Tacoma History Comes Alive

01/23/2025

Pacific Match opened in 1924 in Tacoma. Owner Mr. Osee Snyder and his Secretary-Treasurer, Mr. Frederick Cronkhite had 100 employees and treated them very well. They had an employee lunchroom with a billiards table and also provided a music room. Lunch was provided for a small fee. They also gave their employees a bonus during the depression.

Photo courtesy of Tacoma Public Library.

01/21/2025

My stepfather’s daughter worked at Pacific Match. Mr. Synder who was the owner, lived at Day Island in the 1940’s.

12/11/2024

Bank of California grand reopening. A grand celebration would be held from December 11, 1968 to January 10, 1969, in the newly remodeled Bank of California building, 1011-13 Pacific Avenue, Tacoma. Customers and staff mingled in the banking hall on the first day of the celebration, enjoying refreshments and conducting business. Improvements to the bank would include a new drive-up teller window, walk-up teller window, and a two-level customer parking lot.

Do you remember the drive-up teller window?
Photo courtesy of Tacoma Public Library

12/05/2024

We are so excited to be sponsoring this event!

11/12/2024

Who in Tacoma's past are you most interested learning about?

Send a message to learn more

10/27/2024

Which haunted building in Tacoma are you the most curious about?

09/13/2024

Interesting history on Friday the 13th

Did you know...

The first known documented reference to Friday the 13th as an unlucky day dates back to the early 1900s. However, the superstition gained widespread popularity after the publication of Thomas W. Lawson’s novel "Friday, the Thirteenth" in 1907, which told the story of a stockbroker who chose the date to create chaos on Wall Street.

08/27/2024

Brown & Haley has a fascinating history!

08/14/2024

I am left handed!

Is there a traditional way to properly celebrate leftie day?

08/04/2024

I led a Ruston Way History Tour this afternoon with people from Cuba, New Jersey and Los Angeles.

It is so wonderful to share Tacoma’s history with people from out of state!

07/30/2024

Interesting history of a Tacoma North end neighborhood

To learn more about Tacoma's History, Join me for a walking tour of the cityhttps://tacomacomesalive.com/history-tours/

07/11/2024

Interesting story about George Chamberlin and his meat market

To learn more about Tacoma's History, Join me for a walking tour of the cityhttps://tacomacomesalive.com/history-tours/

07/04/2024

Happy 4th of July!
~ Lucy the Chihuahua

06/14/2024

Happy Lana Turner Day! Lana is my favorite actor.

On June 13, 1942, actress Lana Turner kissed local contractor Henry J. Schneider on the cheek as a "receipt" for his purchase of a $500 War Bond. Miss Turner sold $25,625 in bonds during the rally. Mayor Harry P. Cain, far left, had designated June 13th both "Bond Day" and Lana Turner Day, and named the block on 10th Street between Pacific and A Street "Liberty Center". Besides personally autographing bond applications made during the noon rally at the center, Miss Turner promised to give a big kiss to some of the extra large purchasers.

Photograph courtesy Tacoma Public Library

06/07/2024

This is such an important part of Washington State History!

On this day in Washington (June 6, 1870) Charlotte Emily Olney French, and six other women cast their vote in a Washington territorial election, the first women to exercise their suffrage rights in the territory. Arguing with election judges in Grand Mound in Thurston County, Olney French proclaimed her rights as a U.S. citizen under the Fourteenth Amendment. When the women dropped their ballots in the box, a horseman stationed at Grand Mound galloped eight miles north to Black River (now Little Rock) where eight other women waited anxiously to hear the news with ballots in hand. “They’re voting, they’re voting,” he yelled as he rode in.

Image from WSHS Collection. Three women suffragists. Seattle, WA. Photo by Asahel Curtis. Creation Date: September 16, 1910. Catalog ID: 1943.42.19943.

Post written courtesy of David J. Jepsen at https://bit.ly/3QrmD0u

06/04/2024

How many generations does your family go back in Tacoma history?