TACOMA AND VICINITY.

Tacoma and Vicinity.

Tacoma has well been called the “City of Destiny,” for never in the history of our great republic has the finger of destiny so unerringly pointed to the location of a large commercial and manufacturing metropolis as it did to the shores of Commencement bay when the Northern Pacific located here the terminus of its main line on Puget sound. In its history, years have witnessed more life and growth, more progress in business and wealth and the creation of more permanent values of property, than decades in the history of older and admittedly prosperous cities of the eastern states. Eight years ago, at the beginning of the present decade, Tacoma had a population of but seven hundred and twenty souls, its streets were ungraded and full of stumps, and its business blocks were few and of but the cheapest of frame structures. What mighty things have been wrought in the brief time which has since elapsed! Now it has many miles of graded streets, of water and gas mains, of telegraph, telephone and electric light wires and street railways, solid blocks of brick and stone business structures, large and commodious opera house, public schools, seminaries and academies, elegant hotels, large factories, great and expanding docks, warehouses and shipping facilities, a taxable property of $6,555,400 and a population of twenty thousand souls. It is this Tacoma of to-day, bustling, vigorous, full of life and business, and advancing with prodigious strides, which is treated of in the following pages of engravings and descriptive matter. These engravings, elegant and artistic as they are, fall far short of doing justice to a city whose prosperity, vitality and progressiveness it is impossible to convey to paper. They are the Tacoma of to-day, but will be almost as unlike the great city ten years from now which will bear that name, as they are unlike that city of board shanties which occupied this site eight years ago.

TACOMA’S NEW GRAND OPERA HOUSE.

Tacoma has hitherto lacked one most essential feature of a city—an opera house—and for this reason has been often denied the pleasure of listening to some of the great dramatic stars who have visited the coast. It will not be long before this will be remedied, as the most elegant opera house north of San Francisco is now in course of erection. Several of the public spirited citizens of this place recently organized the Tacoma Opera House Company, with a capital stock of $100,000.00, for the purpose of building an opera house such as the growing needs of the city require. Plans were drawn for an elegant building to cost $75,000.00, and this is now in course of construction on the corner of Ninth and C streets. The first story is of stone and the remainder of brick and terra cotta. It will have accommodations for several stores on the ground floor, and for a number of offices up stairs, and will be completed early in the spring of 1889. In all its appointments it will be elegant, and will have a seating capacity of twelve hundred. The stage settings, dressing rooms, mechanical appliances and all the accessories of a theater will be of the best pattern, and the opera chairs of the latest design. From the engraving of the exterior given on the opposite page, it will be seen that this structure will be one of the most imposing and ornamental architectural features of the city. It is located convenient to the hotels, the business portion of the city and the street car lines. With such an opera house as this, and with a population of twenty thousand people to give them patronage, the best attractions in the United States will be drawn to Tacoma as one of the regular “show towns” of the grand transcontinental circuit.

HOTELS OF THE TERMINAL CITY.

Tourists unhesitatingly declare that in this city they find the only really adequate and enjoyable hotel accommodations to be had on the Pacific coast north of San Francisco, and to this one fact is due much of the popularity of the city spread abroad by those who have enjoyed its hospitalities. Recognizing the necessity for such an institution, the Tacoma Land Company erected in 1884 the large and handsome stone and brick hotel building shown in the engraving on the opposite page. It stands on the bluff above the water front, overlooking the bay, river, valley, foothills and mountains. From the veranda and lawn a grand landscape may be seen, the great snowy mass of Mount Tacoma standing out in bold relief against the sky. The possession of such a house of entertainment, elegantly furnished and conducted in first class style by Mr. W. D. Tyler, a most courteous and able manager, renders the city a favorite summer resort and headquarters for those who desire to spend a few weeks viewing the grand scenery of the sound. On another page is given an engraving of the new and elegant Hotel Fife, a large five-story brick structure, recently completed at a cost of $125,000.00. It contains one hundred and twenty-six rooms, and is supplied with all the modern conveniences of gas, water, electric bells, elevator, etc. Hotel Fife is most elegantly furnished, and is conducted on the European plan. Hotel Rochester, recently erected on Tacoma avenue (see engraving on another page), is a large brick edifice, four stories high, and cost $75,000.00. It occupies a commanding site, and is designed for a family hotel, all its rooms being en suite, with bath, electric light and water. It is heated by steam, and has its own electric light plant, laundry and Turkish bath. A number of smaller hotels add to the city’s accommodations for strangers.

