During World War II, the Port of Tacoma and Puyallup Valley saw a sharp rise in demand for shipbuilding and agricultural products, while the Puyallup Fairgrounds became a temporary internment camp for Japanese residents. The war also brought a large influx of African Americans to the region, growing Tacoma’s Black population from 650 in 1940 to 3,205 by 1945. In the postwar decades, the city pursued urban renewal, built new infrastructure, and faced the pressures of suburbanization — all while working to preserve its historic buildings. These photos capture Tacoma from the 1940s through the 1960s, documenting this era of change.
The bridge deck is buckling and distorted. The toll booth and automobiles are visible at the bridge’s east (Tacoma) end.
Name on the side of the freight car behind the locomotive: Chicago and North-Western Railway; Route of the 400 Streamliners.
The first Tacoma Narrows Bridge, known as Galloping Gertie, is shown in an aerial view from the Tacoma side. The Narrows runs diagonally across the photo center, with the tip of Point Defiance near the center right edge.
Queen Susan Bona and six daffodil princesses are on the float. Eight men wearing yellow suit jackets and white gloves serve as honor guards for the float. A crowd of men, women, and children is on the sidewalk in the background.
The downtown business district of Tacoma is seen from the Winthrop Hotel.
Striking waitresses Alma Thorsen on the left and Mary Kool on the right are posing on the sidewalk outside the Winthrop Hotel. The Tacoma City Hall tower is partially visible at the upper left edge of the image. Three automobiles are partially visible on the street.
The first Tacoma Narrows Bridge is shown looking west from the east end after its collapse on Nov. 7, 1940. The bridge deck sags down, and a crack is visible in the foreground.
Debris dangles from the end of the remaining part of the span. A small boat in The Narrows is in the lower-left quadrant near the base of a bridge tower.
Almost all marchers carry rifles over their shoulders; some are saluting. Crowds, including women, boys, and girls — three holding balloons — line the street. Two uniformed U.S. sailors stand on the far curb. Three horse-mounted policemen are at the left edge of the photo.
Signs on the building include Younglove Grocery Co. and United Purity Stores. A fire escape is on the front of the building. An automobile is parked in front.
A diagonal line of stacked lumber next to railroad tracks is in the lower center of the image. Automobiles are parked near the lower right corner. Lumber mill buildings, including a sawdust burner, are across the lower center. A crane and stacks of lumber on a dock next to the Puget Sound area are in the center right of the image.
A small part of a building that fronts on North Thirtieth Street is at the upper right edge.
The view looks west, and Eleventh Street ascends almost parallel to the left edge of the image. Rooftops, the side of a billboard, and a water tower on top of buildings are in the foreground. Dense single-, two-, and three-story buildings are beyond. The old Pierce County Courthouse is on the horizon in the left-center of the image.
A stage on a stand is decorated with flowers, banners, and two U.S. flags. A sound speaker is at one end of the stand. A Richfield sign is visible near the left edge of the image.
Automobiles and one truck are parked on the street. Autos and a car are in traffic. Christmas wreaths are suspended over the road.
At the left of the image, a service station attendant is partially hidden by three gasoline pumps in front of the station building. Shell signs, a sign reading “Welcome American Legion,” and bunting decorate the building. Bunting also decorates a building with three service bays in the right background. A car is in one of the service bays, and two automobiles parked on the service station grounds are partially visible.
One worker wears coveralls; another has goggles pushed up onto his cap. One wears a sweatshirt with the sign: Blitz-Weinhart Fine Beer. Three others are standing on top of the gondola, one wearing overalls.
