Guide to the Helping the Homeless Man Photograph Collection
ca. 1933-1934

Historical Note

The Seattle Salvation Army was founded in 1887 and during the Depression operated shelters for homeless men at 213 ½ Second Avenue South, the former United States Immigration Building, and at 117 ½ Main Street. Because of Seattle's position as a gateway city to the Pacific and Alaska, the men who visited the shelters came from all over the United States and even from foreign nations.

Scope and Content

The photographs in this collection show three of the shelters that were set up by the Salvation Army to help the homeless men in Seattle during the Great Depression. Interior views of the shelters show double-deck beds, the shower facilities, and some of the areas in the shelters where the men could find employment, such as a tailor shop, a shoe repair shop, and a wood yard operation.

Restrictions on Access

Collection is open to the public.

Historical Background

During the early 1930s, while the United States endured the Great Depression, many people became homeless. Some government agencies and private charities tried to help the homeless by providing food, shelter, and employment. These shelters were known by several names such as emergency shelters, flophouses, Hoover's hotels, and recreation halls.

When men entered the shelters, they were registered, fed, cleaned and examined, and provided with clean nightclothes and a bed for the night. If the men needed medical attention, they were sent to a hospital. In the morning, their newly fumigated and sterilized clothes were returned. They were served breakfast and either sent on their way or asked to do some work in the shelter. Sometimes a shelter had an employment agency that located jobs for the men.

Processing Info

Processed by Maria Ovalles and Jocelyn Spicer, 2002.

Condition Note: Because the album had come apart, the album pages were separated and put into protective folders.

Inventory

Folder	Item
1	1		Title page: Helping the Homeless Man, Activities and Facilities of the Central Registry for Homeless Single Men
	2-3		Shelter #1, 213 1/2 Second Avenue South, Seattle
	4-5		Shelter #2, formerly the United States Immigration Bldg., Seattle
	6-7		Shelter #3, 117 1/2 Main Street, Seattle
	8-9		Shelter #2, dormitory
	10-11		Double-deck beds
	12-13		Wood yard at Railroad Avenue and King Street
					Railroad Avenue was renamed Alaskan Way in 1936.
	14-15		Receiving ward
	16-17		Check room at headquarters
	18-19		Shelter #1, tailor shop
	20-21		Shelter #1, laundry rooms
	22-23		Shelter #1, sterilizer
	24-25		Shelter #1, shower room
	26-27		Shelter #1, shoe repair shop
	28-29		Occupational chart
	30-31		Shelter #1, recreation room
					The Salvation Army held services and prayer meetings in the recreation rooms.
	32-33		Number two corps auditorium at the Salvation Army chapel
	34-35		First-aid cabinet
	36-37		Harborview Hospital
Subject Terms
	Organizations:
		Salvation Army. Advisory Board (Seattle, Wash.)
	Subjects:
		Depressions--1929--Washington (State)--Seattle.
		Shelters for the homeless--Washington (State)--Seattle--Photographs.