GRAIN SHIPMENTS AND FLOURING MILLS.

Less than a year has passed since Tacoma entered regularly into the shipping of grain and flour to foreign markets, though practically this business began the present year, after the completion of the tunnel through the mountains. During the year ending June 30, 1888, there were shipped from this port eight hundred and thirty-eight thousand two hundred and thirty-three bushels of grain, and the estimated quantity for the current fiscal year is four million five hundred thousand bushels, requiring a grain fleet of sixty vessels, being an average of one cargo dispatched every six days. Owing to the fact that vessels can enter Puget sound more cheaply than the Columbia river, and can discharge and receive cargo and get to sea again cheaper, charters are much lower here than at Portland, and the price of wheat proportionately higher. For this reason the wheat along the line of the Northern Pacific, which, before the completion of the road over the mountains, was shipped to Portland, now comes to Tacoma. As the Northern Pacific and its branches and connecting lines ramify the entire wheat region east of the Cascades, where twenty million bushels will be produced this year, it can be seen that an estimate of four million five hundred thousand bushels for the present year is not a large one. Wheat warehouses, with a capacity of five hundred thousand bushels, have been built on the water front, and are being doubled in size. The Northern Pacific Elevator Co. is erecting a four-story elevator, with a capacity of a million bushels, and has elevators and warehouses at all the principal shipping points in the interior. The only steam flouring mill on Puget sound is located here. Not only is this port superior to Portland as a general shipping point for grain and flour, but it has special advantages in the China trade, which consumes twenty-five hundred barrels per month of Pacific coast flour. Recognizing this, gentlemen engaged largely in manufacturing flour in Oregon are erecting an immense mill with a daily capacity of one thousand barrels, which will begin grinding next season.

COAL AND IRON RESOURCES.

Coal shipments from the port of Tacoma average twenty-seven thousand tons a month, being the product of mines situated in the region immediately tributary to the city and along the line of the Northern Pacific. These mines are owned and operated by the Carbon Hill Coal Co., the Wilkeson Coal and Coke Co., the Tacoma Coal Co., the South Prairie Coal Co., all in the Puyallup region, and the Bucoda Coal Co., south of the city. Nearly all these shipments go by sail and steamer to the San Francisco market. The Durham coal mines, sixty miles east of Tacoma, are just being opened, and provision is being made for a daily output of three hundred tons. This is fine coking coal, and will be used by the great iron smelters to be erected at Cle Elum. The mine is the property of the Pacific Investment Co. At Roslyn, on the east side of the mountains, are the mines of the Northern Pacific Coal Co., whose headquarters are in this city. Inexhaustible in quantity, and much of it making the finest quality of coke, the coal deposits about Tacoma must build up a very large city here. Iron ore of a superior quality lies in immense and easily accessible deposits almost at the city’s gate. Coal, coke and iron, with limestone in abundance, suggest the great manufacturing possibilities, to take advantage of which an immense enterprise is already on foot, in the form of a gigantic iron smelting plant, to be erected at Cle Elum, near the Roslyn mines, by the Moss Bay Iron Co., one of the largest institutions of its kind in England, and the huge reduction works soon to be erected at Tacoma by a company recently organized for that purpose.

LUMBER INTERESTS OF TACOMA.

Lumber is one of the chief products of Puget sound, and in the lumbering industry Tacoma leads all other cities on the sound, or on the Pacific coast. Mill capacity has more than doubled the present season. In January four mills were cutting four hundred thousand feet per day; since then five new mills have been built and two of the old ones have increased their capacity, one of them, the Tacoma Mill Co., to five hundred thousand feet, making now a total output of eight hundred and thirty-five thousand feet. This will be greatly increased in a short time, as one of the mills, owned by the St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co., is credited with only fifteen thousand feet, and is but a temporary concern engaged in sawing timbers for an immense mill which will be turning out five hundred thousand feet per day in a few weeks. Another new mill will cut one hundred thousand feet, and still another thirty-five thousand, while the capacity of another will be increased. Thus, by the spring of 1889, Tacoma will have eleven mills cutting an aggregate of more than one and one-half million feet of lumber per day. On the opposite page is an engraving of the Pacific Mill, built this year, and one of the most complete establishments of its kind in the world, with a capacity of three hundred thousand feet a day. The larger mills are all supplied with shingle and lath machines, and millions of lath and cedar shingles are made daily. The output of shingles has quadrupled within the past year. Sash and door factories have increased in number and capacity, their product finding a market on the sound and along the line of the Northern Pacific. Lumber is shipped from the mills direct to California, Chili, Peru, Central America, Sandwich islands, Australia, Japan and China, and ship timbers, spars and masts are sent to Europe and the Atlantic coast of the United States. Often a dozen ships are in port at one time loading lumber, and the scene along the docks is a busy one. By rail, lumber is sent as far east as Denver and Omaha.

