Discover the past at the Tacoma Public Library's Northwest Room Northwest Room & Special Collections

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Washington Place Names
The Genealogy Collection
The Photography Collection
Tacoma Building Index
The Murray Morgan Prize
Murray's People, a Collection of Essays
Ships & Shipping Database
Unsettling Events
Tacoma Obituary Index
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The groundbreaking ceremony for the 1951 addition to Tacoma's Main Library.
Photography Collection, Tacoma Public Library


NEW! Two new resources now available on line!

South Sound Photo Album
Do you enjoy The News Tribune's daily SOUTH SOUND PHOTO ALBUM? Did you know that these delightful photographs are part of the Library's vast photography collection? Now you can explore this daily news feature by date (all the way back to January 1, 2000, or by keyword. You can even order a copy of your favorite photograph for personal use.
Go to the album.

Magnificent Views & Vistas
Early climbers left a legacy of photographs chronicling their adventures "above the clouds" in the majestic mountains of Washington State These early explorations 1912 - 1916) of The Mountaineers are the focus of a new section of the Library's web site --MAGNIFICENT VIEWS & VISTAS The web site is a joint project of the Library, the Tacoma Mountaineers, and the Washington State Historical Society.


spacerWelcome to the Tacoma Public Library's Northwest Room & Special Collections Home Page. If you were actually at our library right now, you would be in a beautifully restored Carnegie Library built in 1903 (the first Carnegie-funded library built in Washington state). What sort of things will you find here? Read on!
spacerGenealogy is the study of family history and the discovery of one's roots. Tracing your family's ancestry takes basic research skills, patience and time. Where do you start? Easy - at the beginning - with your generation, and a trip to the Tacoma Public Library. Included here is information about the Library's genealogy resources and a listing of other World Wide Web sites of interest.
spacerThe Tacoma Public Library is home to more than 1.5 million photographs of Tacoma, Pierce County and the Pacific Northwest from 1888 to the present day. The collection is a veritable treasure chest of riches for historians, researchers, students, designers, architects and anyone curious about our past. Visit here to learn all about the collection, the principle photographers represented and how you can access the photographs.
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spacerEver wonder how Sequim got its name, who named Spirit Lake, or why there's a town called Yelm? The Library's Washington Place Names Database provides the who, what, when and why about thousands of place names throughout the state.
spacerLearn more about the Murray Morgan Prize, awarded annually to a Washington author for a specific written work which is of high literary quality and wide interest, and which embodies narrative excellence and high standards of research
spacerBrowse through Murray's People, a selection of essays by the late Murray Morgan, noted Northwest author and historian, offering readers a fascinating glimpse into the people, events and history of the Pacific Northwest.
spacerThe databases included here - Ships and Shipping, an index to Tacoma/Pierce County obituaries (now with over 354, 000 names), and Unsettling Events (true-life tales which chillingly capture the dark side of our State's history) represent only a small portion of what is available at the downtown Tacoma Main Library.


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Last updated February 12, 2003

Copyright 1998-2003 by the Tacoma Public Library. All rights reserved.

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