Northwest Room

Mrs. Bernice Rupp (now Mrs. Bernice Rupp Johnson) points out one of several new Motorola television sets being sold in October of 1956 at Paulson's Appliances, located at the corner of South 11th & "K" (now Martin Luther King Jr. Way). The store was owned by Cliff Paulson. They sold radios, furniture, and appliances including…

Judy Maida tests a phone line while securely strapped to a telephone pole by her lineman's belt in October of 1974. Ms. Maida was employed by Pacific Northwest Bell. By the 1970s, telephone companies were using women as linemen. Women were given the opportunity to move out of the business office to good paying outdoor…

In this photograph from October of 1949, an unidentified student kneels next to the bell that had hung in the bell tower at Lowell School, 1210 No. Yakima Ave, until the school was severely damaged by the earthquake of April 13, 1949. The school was condemned and demolished, and a new Lowell School was built…

Tacoma High School students parade to "Boost the Stadium." The campaign to raise $100,000 to build a beautiful high school stadium next to the school was successfully launched on October 6, 1908, when 2,000 school children ranging from 7th-8th grade to high schoolers marched in the "Boost for Stadium" parade. The school district cooperated by…

In 1947 Kaiser Aluminum under the name Permanente Metals leased the aluminum plant that was built in Tacoma by the Defense Plant Corporation. The plant had been built to provide aluminum for the war effort. With the end of the war, there was a surplus of aluminum and the plant had been closed. In October…

In October of 1946, an unidentified young man, dressed as a Roman soldier, walked down Pacific Avenue carrying a shield with a poster advertising the movie "Caesar and Cleopatra" playing at the Music Box Theater. The film version of George Bernard Shaw's play starred Vivien Leigh as Cleopatra and Claude Rains as Ceasar.With a production…

Tacoma Silver Fox Farm owner George H. Jensen and daughter Barbara Ellen perch on the running board of his new Oldsmobile Six sedan in late September of 1926. They are holding prize brush and white-tip foxes from the same litter. The man in the sedan with another fox was not identified. Mr. Jensen, who had…

On September 24, 1941, two unidentified young girls were photographed with three dogs at the Sears Roebuck store, 1148 Broadway, to help promote National Dog Week. The girl at the left held a beagle pup; the one at the right, a cocker spaniel. Between them, sitting on the counter, was a grown cocker spaniel. National…

On September 23, 1968 Penny Webb (left) and Jocelyn Hunt were learning how to bake pies with the help of Mrs. Jimmie Royal. They were hoping to take part in the Great Pie Bake of '68 which would occur in December. The pies would be used for the second annual Tacoma-Pierce County Opportunity & Development…

A group of young ladies "pop" out of a large "egg" as they await entry into the Western Washington Fair on September 18, 1930. The similarly dressed women are representing the Washington Co-op Egg & Poultry Association. The "egg" being hauled by a heavy duty truck, is a symbol of the Co-op's claim of their…