Northwest Room

In June of 1945 three unidentified women prepared to send Father's Day messages to servicemen from the special Post Yarns mailing center in Tacoma's Rhodes Department Store; an unidentified clerk working in the booth took their addressed messages. Rhodes joined with the Saturday Evening Post magazine in a special wartime Father's Day offer. The Saturday…

Actress Lana Turner poses with two beaming GIs in the back of a Titus Motor Company's 1923 Lincoln Touring Car parked in front of the Winthrop Hotel during her June 13, 1942 visit to Tacoma for a War Bond rally. To help the Treasury Department sell war bonds, Miss Turner made several stops up the…

Six carhops wearing capes with gold braid, short skirts and white cowboy boots served the cars in front of Kruger's Triple XXX Root Beer Barrel drive-in at 3505 South Tacoma Way in June of 1941. Frank J. Kruger opened his new Triple XXX Barrel restaurant in October 1936 with free root beer to one and…

On June 1, 1942, the Tacoma Times photographer captured horseman Al Wharton parking his horse in front of the Bank of California building. Being a good citizen, and to avoid a ticket, Mr. Wharton dropped a nickel into the meter. A passing policeman remarked that, if needed, he wasn't sure how or where to ticket…

Contraband cigarettes. Black market cigarettes were seized by State and Federal agents May 3, 1945, in an apartment over a tavern south of Tacoma. The cigarettes were stolen from Fort Lewis. See more featured images and posts…

College of Puget Sound's Campus Playcrafters performed Thorton Wilder's "Skin of Our Teeth" as their spring production. The play depicts man's survival through the ice age, deluge and war. The play starred: Irene Fearn, Troy Strong, Helen Strong, Shirley Milstead and William O'Connell. View of the character, Maggie Anthrobus with pet dinosaur and woolly mammoth…

Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor celebrated its grand opening on May 21, 1974, with dignitaries enjoying a bite of red licorice instead of the traditional red ribbon snipping. Located in the west end portion of the Tacoma Mall, Farrell's offered delicious hamburgers and other delicacies as well as mountains of ice creams in many flavors. It…

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…