LOGGING ON PUGET SOUND.

Puget sound holds a leading position in the United States in the magnitude of its logging operations. The quantity of logs put into the water in 1888 was four hundred and thirty-four million five hundred thousand feet. Logging is carried on to the best advantage in the summer time, and logging railroads, sometimes several miles in length, upon which locomotives draw cars of logs from the interior to the sound, or to streams connecting with it, have been built by a number of companies at great expense. In the huge size of the timber, the logger of the west finds an obstacle to contend with that the logger of the Michigan pineries does not encounter. Logs of six feet in diameter are frequent, while they occasionally much exceed that figure. Ox teams generally consist of six pairs of lusty animals, which are used to drag the logs to the railroad or stream. In cutting down this huge timber, the choppers use a novel device to avoid cutting through the swell near the ground. A notch several inches deep is cut in the side of the tree, and the end of a spring board, having an iron shoe, is put into the notch in such a way that it is bound fast by the weight of the chopper when he stands on it. If the first notch is not high enough, another is cut higher up. By this method the stumps left standing are from six to twelve feet high. When the tree is very large, two choppers work at a time, as shown in the engraving on the opposite page.

GENERAL OFFICES OF THE NORTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD.

At the edge of the bluff overlooking the harbor, and at the head of the grade leading down to the water front, stands the elegant, commodious building used for the general offices of the Northern Pacific. It is a most substantial structure of brick and iron, cemented on the exterior walls, having a basement, three stories and an attic, with asbestos felt under each floor, and was completed in the fall of 1888 at a total cost of $125,000.00. In all, the building contains fifty-three office and store rooms, and nineteen commodious fire-proof vaults, one being connected with every suite of rooms. It is heated by hot water, and the interior finishing and furnishing is very elegant and ornamental. In addition to the offices of the Northern Pacific, the building will be occupied by the western office of the land department of the N. P. R. R., managed by Mr. Paul Schulze, the Tacoma Land Company, Mr. Isaac W. Anderson, manager, the Northern Pacific Coal Company, and the Northern Pacific Express Company. This elegant and imposing structure, occupying such a commanding site, will always be one of the most striking architectural features of the city, proclaiming to the world the confidence the officers of the Northern Pacific have in the future of the great city springing up at its western terminus.

TACOMA’S FINE BUSINESS BLOCKS.

Not the least of the marvels of Tacoma’s history is the great business blocks that have been erected, converting a forest wild into a city of brick and stone in less than a decade. A suggestion of the massive appearance of the buildings on a portion of one of the streets is given by the first engraving in this volume, while on other pages are presented engravings of a number of fine business blocks but recently erected. Here is located the only chamber of commerce building north of San Francisco. It is a substantial three-story stone and brick structure, and in addition to the board of trade rooms contains commodious offices and stores. Union block, on the corner of Eleventh street and Pacific avenue, is a three-story and basement brick structure, erected by Cogswell & Son and John S. Baker. It is one hundred by one hundred and twenty feet in size, contains large stores and office rooms and cost $55,000. Sprague Buildings is the title of a large brick block four stories high, and extending three hundred and eighteen feet on Pacific avenue, erected by Gen. J. W. Sprague. It cost $75,000.00, and contains four stores for wholesale business, each occupying four floors and basement. Germania hall is a frame structure sixty-six by one hundred and twenty feet in size, erected by the Germania Society, on E street, between thirteenth and fourteenth, at a cost of $10,000.00. It contains a large hall for amusements and meetings, with other rooms and basement. Ouimette block is a handsome three-story brick structure on Pacific avenue. Mason block stands on A street, one block from “The Tacoma,” and is a handsome three-story brick edifice, with St. Louis pressed brick front and Bellingham bay blue stone trimmings. It contains the post office, express office, a store and many elegant office rooms. The buildings specially mentioned are only those recently completed. Many other fine business structures adorn the business thoroughfares and testify to the prosperity and solid business interests of the city.

STREETS, WATER WORKS AND ELECTRIC LIGHTS.

