For nearly forty years, Marvin D. Boland worked as a photographer in Tacoma, Washington. He was born in 1873 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and moved to Tacoma in 1912 to teach "manual arts" in various schools around the area. He owned a number of photographic studios in downtown Tacoma from 1915 until 1949. Boland died suddenly on December 9th, 1950 while photographing Navy ships in Bremerton.
His photographs ranged from architecture, landscapes, celebrities, and industry, to anything else that caught his interest.
Photographs of Tacoma, Washington, including the harbor and commercial and residential buildings.
Entire collection can be viewed on the Libraries' Digital Collections website. Permission of Visual Materials curator is required to view originals. Contact Special Collections for more information.
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Source of negatives: Fairlook Antiques, 2017.
Processed by Darby Riley in 2006, and revised by Marion Brown in 2007.
Photographs were transferred from the Washington Localities file, and the Industries and Occupations file in 2006.
Written on photo: Stadium Day by Public School Children.
Written on verso: The famous Tacoma Stadium. It seats 40,000.
The Wheeler-Osgood mill was established in 1889. In 1918 it decided to limit its production to plywood and its Laminex-brand doors, and by 1927 was the largest door manufacturer in the world. Despite setbacks from the Great Depression and two serious fires, the company prospered. In 1947, it merged with the Fir Manufacturing Company in Oregon, and in 1951 its operation on the Tacoma waterfront was closed and dismantled.
Written on verso: The newly developed and patented vertical grain LAMINEX slicer.
Written on verso: Lumber on Tacoma piers for export. Tacoma is known as "The Lumber Capital of America." It cuts and ships more lumber than any other city.
Written on verso: Big logs for Tacoma's mills.
From accompanying material (note written by Tom Stenger): Man holding hat before him is Judge Bertil Johnson.
Jason Lee Middle School, formerly known as West Intermediate School, opened in 1924.
Businesses along 9th Avenue include McMillan Bros., Hanson's, Webster Cigars, McGinley hat store, and a shoe repair shop. On Pacific Street businesses include Malones, Lundquist Lilly, and Naubert & Manning Billiards.
Lincoln Park High School opened August 31, 1914, built from a design by Heath and Gove, Architects. In 1917, the school became Lincoln High School.
The residence, with private accommodations for up to 65 elderly residents, was built in 1925 on a 5-acre site donated by prominent local philanthropist Franke Tobey Jones.
McCarver Elementary was completed in 1925 atop the site of a former University of Puget Sound building. McCarver was built as the one of the country's first intermediate schools, and was converted to an elementary school in 1968.
The Pierce County Courthouse, designed by Proctor & Dennis, was built in 1893 stood as a landmark in Tacoma until its demolition in 1959.
Architect Ambrose James Russell designed the Tacoma Armory as a training facility and arms storage for the Washington State National Guard. Completed in 1908, the Armory has hosted several U.S. Presidents, music, social and sporting events.
The church was built in 1927, one of two funeral churches in the United States. The Romanesque-Italian structure became a model for buildings of this kind. It was designed by Hill & Mock, architects, and built by Steiro & Hansen, contractors. In 1987, the structures were purchased by the adjacent First Presbyterian Church.
The Washington State Historical Building Museum, originally the Ferry Museum, was built in 1911 from a design by George W. Bullard, architect. A third floor was added on in 1937.
Typewritten on photo over entrance to building: STATE HISTORICAL BUILDING.
Accompanying material attached behind photo: 1939 Washington Golden Jubilee Year list of Curators Meeting Dates.
Written on verso: Milwaukee Road. P.19 Engines Old & New. 10252, Class EP-2, was built by General Electric in November 1918, #6980. It was renumbered E3 on March 3, 1939, and scrapped in January 1961.
Scanned from negative.
Scanned from negative.
Scanned from negative.
Scanned from negative.
Scanned from negative.
Signs read "Save Alder Timber - Buffelen Lumber & Mfg. Co. show you here how valuable it is," and small sign "It is not necessary to go East for hardwood. Keep our money in the state. Look at these Alder hardwood doors." The sign and machinery were provided by the Buffelen Lumber & Mfg. Co. who sought to show Washingtonians how valuable alder trees were. Alder trees had previously been thought of as useless for building materials but Buffelen believed that they could make hardwood finish from alder. The truck is decorated in patriotic bunting and small American flags, from the American Legion patriotic parade held on July 5th.
By the end of 1920 the Matthaei Bread Company located at 703 South Sprague Avenue had five White trucks and five "Dodge Brothers motor cars" in its fleet of delivery vehicles. The Matthaei Bread Company opened their bakery on South Sprague in April of 1913. Their building was known as "the plant of 150 windows". The Continental Baking Company moved into the building in 1930, and for over 70 years it was the home of Wonder Bread in Tacoma.
Scanned from negative.
Scanned from negative.