Tacoma Daily Index, May 01, 2015

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1712 6TH 1019 Pacific AVE., Avenue, SUITE Suite 3001216 PO Box 1303, TACOMA, WA TACOMA, 98405 WA 98401 PHONE (253) 627-4853 FAX (253) 627-2253

FRIDAY, MAY 1, 2015

Vol. CXXIV, No. 84

OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE CITY OF TACOMA Devoted to the Courts, Real Estate, Finance, Industrial Activities, and Publication of Legal Notices

Published Published Since Since 1890 1890

Visit our Web site at at www.tacomadailyindex.com

125 Years Young

A milestone for Tacoma's legal newspaper By Todd Matthews, Editor Earlier this week, I visited Tacoma Public Library's Northwest Room to learn what its archives might hold related to our newspaper. My reason for the visit was simple: the Tacoma Daily Index turns 125 years old today. When I arrived, archivist and librarian Jeanie Fisher directed me toward one of the wide, beige filing cabinets that filled the room, and opened a drawer that contained microfilmed reels of our newspaper dating back to 1933. Then she paused. "You know, we might have something in the basement archives," Fisher told me. She momentarily disappeared downstairs before returning with a large box marked 'Tacoma Daily Index, Nov. 1, 1916 - May 16, 1917." I found an empty table, set the box down, and lifted the lid to reveal a faded, yet pristine, stack of back issues dating back nearly a century. For some time now, I have been aware the Tacoma Daily Index has a long history in this city. But these frail, mustard-colored newspapers were physical proof. I flipped through the broadsheet pages and found the Index to be a much different newspaper 100 years ago. Sure, there were still legal notices, new business listings, and calls for bids. But there weren't photographs or feature articles like there are today. The most interesting difference was the paid advertisements for downtown businesses that no longer exist. Scotch Tailors at the corner of 12th and Pacific offered custom-made suits for fifteen dollars. Tacoma's "leading dentists" could fix your teeth at the corner of 9th and Broadway. You could purchase an L. C. Smith "silent" typewriter from a Perkins Building storefront (tagline: "Clatter and confusion are enemies of thought!"). How about a sandwich for lunch at Carlyle's Cafeteria near 9th and Pacific? And the "brush man" at Lacko-Polish near 7th and Broadway could polish your automobile, piano, furniture, and floors. The Index even had its own display ads. One somewhat embarrassing example—"Advertisements in the Index reach the man who does things." Another advertisement—"Don't be one of those who annoy business friends by constantly borrowing their copy. Buy it yourself. Tacoma Daily Index. $1.00 a month." Our newspaper was first published on May 1, 1890, as a single-sheet under the name of the Daily Mortgage and Lien Record. The name then changed to the Daily Court and Commercial Index before finally settling permanently on the Tacoma Daily Index. When the newspaper opened its doors 125 years

TOP AND RIGHT: A box stored in the archives at Tacoma Public Library's Northwest Room contains issues of the Tacoma Daily Index that date back to 1916. BELOW: A century ago, the Tacoma Daily Index included display advertisements for downtown businesses that no longer exist. (PHOTOS BY TODD MATTHEWS)

ago, it did so inside the five-story, stone-and-brick California Building, located at 1110-1116 Pacific Avenue. The building was home to Merrick Brothers clothing and shoe store; St. John's Pharmacy; I. J. Sharick jewelers; and Fidelity Rent & Collection Company. A photographer and "crayon artCONTINUED ist" named Arthur French ON PAGE 2 had a live/work space there,

INSIDE:

LEGAL NOTICES BANKRUPTCIES LIENS ORDERS FEDERAL COURT AUDITORS OFFICE NEW BUSINESSES editor@tacomadailyindex.com


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