Electricity lights the business thoroughfares and many of the stores, while gas illuminates other portions of the city. The gas works were built in 1884, and the electric light plant, now having twenty miles of wire, was put in by a responsible company in 1887. There is, also, an excellent telephone service, with an extended circuit reaching Puyallup valley. In its water works it is especially fortunate. The system was built in 1884, at a cost of $300,000.00, and consists of eleven miles of mains, supplied with pure water by an aqueduct ten miles in length. The lower portion of the city is supplied by direct pressure from the reservoir, two hundred and sixty-two feet above the harbor, while the upper levels are served by powerful Holly pumps. A splendidly equipped fire department gives the city ample protection from the destroying element. In the matter of the improvement of its streets the city has done more to show its progressive and metropolitan character than in any other way. The leading thoroughfares are macadamized, and throughout the entire city streets are graded and in good condition. There are thirty-five miles of graded streets and fifty miles of sidewalk within the city limits. A horse car line runs the entire length of Pacific avenue from the water front, and a motor line runs out to Division avenue and Tacoma avenue, and along the latter both north and south for a long distance.

TACOMA AS A MANUFACTURING CITY.

Whenever so young a city as Tacoma is mentioned it is generally spoken of as a prospective metropolis, whose present growth is based largely upon the future. Great as Tacoma’s future is sure to be, its present condition has not been reached by discounting it nor is its great prosperity due to large drafts on future industries. It has now many establishments which employ a large number of hands, pay many thousands of dollars to workmen monthly, and turn out a manufactured product valued at millions of dollars annually. One of these branches of industry is the saw mills and sash factories spoken of elsewhere, in which Tacoma is one of the leading cities of the world. Besides this there are a furniture factory, iron foundry, machine shops, flouring mills, car shops, and a number of smaller industries. The car shops of the Northern Pacific are located here, and give employment to a large number of hands. The huge reduction works being erected here, the flouring mills, and the gigantic iron smelting enterprise at Cle Elum, have been mentioned on other pages. The only coking ovens on the coast are located near the city and are owned by Tacoma parties. These enterprises are enough to account for the prosperous condition of the city, yet they are but an index of the manufacturing which will be done here in a few years. Situated in the midst of coal, iron, limestone, and hard and soft wood timber, all of unlimited quantity and superior quality; occupying the position of actual and operating terminus of a great transcontinental railroad, which renders tributary to it a vast empire producing cereals, stock, fruit, hops and other agricultural products in abundance, and is the outlet for a dozen of the richest mining districts in the west; and being already the largest shipping port on the greatest inland harbor on the Pacific coast, its future as a manufacturing city is assured beyond all question.

MOUNT TACOMA, THE CASCADE MONARCH.

Rearing its great mass of snow and ice far above the surrounding mountains, Mt. Tacoma is the most commanding object in every Puget sound landscape, and is never seen to better advantage than from the streets of Tacoma. Its height is fourteen thousand four hundred and forty-four feet, exceeding that of any other of the numerous snow peaks of the Cascades, and in beauty of form and location it stands pre-eminent the monarch of the mountains. Captain George Vancouver, the discoverer and original explorer of Puget sound, in May, 1792, named this mountain “Rainier,” in honor of Rear Admiral Rainier, of the English navy, but the people of Puget sound, who can see no reason why the original and characteristic names given such objects by the aborigines should be changed, have discarded that title and restored the Indian name “Tacoma.” It is a beautiful name and most appropriate, meaning “near to heaven.” Ascents of the mountain are very frequently made by tourists, arrangements for which can be made in Tacoma. The view from its summit is grand beyond description, and the wild and rugged nature of its glaciers, gorges, canyons and rocky precipices give the mountain climber all the excitement he can reasonably desire. Mountain sheep and goats are hunted amid its glaciers by the venturesome sportsman, and the forests of the surrounding mountains are full of game that will try the nerve and skill of the most experienced hunter, no matter from what quarter of the globe he may come.

REDUCTION OF ORES OF THE NORTHWEST.

