5446-48 South Tacoma Way (1919)

The building you see here today is a modified version of the original building, designed by the architectural firm of Lundberg & Mahon in 1914. The building housed the South Tacoma Post Office and the North Pacific Bank. With the relocation of the post office to South 56th and Puget Sound Street in the late 1920s, the thriving North Pacific Bank absorbed the vacant property, remodeling it into their business. The bank, managed and eventually owned by businessman Peter Wallerich, was named in honor of the Northern Pacific Railroad and its affiliated shops that were located in South Tacoma. 

As noted above, the building structure here has been modified from its original form. Although the two distinct doors on the entry façade have been removed (they were a reminder of the structure’s past when it housed two businesses), the majority of the structure looks quite similar to the original building as seen in the historic photo from 1928. Even more impressive is that the building still houses a bank, which was one of the original uses of the structure. The simple one-story building is ornamented through simple changes in brick texture created by turning bricks on their ends to the short sides face out. When combined with slight differences in wall depth and small decorative tiles, the resulting façade has a simple, classical elegance, enhanced by the brick piers flanking each window, which gives the building classical details. Although the stylistic details are subtle, they were purposeful. North Pacific Bank was following the national trend of financial institutions using classical details to associate their business with the historical permanence and prestige of the classical past.

Businessman Peter Wallerich (1867-1941)

Peter Wallerich was born in Alsace-Lorraine on April 8, 1867. He came to the United States when he was 18, taught himself English, and worked on several Iowa farms. He learned telegraphy and moved west to Almira, Washington to work at a railroad station and eventually helped to organize the Almira State Bank. In 1902 he was elected cashier. Wallerich bought all the stock in South Tacoma’s North Pacific Bank in 1910 and became cashier and manager.

Wallerich had been involved in the automobile business in South Tacoma since 1924. In 1948, at the age of 81, he was still active in multiple family owned businesses and served as president of the North Pacific Bank, South Tacoma Motor Co., and City Motor. The family also owned Wallerich Agencies, an insurance company. Wallerich’s involvement with the North Pacific Bank and the South

Tacoma Motor Company was estimated to have provided jobs for more than 175 people in South Tacoma. Wallerich continued working as the bank’s president until days before his death on October 25, 1951, at the age of 84.

Wallerich’s wife, B. Maude, acted as Vice President of North Pacific Bank for many years. The family resided at 5617 South Puget Sound Avenue until the completion of the family’s new home at 3634 North Stevens Street. The architectural firm of Lundberg & Mahon, which designed a number of significant buildings in South Tacoma, designed the home. Contractor E. Anderson constructed the residence in 1923. The house is still standing.

Historic South Tacoma Way. Tacoma, WA. Historic Tacoma Press, 2011.