University of Washington Libraries, Special CollectionsPH0020Seattle Chamber of CommerceSeattle Chamber of
Commerce Photograph CollectionSept. 22-27, 1908; Oct. 16-23, 19202 albums containing 55
photographic prints (1 box) ; sizes varyCollection materials are in
English.Photographs
taken of Eastern Washington during trade relations tours sponsored by the
Seattle Chamber of Commerce. 1920 tour photographed by Asahel CurtisThe Seattle Chamber of Commerce was established on April 17, 1882, by
23 businessmen, including Henry L. Yesler, Judge Thomas Burke, H.B. Bagley, and
others, with J.R. Lewis serving as the first president. By 1890 the Chamber was
incorporated and had grown to three hundred members. The Chamber's earliest
endeavors included establishing railroad termini in Seattle and developing the
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, the Pasco-Kennewick Bridge, and the commerce of the
Columbia River Basin. By 1893 both the Great Northern and the Northern Pacific
Railroads had located their termini in Seattle.
In 1912 the Chamber's membership directory stated: "The objects of
this Association are to foster, protect, and advance the commercial,
industrial, mercantile, and other public interests of the City of Seattle; to
promote the growth and development of the State of Washington, the Territory of
Alaska, and the Pacific Northwest." The Chamber addressed these goals through
committees that focused on areas such as Alaska, city affairs, county affairs,
foreign and domestic affairs, logged-off lands and irrigation, mercantile
issues, rivers and harbors, state affairs and legislation, and
transportation.
During the first decades of the twentieth century,
the Seattle Chamber of Commerce organized tours of various parts of Washington
State to encourage the commercial development of agriculture and natural
resources such as mining, forestry, and hydroelectric power. The two trips
depicted in this collection reflect railroad tours of Eastern Washington.
Typically the excursionists were greeted at the depots with gifts of local
fruit. The towns' commercial clubs treated their guests to luncheons or
dinners, complete with speeches by both hosts and visitors. The excursion of
Sept. 22-27, 1908, traveling on the North Bank Railroad's "1909 Special," began
in Portland and followed the Columbia River inland to White Salmon and
Kennewick. The visit to Walla Walla included a tour of the Washington State
Penitentiary hosted by Supt. Reed, former chief of police of Seattle. In
Spokane, the businessmen were treated to a motorcade and banquet in the Doges
Hall of the Davenport Hotel. Throughout the tour, major topics of discussion
between the visiting and local businessmen included the benefit to agricultural
trade brought by the expanding railroad system, as well as the promotion of the
Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition which was planned for the following year, 1909.
The Chamber discontinued the regional trade relations tours during the
World War I years due to increased transportation costs and shortage of cars,
but returned to the tradition for the tour of Oct. 1920. In that year, 122
Seattle businessmen traveled over 1,200 miles in a Great Northern train,
complete with observation, baggage, and dining cars as well as five sleeper
cars. The tour crossed the Cascades, with its first stop in Leavenworth,
continuing through Wenatchee, Chelan, and the Okanogan region, traveling east
to Spokane, then southward to Pasco and Walla Walla, through the Yakima Valley,
and finally through Ellensburg and the Kittitas Valley on the way home. Many of
the stops were related to regional agriculture, and each location featured
banquets, speeches, and entertainment. Discussions focused on the need for
irrigation and land reclamation projects to increase agricultural
production.
The collection consists of two albums depicting two separate trips
organized by the Seattle Chamber of Commerce. The earlier album, titled
Seattle Chamber of Commerce, Business Men's Excursion to
Inland Empire , Sept. 22-27, 1908, contains 23 photos taken along the
route of the Northern Pacific Railroad and the Spokane, Portland & Seattle
Railroad in Washington State. The photographs include captions. The final page
of the album lists the towns visited under "Itinerary," and the names of
attendees, alphabetically by last name, under "Personnel."
The later album is titled Trade Relations Tour,
Seattle Chamber of Commerce , Oct. 16 to 23, 1920. These 32 images were
taken as the tour traveled through the Wenatchee Valley, the Columbia Valley,
Okanogan, White Stone Irrigation Project between Oroville and Tonasket, a power
plant near Pasco, a factory at Toppenish, and the Yakima Valley, all in Eastern
Washington. Most of the images are credited to Asahel Curtis; however, as the
official photographer for the Chamber at this time, it is probable that he took
all the photographs. The final page of the album lists "Personnel"
alphabetically by last name.
Collection is open to the public.
Request at UW
The 1908 album, Seattle Chamber of Commerce,
Business Men's Excursion to Inland Empire , was donated by N. W. Fillipi,
December 3, 1945.
The 1920 album, Trade Relations Tour, Seattle
Chamber of Commerce , was donated by Mrs. Margaret McCune, September
1980.
Two separate photograph collections, Seattle Chamber of Commerce
Collections 20 and 36, were combined to create this collection.
The 1908 album, Business Men's Excursion to
Inland Empire , has been dismantled due to fragile bindings; the pages
have been put in folders, and the page order has been maintained. The second
album remains intact and is housed in a single folder.
Records of the Seattle Chamber of Commerce are housed at the Seattle
Public Library.