Yearly the output of ores in the mines of Oregon, Washington and Northern Idaho is increasing. Not only are the older mines enlarging their yield, but new ones are constantly being developed. New mineral discoveries are made frequently and the number of mining districts increases every year. The remarkable mines being developed in the Cœur d’Alene, Okanagan, Colville, Pine Creek, Cracker Creek and other districts, have placed this region in the front rank of mining interests in the United States, and point to a future of unbroken prosperity for many years. At some point so situated as to reach each of these districts with almost equal facility, and where all the essentials for the reduction of ores, such as coal, iron, wood, limestone, etc., exist or can be cheaply procured, will be established immense reduction works. Such a point is Tacoma, and a project is already well advanced to inaugurate this industry on an extensive scale. A smelting company has been incorporated with a capital stock of $1,000,000.00, and ground has been secured on the water front for the extensive buildings required. The plant will have a daily capacity of two hundred tons at first, but this will be enlarged after the business is well established. President and chief promoter of this enterprise is Mr. Dennis Ryan, proprietor of the famous Hotel Ryan, of St. Paul, and extensively engaged in mining enterprises. The marvelously rich ores of Alaska will be drawn upon largely, and will find here their nearest market. All the indications point to Tacoma as the head of the mining industry in this region not only because of its reduction works, but because of the large investments its capitalists are making in mining properties.

PARKS, DRIVES AND AQUATICS.

Parks are the adjuncts of cities of more mature years than this young giant of Puget sound, but nature has provided here that which many other cities acquire only by the outlay of much money and labor through a series of years. Lying south of the city, and but a short distance beyond its present limits, is a beautiful, level, gravelly plain, studded with oak trees, in the midst of which are lakes of clear, sparkling water. American lake, shown in the engraving opposite, where it forms the foreground for a beautiful landscape, of which Mount Tacoma is the central figure, attracts hundreds of pleasure seekers. Its waters teem with trout, and its shining surface offers both the oarsman and the yachtsman an opportunity to indulge in their favorite amusement. The drive from the city to the park is one of keen enjoyment to one whose eye drinks in the beauties of nature, and who delights to fill his lungs with the pure air, fragrant with the odor of forest and mountain. Other drives, in and about the city, offer the visitor exhilarating pleasure and beautiful landscapes. Not the least of the enjoyments of the tourist temporarily sojourning in the city is the row or sail on the placid waters of the harbor, or the more exciting sport of trolling for salmon in the bay. As many as a dozen fine salmon, from five to fifteen pounds in weight, are often caught in a few hours in the early morning. A boat house stands at the water’s edge, where row and sail boats may be procured, and morning and evening and on moonlight nights at a late hour, these little craft dart over the bay with their loads of pleasure seekers.

EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS AND CHURCHES.

Education in its higher forms was one of the first thoughts of the intelligent and liberal men who founded Tacoma, and in this matter Mr. C. B. Wright, formerly president, and still a director, of the Northern Pacific railroad, has taken the lead. The Annie Wright seminary, named in honor of the daughter of Mr. Wright, was endowed by him with $50,000.00, and was erected in 1884 at a cost of $35,000.00, with funds raised in the east by Rt. Rev. J. A. Paddock, D.D. It stands at the corner of Tacoma and Division avenues, on two irregular blocks of ground donated by the Tacoma Land Company. It is under the charge of Mrs. L. H. Wells, principal, assisted by a corps of fifteen instructors, and has an attendance of one hundred and thirty-five young ladies. Washington college was also endowed by Mr. Wright with $50,000.00, and was erected with funds raised by Bishop Paddock in Tacoma and in the east. It occupies a commanding site donated by the Tacoma Land Co., facing eastward upon Tacoma avenue. It is under the charge of D. S. Pulford, A.M., head master, assisted by E. P. Young, A.M., and a complete corps of instructors. Both of these institutions are Episcopal in their origin and management. The Methodists have selected Tacoma as the seat of a university to be under the auspices of that denomination. Large and valuable grounds have been donated by citizens, and buildings to cost $100,000.00 will soon be erected. These institutions place Tacoma far in the lead in educational matters in the northwest. The religious denominations are well represented in the city by numerous church edifices, but sufficient time has not yet elapsed for the erection of many very large or costly churches. A handsome stone structure is St. Luke’s Memorial church, erected by Mr. Wright at a cost of $25,000. Mention should also be made of the Fannie C. Paddock Memorial hospital, dedicated to the memory of the wife of Bishop Paddock who did such good work in founding the other institutions.

THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF TACOMA.

