Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Thompson's Drugs Photograph Collection, approximately 1947
Overview of the Collection
- Collector
- Thompson's Drugs (Bellevue, Wash.)
- Title
- Thompson's Drugs Photograph Collection
- Dates
- approximately 1947 (inclusive)19471947
- Quantity
- 13 photographic prints ; 1 photographic print (postcard) ; 1 item (5 leaves)
- Collection Number
- PH0521
- Summary
- Chiefly photographs of Thompson's Drugs, Bellevue, Washington, 1947, noted at the time for its modern architecture. Images include exteriors, displays, cosmetics and prescription counters, soda fountain, and magazine section.
- Repository
-
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu - Access Restrictions
-
Selections from this collection can be viewed on the Libraries' Digital Collections website. Permission of Visual Materials curator required to view originals. Contact Special Collections for more information.
- Languages
- English
- Sponsor
- Funding for encoding this finding aid was partially provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Historical NoteReturn to Top
Seattle pharmacist Albert C. Thompson and his son Albert Jr. opened Thompson's Drugs as part of the new Bellevue Square shopping center in 1946. The owner's sales expectations were exceeded by more than a third in the store's first year, which they attributed to the ingenuity of the shopping center's design. The new centralized shopping location accommodated more than thirty different businesses and ample free parking, drawing shoppers from Seattle and other environs as it provided an easy and convenient drive-up shopping experience. Thompson's Drugs was recognized for its modern, appealing architecture. Design efforts were focused on easy display of products. Large plate-glass windows, along with a wide and shallow floor plan and walls and aisles set at oblique angles to the front, made nearly everything in the store easily visible. White ceilings, lightly colored walls, and generous lighting, which came from 26 recessed bulbs, enhanced merchandise visibility. Mirrors behind the soda fountain further extended the customers' view of wares.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The collection's black-and-white photographs show the modern design of Thompson's Drugs, built in 1946 as part of the new Bellevue Square shopping center in Bellevue, Washington. The images include window displays, cosmetics and prescription counters, the soda fountain, and the magazine section. A five-page typewritten text discussing the building's design accompanies the photos.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Commercial buildings--Washington (State)--Bellevue--Photographs
- Drugstores--Washington (State)--Bellevue--Photographs
- Modern movement (Architecture)--Washington (State)--Bellevue
- Show windows--Washington (State)--Bellevue--Photographs
- Soda fountains--Washington (State)--Bellevue--Photographs
- Visual Materials Collections (University of Washington)
Corporate Names
- Thompson's Drugs (Bellevue, Wash.)
Geographical Names
- Bellevue (Wash.)--Buildings, structures, etc.--Photographs
