Snoqualmie Falls Postcard – CT-3704

Chances are if you collect postcards like me, you’ll find many cards in your collection by the Smith-Western, Co. based in Tacoma, Washington. A recent acquisition for my collection is an image of Snoqualmie Falls in Snoqualmie, Washington taken by photographer Gary Greene.

SNOQUALMIE FALLS POSTCARD – CT-3704

This Snoqualmie Falls postcard features a daytime image of the 268-foot waterfall with the luxurious Salish Lodge & Spa perched above. The image was captured by photographer Gary Greene. The image was most likely taken after 1988 when the Salish Lodge was completely renovated to a 91-room hotel. You can see water droplets on the lens caused by the heavy flow of the Snoqualmie River over the falls.

I captured the falls at a similar vantage point in February 2024 near the upper observation deck which remained a covered spot until around 2009.

This is how the covered deck appeared before the entire area was renovated between Sept. 8 and December 2009. You can see part of this deck in the corners of establishing shots in Twin Peaks.

The postcard back contains the catalog number – CT-3704- along with manufacturing details such as it was printed in the U.S.A. and published and distributed by Smith-Western Co. in Tacoma. The description reads:

SNOQUALMIE FALLS, WASHINGTON
Stately Salish Lodge overlooks Snoqualmie Falls which plunges 268 feet to the river below.
The falls is a photographer’s delight and has become a major tourist attraction, located just 26 miles east of Seattle.
Photo by Gary Greene

WHO IS PHOTOGRAPHER GARY GREENE?

Despite exhaustive searches, I’ve been unable to locate specific details about Gary Greene. There is a photographer who lives on the East Coast of the United States with that name but it’s difficult to know if he is the same individual. I have, however, found several examples of Greene’s photos used on postcards. Cancellation dates on eBay auctions place some of these photos, like the images of Seattle above, between 2002-2004. He has also photographed the Space Needle from different angles.

I discovered a series of Artist Reference videos on the Internet Archive produced in 2004 by a “Gary Greene.” These tutorial videos demonstrated how to take reference photos that could later be used when drawing scenery.

At the 1-minute, 49-second mark in chapter 8 of Greene’s videos, I spotted a familiar looking waterfall image taken before the 1988 renovation of Snoqualmie Falls Lodge. I’m assuming this image was taken by the “Greene” featured in the video. I also found a reference to a photographer named Gary Greene who was offering photography classes around Kent, Washington in 1986. Perhaps the real “Mr. Gary Greene” will find this article and confirm his identity.

WHAT IS THE SMITH-WESTERN, CO. OF TACOMA, WASHINGTON?

Kyle Smith (1917-2014) settled in Tacoma, Washington following World War II and founded his postcard and tourist merchandise company in 1947. From the trunk of his car, he began by selling postcards adorned with images of towns and landmarks found in the Washington and Oregon.

“I went into every town. I went into the main business, usually a drugstore,’ Smith told C.R. Roberts in an article from The News Tribune on Apr. 29, 2007. “I’d just go in and ask ’em what would they like in the way of postcards. I’d ask for a tour. By then, the guy was a friend!”

The postcard business grew to include decals for car windows, luggage or bicycles; collectible plates and spoons and more.

At one point, early on, Kyle approached the National Bank of Washington for a $25,000 loan he told Roberts. The banker asked what the collateral might be.

“Postcards,’ Kyle said. “You gotta be kidding,” replied the banker. During the first full year, the company had gross sales of $14,000. By 2007, Smith said, “We ship more than that per day. When I started out, people didn’t know how to spell ‘tourist!”

Kyle, Sr. and Kyle, Jr. – or Skip to friends and associates, took many of the images found on their postcards for decades. In an article by Susan Gordon for The News Tribune on Aug. 24, 1987, she shared how Skip flew the small aircraft while his dad took photos.

“Focusing on some of the state’s most popular sights, the company’s vice president mans the controls of a Cessna 206, a single-engine, six-seat airplane, while the president sticks an old-fashioned Speed Graphic camera out the window and snaps away,” wrote Gordon.

But the late 1980s, the Smiths only took about 10 percent of the images found on postcards they distributed. They bought most of the photographs – like Gary Greene’s photo of Snoqualmie Falls – that appeared on the approximately 1,000 different postcards in distribution.

By 2000, Skip was running the business after spending “nearly three decades learning the finer points of merchandising, design, manufacturing, sales, finance, human resources and all the other skills necessary to succeed.”

The company is still in business today as the “nation’s premiere supplier for the tourist and attraction industry.” Sadly Kyle, Sr. passed on Mar. 3, 2014 at the age of 96, just three weeks short of his 97th birthday. Kyle “Skip” Smith continues serving as President / CEO of the company.

See more high-resolution postcard images from the Real Twin Peaks on my Flickr account.