Quite as much praise should be bestowed upon the citizens of Tacoma for the excellent public school system they have created as for the wonders they have achieved in the construction of a substantial city in so brief a period. Public schools have been recognized as one of the fundamental necessities of society throughout the west generally, and wherever the nucleus of a city has been planted, the public school system has formed part of the seed. Especially in Tacoma is this regard for the educational welfare of the rising generation exhibited in a marked degree. Six school buildings have been erected, engravings of which are given on the opposite page, and these will soon be inadequate to accommodate the children applying for admission. In 1880 but one hundred children attended the single school. By 1884 this had increased to four hundred, to five hundred in 1885, and now, in 1888, no less than fifteen hundred children are enjoying the advantages of free instruction in the six school buildings. The schools are thoroughly systematized and graded from the primary to the high school department, and are under the charge of a competent superintendent, ably assisted by a large corps of teachers. The enterprise, liberality and good citizenship displayed in thus providing promptly and adequately for the needs of the ever-increasing numbers of school children, is an evidence of the energy and intelligence of the citizens, and explains much that seems wonderful in the phenomenal growth of the city.

RAILROADS OF THE TERMINAL CITY.

Great sport was made of Tacoma’s railroad aspirations a few years ago, but now things have assumed a different aspect. This city is now not only the theoretical, but the actual, terminus of the Northern Pacific railroad. Here are located the company’s general offices, the offices of the land department, the western car shops, and all the docks and terminal facilities owned by the company on the Pacific coast. The lines of this road not only extend east to St. Paul, and thus connect with all the eastern trunk roads, but pass through the heart of the region whose products reach market through the ports of the Pacific. All of this vast interior region is now opened to Tacoma, and trade relations are rapidly being established. In addition to this, the Portland branch gives access to the rich section lying south of the city. In addition to this line the merchants of Tacoma have direct connection by steamer with the terminus of the Canadian Pacific, and thus have another through route to the east. Lines now under construction north will connect Tacoma with the Canadian Pacific by rail. The extension to a Puget sound harbor of the Southern Pacific railroad, now as far north as Portland, has been practically announced by gentlemen connected with that company, and that the Union Pacific will also seek a Puget sound terminus is quite certain. Both of these roads, and in fact, any road building north from the Columbia, west of the Cascades, will undoubtedly come to Tacoma. The Tacoma Southern is being built south from Crocker, on the Northern Pacific, into a body of timber fifteen miles distant. This is looked upon as a link in a line to the Columbia. The Tacoma, Olympia & Chehalis Valley R. R. Co. has been incorporated, to build a line from Gray’s harbor up the Chehalis valley and across the Cascade mountains to the Columbia, with a branch running north to Tacoma. This would give this city another line to the Inland Empire, as well as a line to Gray’s harbor and the fertile Chehalis valley.

SWITCHBACK ON THE NORTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD.

Desiring to open the Northern Pacific to travel and traffic a year earlier than was possible if they waited for the completion of the huge tunnel through the Cascades, a great passage blasted through the mountains ninety-eight hundred and fifty feet in length, the officers decided to construct a line over the summit on the “switchback” principle, at a cost of $300,000.00. It was completed early in the summer of 1887, having seven miles of track and an average grade of nearly three hundred feet to the mile. Huge decapod (ten drive wheels) locomotives were built for this service, the most powerful ever constructed. Two decapods are used, one at each end of the short train. The bottom line of the diagram represents the main track at the mouth of the tunnel. The train moves ahead until it passes the switch S, and then moves backward and upward until it passes the next switch, thus alternating until the summit is gained, when it descends on the opposite side in the same manner. The general principle of the “switchback” is clearly shown in the following diagram:

Since the completion of the tunnel, early in the summer of 1888, the switchback has not been used for general traffic. The scenery of the mountains is enchanting, the view from the line of the switchback being grand beyond description.

BEAUTIFUL HOMES OF TACOMA.

Beautiful and costly residences, occupying commanding sites and standing in the midst of green lawns ornamented with a profusion of flowers and shrubs, are one of the noticeable features of Tacoma, and they speak of the culture and refinement, as well as the material prosperity of the people. In the topography of the ground upon which the city is situated, an excellent opportunity is offered for elegant and sightly residences. Rising in a gradual ascent from the business portion, the residence area offers an unbroken view across the bay and valley to the mountains, so that the windows of nearly every house in the city command a view of the snow-crowned monarch of the Cascades, set in a landscape of wonderful beauty. Many extremely elegant and costly residences have been erected. Among these are the homes of Gen. J. W. Sprague, J. M. Buckley, Esq., J. S. Baker, Esq., Isaac W. Anderson, Esq., Geo. E. Atkinson, Esq., A. C. Smith, Esq., Allen C. Mason, Esq., and E. Pierce, Esq., engravings of which are given on the opposite and succeeding pages. For so young a city, and one whose energies have been taxed to the utmost to provide facilities for its expanding business, the number of beautiful homes is remarkable, and indicates that its people recognize the advantages nature has given them to build up here one of the most beautiful cities on the continent. They are accomplishing this very rapidly.

