History of Tacoma, Washington, USA

Tacoma, May 14. - About 6 o'clock last evening a wind storm struck a building which was being constructed for a hotel. The structure collapsed, burying about twenty workmen in the debris. One hundred citizens and laborers just returning home from their day's work were soon at work endeavoring to rescue the imprisoned men. In a few minutes one body was taken out. It was that of WALTER BATES, who was building the hotel. The body of a working man named McCONNELL, and the bodies of two others, unknown, were taken out, and W. H. SNELL, city attorney, who received fatal injuries. The workmen rescued were severely injured, as was REV. McKEE, who had taken shelter in the building from the storm. The storm passed through the houses on that street, and when it struck a new store being erected between Eleventh and Thirteenth, it severely injured the workmen there. Another building in the southern portion was also demolished.

All over Puget Sound the storm is very severe. No other casualties...

Tacoma, ta-ko'mah, a city and seaport of the state of Washington, and the capital of Pierce co., is situated at the head of navigation on Puget Sound, about 100 miles from the Pacific coast. It is the western terminus of the Northern Pacific Railroad, also the port of the Northern Pacific Steamship Company, making direct connections with China and Japan. Tacoma has 67 churches, 17 public schools, a boys' college, a ladies' seminary, 20 banks, 2 theatres, fine hotels, and is the seat of a Methodist university. Three daily and 10 weekly newspapers are published here. Its manufacturing appliances consist of saw-mills, shingle-mills, woollen-mills, flour-mills, a dry dock, a smelter, and car-shops which cost $1,250,000,-the capital invested in these enterprises in 1893 aggregating $9,215, 500, and the output $10,426,500. The jobbing trade in 1893 was $15,164,000. Tacoma has superior facilities for transacting and handling shipping business. The docks and wharves in front of the city are...

Tacoma, a city and subport of entry, capital of Pierce co., Wash., is situated on Puget Sound, 80 miles from the Pacific coast and 23 miles (direct) S. by W. of Seattle. It is on the Northern Pacific, the Tacoma Eastern and other railroads. Tacoma occupies a site of rare beauty, commanding a magnificent view of Mount Rainier (Tacoma). It has the advantage of an excellent harbor, where superior facilities are afforded for transacting and handling shipping business. The docks and wharves in front of the city are several miles in extent, and ships load here with wheat, lumber, and coal for all parts of the world. Tacoma is the seat of the University of Puget Sound, Whitworth College, Annie Wright Seminary, Pacific Lutheran University, etc., and among its notable public buildings are the city-hall, court house, chamber of commerce, opera-house, and the Ferry Museum of Art. The manufactures comprise lumber and shingles, iron and steel, flour, beer, cars and boilers, etc. The city has also...

The winds caused the evenly sized spans of the bridge to begin to vibrate until the central one finally collapsed. From that point on bridges were constructed with spans of varying size.