File:Tacoma Western Terminus of the Northern Pacific Railroad (MAPS 67).jpg

Color printed lithograph.

North oriented to lower right.

Printed at bottom: "Tacoma. Western Terminus of the Northern Pacific Railroad."

Printed beneath map in bottom left: "Copyrighted By Will Carson, (Del.) 1890."

Bird's-eye view showing Tacoma, Commencement Bay and surrounding area. Printed near bottom border are three numbered keys to Churches; Schools and Colleges; and "Manufactories, Etc." and various factories. The map depicts surrounding forests, ships in the bay, the Puyallup River, Olympic Mountains in the distance, shipyards, warehouses, coal bunkers, gas and electric works, breweries, fish canneries, and the tracks and depot of the Northern Pacific Railroad. Labels some major streets including Dock Street, Pacific Avenue, Cliff Avenue, Jefferson Street, Tacoma Avenue, Puyallup Avenue and Adams Street. Includes various insets at bottom edge and in upper left corner illustrating major buildings, streets and geographic entities in or near Tacoma including the Annie Wright Seminary, the Opera House, the Tacoma Lumber Mill, Pacific Avenue, Emersons School, Headquarters of the Northern Pacific Railroad, Mount Rainier as "Mount Tacoma, Altitude 14,444 Feet", Central School, St. Peter's Church and Natural Bell Tower, and "The Tacoma." Also includes an inset map of the Puget Sound.

In the last decades of the nineteenth century, Tacoma experience booming growth as reflected on this particular map of Tacoma. In 1873, the Northern Pacific Railroad Company chose Tacoma as its western terminus. In 1884, Old Tacoma and New Tacoma "consolidated" into one major city. The same year, the grand Tacoma Hotel opened as did an all girls' school, Annie Wright Seminary, featured on this map. The railroad line was completed in 1887 and two years later, Washington Territory became Washington State. From a population of about 1100 in 1880 to a population numbering 45,000 in 1890, Tacoma had truly become a city (Martin and Kellog, 31; Wilma and Crowley). The intense growth of business and industry is evident in the large number of buildings, the railroad and major streets depicted in Carson's map. Source(s): Martin, Harry and Caroline Kellog. "Tacoma: A Pictorial History." Virginia Beach, VA: Donning Company, 1981. Wilma, David and Walt Crowley. "Tacoma-Thumbnail History." 2003 Jan. 17. Historylink.org. Accessed November 18, 2008.

• Subjects (LCSH): Tacoma (Wash.)-Aerial views-Maps; Tacoma (Wash.)-Pictorial works
• Categories: Bird's eye view; Pacific Northwest