A South Sound history through words and pictures
100 YEARS AGO TODAY: NOV. 6, 1912
Defeat for the second time faces the port commission plan for developing Tacoma’s waterfront. With a brief campaign, vying for attention with the general election news, the port was given little consideration and in some of the country districts the entire vote was against the proposal. Forty precincts were heard from on the port commission plan up to 1 p.m., and the result gave 1,648 for the measure and 2,270 against. The district plan requires a three-fifths vote to put it into operation and the result of yesterday’s election will come so far from carrying the scheme, it is indicated, that this manner of working for improvements will have to be put out of the minds of local boosters.
75 YEARS AGO TODAY: NOV. 6, 1937
A new Union Pacific super-coach visited Tacoma recently and was on display on Broadway near Ninth Street. Several officials were present to explain its unique features. It is one of 100 that Union Pacific States is acquiring at a cost of $1,600,000. Half are in operation and others will follow soon. Among the new features of the coach are the position of the motor at the rear of the bus instead of in the front, the baggage compartment underneath the floor of the bus, the higher passenger deck inside the coach, modernistically-designed chairs, frosted tube lighting, and the general outline of the coach. Passengers sit 18 inches higher than in previous buses and are able to see over passing cars; yet the center of gravity of this new coach is lower than ever before.
50 YEARS AGO TODAY: NOV. 6, 1962
A brief, jarring earthquake replaced political candidates as the election-day talking point over a wide area of Oregon and Washington today. The tremor, lasting only a few seconds, left more fright than damage as it rolled along a 250-mile span from Eugene to Seattle at 7:37 p.m. yesterday. Seismologists described the quake as moderate on the Mercali scale of 12 at the University of Washington. Oregon State University said the reading was 4.5-5.0 on the Richter scale. The center was placed between Portland and Salem. Portland is 135 airline miles south of Seattle. It also was felt on the Oregon Coast 100 miles southwest of Portland, and some 85 miles east at The Dalles.
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