HOPS OF THE PUYALLUP VALLEY.

Hops are the leading agricultural product of the Puget sound region, and hop ranches are nearly all directly tributary to Tacoma. Puyallup valley, whose fame as a hop producing section has encircled the world, lies just east of the city, the line of the Northern Pacific passing directly through it. Upwards of three thousand acres are now in vine, which yielded twenty thousand bales in 1887, and twenty-five thousand in 1888, when an average of one thousand seven hundred pounds per acre of both old and young vines was secured. The superior quality of the cones, the freedom from pests and disease, the enormous yield and the rapid growth of young vines, combine to render this region foremost in the world in its adaptability to this special crop. Not only does the Puyallup valley produce hops, but other crops as well. Several thriving villages and numerous highly cultivated farms attest the prosperity of its people, as well as giving evidence of the valuable nature of the agricultural area immediately tributary to Tacoma. Puyallup hops are in demand in Japan, Europe and the eastern states of America, because of their superior quality and appearance. In the picking season the hop fields are the scene of great industry, and the numerous camps of pickers present a pleasing picture as the train passes up the valley.

HISTORY OF TACOMA REAL ESTATE.

A common expression of visitors is that “real estate is too high,” and many decline to invest in property for that reason, only to repent not many months later when values have advanced on all classes of property. Six years ago the same opinion was expressed, and the prediction was made that property values would take a tumble, and that the “boom” would collapse. Even in the “hard times” of 1884-5 these predictions were not realized. Values were fully sustained, and as soon as the nation began to recover from its financial depression, Tacoma real estate again started upward, and is still steadily advancing. The lot that was “too high” at $50 in 1883, and again declared “too high” at $200 in 1886, is now worth $500. The same opportunities exist to-day to buy lots at $50 and $100 that will in a few years be worth ten times their present value. Property in residence sections is a safe investment. The Sawyer addition lies near the center of the residence portion and contains one hundred and ninety lots, sixty-five of which are sold. Water is on the ground and street cars are within two blocks, while the Methodist university will be erected within one block. Oakland addition lies in the southwestern portion of the city overlooking the natural park, and is most desirable residence property. Traver’s addition is but one-half mile from the city limits, easy of access by good roads, and near the present terminus of the steam motor line. This is most desirable property, and is selling at $100 per lot on easy terms. White & Ouimette’s addition lies one and one-half miles from the limits, near the line of Hart’s railroad, and lots are sold at $50 each on the installment plan. Five years from now those who fail to invest in this class of residence property will be regretting it as keenly as do those now who made the same mistake about $50 and $100 lots five years ago. The increase in real estate values is best shown by the city assessment roll. In 1880 it was but $517,927; in 1886, $4,092,119; and in two years has increased to a total of $6,555,433. There has been a general advance in all classes of property, and no matter how high it has ever seemed to be, it is higher now and will be still higher a year hence.

COMMERCIAL ADVANTAGES OF TACOMA.

Many advantages are possessed by Tacoma which can not fail to result in building up here a large commercial city. A very large wholesale business is already established in many important lines of trade, and some of the largest and most complete retail stores to be found on the Pacific coast are located here. As an index of the condition of trade here the banking statistics are valuable. There are four national banks, one large private bank and a savings bank. The combined capital stock of these institutions is $630,000. The four national banks have $1,930,000 deposits, $1,892,000 discounts and $120,000 surplus and undivided profits. Such a showing of banking business indicates a volume of trade of large proportions, and as deposits have nearly doubled during the past year, the growth of trade is certainly remarkable. Tacoma’s position as the terminus of a great overland railway, as well as the terminal port on Puget sound for all local and ocean steamer lines, is one that assures it an enormous jobbing trade throughout the entire northwest. As a port of shipment for the coal, lumber, grain, iron, minerals and manufactured and agricultural products of an immense region, it must necessarily be the chief commercial point of the same section, and this is the cause of the marvelous increase in business during the first year after the completion of the railroad across the mountains. Foreign commerce already seeks this port for entrance into the United States. The sails of a clipper ship from China and Japan is a common sight in the harbor, and will be more frequent in the future. A line of steamers connecting the Northern Pacific with the ports of China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand is one of the certainties of a not distant future. Having the advantage over San Francisco of a much shorter route to China, Tacoma, as the chief port on Puget sound, can not fail to be a formidable rival to that city for the Oriental trade.

WATER FRONT AND HARBOR IMPROVEMENTS.