Curtis, Asahel, 1874-1941Seattle Chamber of CommerceDavenport Hotel (Spokane, Wash.)--PhotographsWashington State Penitentiary--PhotographsState Normal School (Ellensburg, Wash.)--PhotographsBusinessmen--Washington (State)--PhotographsRailroad travel--Washington (State)--PhotographsRailroads--Trains--PhotographsOrchards--Washington (State)--PhotographsCider--Washington (State)--PhotographsAgriculture--Washington (State)Visual Materials Collections (University of Washington)AgriculturePhotographsRailroadsWashington (State)Business, Industry, and LaborSpokane (Wash.)--PhotographsColumbia River (Wash.)--PhotographsYakima (Wash.)--PhotographsWenatchee River Valley (Wash.)--PhotographsPhotograph albums
Business Men's
Excursion to Inland Empire AlbumSept. 22-27, 190811aBusinessmen's
excursion gathered at Stevenson train station 11bBusinessmen's
excursion with fruit basket gifts at Stevenson train platform 11cSenator Piles
giving speech on Stevenson train platform22 a-cRailroad track
along the Columbia River, and the Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway
(North Bank), through mountainous, forested terrain33a-cTracks of North
Bank Railroad along Columbia River Photo "c" includes steamboat in river.
33dBusinessmen's
excursion gathered in front of train at Roosevelt station44a Man seated on
caboose with banner reading: "Chamber of Commerce Special" 44bRailroad tracks
entering tunnel in mountainside44cBusinessmen's
excursion gathered outside hotel, Kennewick 44dBusinessmen's
excursion gathered in front of train at Kennewick depot 55 Businessmen's
excursion seated for presentation or meeting at Commercial Club Rooms, Walla
Walla66Businessmen at
Warden Reed's residence, Washington State Penitentiary, Walla Walla77aBusinessmen's
excursion in front of building at Whitman College, Walla Walla 77bPeople, horses,
and buggies at Pullman train station 77cPanoramic view
of penitentiary grounds at Walla Walla 88Businessmen's
excursion seated for banquet in grand hall at Davenport Hotel in
Spokane 99 Men seated for
lunch in dining car of train1010Businessmen
seated in dining car of train, African American waitstaff standing against
walls 1111 Businessmen's
excursion gathered in front of caboose at North Yakima train station for
presentation of chest of silver to Secretary Yandell 1212Final page of
album with itinerary and list of personnelTrade Relations Tour
AlbumOct. 16-23, 19201313-1 Orchard in
Wenatchee Valley (A. Curtis 25041) 1313-2a Tour members at
Brewster Flats (A. Curtis 41017)1313-2bBusinessmen's
tour being led in a chant"Seattle!-Seattle!-S-E-A-T-T-L-E."
1313-3a Woman tossing
apple from fruit packing crate to tour group at Boston-Okanogan
Orchard1313-3bRailroad through
Columbia River Valley near Pateros (A. Curtis 41103)1313-4aPanoramic view
of Okanogan (A. Curtis 30135)1313-4bBusinessmen's
tour group in front of train at Tonasket train station (A. Curtis
41019)1313-5aMen marching
down the center of street (A. Curtis 41122)1313-5b Three women,
two engineers on train engine (A. Curtis 41107)1313-6a Shepherd with
sheep grazing in field on the White Stone Irrigation Project between Tonasket
and Oroville (A. Curtis 30187) 1313-7aBusinessmen's
tour members and children on and around caboose displaying "Seattle Trade
Relations Tour" sign (A. Curtis 41020) UW 23497z.
1313-7b Man on pillar
leading tour members in chant (A. Curtis 41110) 1313-8aBusinessmen's
tour group seated for banquet given by the Spokane Chamber of Commerce (A.
Curtis 40990)1313-8b Vista of
Spokane1313-9a Businessmen's
tour group seated for presentation or meeting at the Walla Walla Commercial
Club (A. Curtis 41022)1313-9b Wheat field
with harvested bundles near Walla Walla (A. Curtis 33077)1313-10aPower plant near
Pasco with large water pipe built on side of hill, figures standing on
structure (A. Curtis 41025) 1313-10bHay field, cut
and gathered, on the Burbank Project near Pasco (A. Curtis 40548)1313-11a, bMan with bucket
of cider dispensing samples in center of group of men and women, Kennewick (A.
Curtis 41115, 41116) 1313-11cClose-up of
apple tree branches heavy with fruit1313-12aSix "railroad
representatives" standing by tracks (A. Curtis 41117)1313-12bTwo women
pouring cider from pitchers and two newspaper reporters taking notes, with men
in background (A. Curtis 41120) 1313-13aMan holding
bucket, posing with cow at trough (A. Curtis 41116)1313-13bTwo women, four
men with glasses of cider in front of Prosser depot (A. Curtis
41118)1313-14aField and beet
sugar factory with tall smoke stack, Toppenish (A. Curtis 40890) 1313-14bTwo young men on
bikes, two men standing, near train tracks 1313-15aPeople, mostly
businessmen seated in armchairs, gathered for a meeting or presentation (A.
Curtis 39934)1313-15bPanoramic view
of orchards, fields, farmhouses inYakima Valley UW 4641.
1313-16aBusinessmen's
tour being led in a chant outside State Normal School, Ellensburg1313-16b R.S. Boyns
(president of Seattle Chamber of Commerce) outside State Normal School,
Ellensburg1313-16cBusinessmen's
tour group and women gathered for photo on campus of State Normal School,
Ellensburg (A. Curtis 41028)