and Angie McKenzie, were photographed while competing in a pretend horse race. The new nursery, also known as the Hilltop Community Day Care Center, was located in the parish hall…

In February of 1936, this quartet of local businessmen were planning to put in some "hard time" lightening up Tacoma's Chamber of Commerce meetings. The officers of the newly organized Chamber "Chain Gang" were, left to right, Edward Jansen, Joseph F. Lanser, Stewart Davis and J. J. Butler. Their goal was to add some fun…