Between the harbor of Tacoma as it was in 1880 and as it is to-day there is as strong a contrast as between a wilderness and a walled city, and yet the harbor of the city of ten years hence will present a still stronger contrast. Along the western shore of Commencement bay run the numerous tracks of the Northern Pacific, along which have been erected most costly wharfs, warehouses, docks, coal bunkers and numerous other commercial facilities. Saw mills have multiplied and other factories are being located. On the opposite page is given an engraving of a portion of the water front, showing coal bunkers, saw mill and other features. Between the row of piles on the right of the foreground and the city, which lies to the left, is the channel of Puyallup river, not accessible to vessels at low tide. Here most extensive improvements have been planned, consisting of dredging the channel and constructing deep water docks along both sides of it. An immense area of mud flats lies back of the row of piling mentioned, which will be cut off from water by this work, and rendered available for commercial purposes. Here will be located factories, warehouses and wholesale stores of the future city. A mammoth saw mill is already being constructed on the flats. By this means large additions will be made to the water front, already six miles in length, and the docks and channel will pierce the heart of the city. Objection has sometimes been made to the fact that the harbor is so deep that vessels can not anchor near the docks. There is good holding ground farther out in the bay, and the docking facilities being provided will remove any possible objection. In its harbor Tacoma has all that is required by the largest city in the world.

GREEN RIVER HOT SPRINGS.

One of the favorite summer resorts of the northwest is situated on the line of the Northern Pacific, sixty-one miles east of Tacoma, in the Cascade mountains. This is the celebrated Green River Hot Springs, five in number, with a temperature varying from 118° to 122° Fahrenheit, which were discovered four years ago. A comfortable hotel, with accommodations for a large number of people, and ten cottages have already been erected. Green river is the most beautiful mountain stream in the west, and teems with trout and salmon. It derives its name from the green hue of its clear, transparent waters, brilliant in the sunlight and dark green in the shade. The mountains are full of deer, bear, mountain sheep, grouse and other game. No shooting is permitted within two hundred and fifty yards of the hotel, but the hunter and angler has not far to go to find employment for his rod and gun. Tourists will find this place the most delightful for a few days’ rest in the whole extent of their journey through the west. This has been recognized by hundreds, who have availed themselves of the opportunity to enjoy the pleasure and sport here afforded. Invalids, especially, find in the medicinal qualities of the water, the pure, bracing atmosphere of the mountains, the wholesome food, and the sense of rest and freedom from care, just the conditions necessary for their restoration to health. The waters are a specific for rheumatism, catarrh, kidney troubles, skin and blood diseases, etc., and their virtue is attested by hundreds who have been benefited by them. A post office and telegraph station have been established at the hotel, and the sojourner there need not feel that he is completely isolated from the world, while daily trains pass the hotel to carry him away in case of urgent need. Persons desirous of securing accommodations in advance of arrival should address, by mail or telegraph, I. G. McCain & Co., Hot Springs, W. T.

SCENERY OF PUGET SOUND.

From a picturesque standpoint, Puget sound possesses attractions of a high order. Its shores, which, in the main, come down in bluffy steeps to the very margin of the waters, are lined with verdant firs. Here and there the rolling hills are broken, where some stream pours down from the mountains and flows through a fertile valley, covered with a rank growth of forests of cedar, fir, maple, alder, cottonwood and creeping vines, save where the hand of man has cleared a way for the plow, and converted the forest wild into green meadows and fields of grain. Back from the shores, the forests rise in successive terraces as they climb the mountain sides, and soften their rugged outlines clear to their summits, save where here and there some giant snow peak thrusts its hoary head far above the green mantle of the mountains, and challenges the traveler’s eye from whatever direction he may be approaching. On a clear, warm, bracing day in early summer time, the traveler down the sound has almost constantly in view one of these snowy summits. Mount Tacoma to the southeast, Mount Baker to the northeast, and the long, serrated ridge of the Olympic range to the west, all hold their snowy crowns aloft for his inspection. The calm, deep waters of the sound, like the bosom of a mountain tarn, reflect the sun’s rays by day, and by night glisten under the shimmering light of the moon. A journey down its winding channels, through its narrow passages, among its hundreds of islands, past its cities, towns and busy mills, the eye constantly greeted by new and ever-changing landscapes of beauty, is one never to be forgotten by him who takes it when a clear sky and full moon combine to reveal its beauties, both day and night. Tacoma’s location renders it the best headquarters for tourists while enjoying the beauties of the sound.