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Image Archives
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Over 40,000 photographs of Tacoma, Pierce County and the Pacific Northwest from as early as the late 1800’s are featured in this database. Searchable by keyword and subject, this is a wonderful resource for historians, researchers, students, genealogists and anyone curious about the region’s history. Additions are made often, and staff works hard to provide as much verifiable information as possible with each image to help with your research.
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Mountaineers Climbs 1912-1916
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Through the eyes of Mary Paschall, an avid Mountaineer, the group's 1912 summer challenge was to explore "the least known parks and glaciers" on the North side of Mount Rainier. This web site chronicles a series of adventures of the Mountaineers from 1912 to 1916 told in their own words and photographs.
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Murray's People
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A collection of essays about the facinating people who explored, settled and developed Tacoma and the Puget Sound region. The stories were selected by librarian Gary Fuller Reese from more than 30 years of newspaper & magazine articles, books, radio broadcasts and other writings by the distinguished historian, author and educator Murray Morgan.
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Northwest Facts
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Often people are curious about something in the area, or an event that has happened regionally—and would like to find out more. This database is a great place to start. Searchable by both keyword and topic, you can find citations about your subject and also many full text articles, accessible in the Northwest Room of the Tacoma Public Library.
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Northwest People
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Looking for information on people who are or were prominent locally and regionally? We have identified articles that feature people in business, politicians, community activists, pioneers, athletes, artists, etc. that may help you find the information you need. You can easily browse by last name, or search by name or keyword—and the citations to relevant articles will be listed. There are also links to many full text articles that can be viewed in their entirety in the Northwest Room of the Tacoma Public Library.
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Northwest Postcard Database
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The Tacoma Public Library has an extensive collection of postcards. Postcards have been a popular, inexpensive way to record visits, promote cities and attractions, and keep in touch since the Postal Service changed regulations to allow images on one side of what had been known as postal cards. Many postcards have survived to become a significant visual record. The library has maintained a collection of regional postcards as an important source of the history of this area. The postcards can be searched by keyword or category, and include the written messages where available. Well over 2,000 cards have been scanned into the database, with about 700 of these completely viewable currently—including cards from several local collectors.
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Ships & Shipping
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A guide to more than 13000 ships which passed through the Port of Tacoma, with details on the names (and former names) of vessels, their builders, careers, and history
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Song Index at the Tacoma Public Library
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Index to songs in books and sheet music on file at the Tacoma Public Library's Main Library
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South Sound Photo Album
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Selected photographs from the extensive Library photo archives appear daily in the South Sound Photo Album feature in the News Tribune. This database brings together all the images that have appeared since 2001.
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Tacoma/Pierce County Buildings Index
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This comprehensive source indexes home construction news in Tacoma newspapers from 1883 through 1950. Look under your address to see if your house received newspaper coverage during its construction. It will list the architect, contractor and building style for your address, if known. It will indicate if architectural plans for your house are known to exist. It indexes the Tacoma Public Library photograph collections for photographs of Tacoma homes. It may even reveal a murder, suicide, party, wedding or other "event" that took place in your house. The Pierce County Buildings Index also indexes over 200 books related to Tacoma architecture or history. Nearly 50,000 addresses are covered.
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Tacoma/Pierce County Obituary Index
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An index listing when the obituaries of some 370,000 individuals appeared in local newspapers (microfilm of the original obituaries can be accessed at the downtown Main Library). This file is complete from 1984 to the present day. An additional 110,000 names (from 1930 to 1983) are also included in this index, but those years are by no means complete.
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Unsettling Events
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True-life tales which chillingly capture the dark side of our State's history.
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Washington Place Names
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Ever wonder how Sequim got its name, who named Spirit Lake, or why there's a town called Yelm? This unique resource, created and edited by Garry Fuller Reese, provides the who, what, when and why about thousands of place names throughout the state.
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