Life in the Webster Apartments, Then and Now
Over one hundred years old, The Webster apartments are situated in a historically significant nexus of downtown Tacoma. Author Michael Fitzgerald lives in this historical building in what is still a vibrant neighborhood today.
Read articleA School and Its City: Thoughts on the Puget Sound Puzzle
After decades of dissonance comes an opportunity for for students, university administration and community members to rethink the relationship between the University of Puget Sound and the city it calls home.
Read articleHow the Mighty Have (Almost) Fallen
The giant totem pole in Fireman’s Park near Old City Hall is fatally deteriorated, and no longer structurally stable. Any dead tree, no matter how intricately carved or fancifully painted, would rot and topple after 110 years of exposure to Tacoma weather. It should not come as a surprise that this particular 83-foot-tall log is crawling with carpenter ants and mushy to the core.
Read articleHistoric Streets?
The City of Tacoma is considering a proposal to designate the pavement on certain streets in the North Slope area as protected historic features – specifically, the stony slopes of North 9th, 10th and 11th Streets between North K Street and North G street.
Read articleBefore the Fall: The Japanese in Tacoma
In a single photograph, we can witness the achingly fresh tragedy of our city’s history with its immigrant population.
Read articleWaiting For “The Big One”
The Pacific Northwest is a cleverly alluring natural death trap. With an agreeably mild climate and natural beauty that combines endless coastline with icy mountain peaks and abundant flora and fauna, it is easy to forget that the very earth that spawns us seems particularly eager to bury us or shake us to death.
Read articleHow an Earnest Irwin Celebrates Presidents’ Day in Tacoma
Celebrate this Presidents’ Day by learning about how one Tacoma man re-imagined a small piece of presidential history because the real story didn’t go the way he wanted.
Read articleThe Buried Ancient Glyph on Tacoma’s Shoreline
No one alive today has looked into the stone carved face of Tacoma’s most storied connection to the ancient “people who came before”.
Read articleSon of Tacoma, Father of Dune
He wrote one of the bestselling science fiction novels ever. He won both the Nebula and the Hugo Awards – the two most prestigious awards in science fiction. NASA has officially approved the naming of geographic features on after words coined by him.
Read articlePrairie Story: Lost and Found in Tacoma
Rachel Kindred was a teenage mom with a toddler at her skirt as she put out the last campfire one night in 1844. She and her…
Read articleFog and Photography: Tacoma Artist Willis Meacham
Tacoma’s seafaring history looms in the photography of a local photographer of the 1920′s.
Read articleTacoma’s love of Christmas Grits
How could we not return to Tacoma’s grand grits “tradition” after this Post Defiance story was featured in The News Tribune, November 2012? Here for you once again,…
Read articleNotre Nouvelle Sœur, Biot
Ah, Tacoma: defined by mountain and harbor proximity; a proud glassblowing tradition; local farm, food, and libation obsession; hills; museums; a preoccupation with revitalization; and bricks. And perhaps a few other things.
But although no two places are the same, that doesn’t mean that Tacoma is without family — and by family, I mean sisters. Welcome the French town Biot into the fold this fall.
Read article“Martial Law Looms in Tacoma”
The summer of 1935 gripped Tacoma in a frenzy of unrest. Thousands regularly took to the streets in protest of labor disparities, leading to the deployment of National Guard troops. Tear gas was used liberally. Citizens and policemen traded blows on 11th Street and on the deck of the lift bridge we now know as the Murray Morgan Bridge. Meanwhile, the lumber mills lining the city waterway ran on shoestring capacity, or not at all.
Read articleThe Great Grizzly Escape
75 years ago, a grizzly bear was on the loose in Tacoma. The 600 pound bear escaped from his cage never to be found and how he escaped is still a mystery today. His successor, a bear named Butch, also escaped, but was recaptured when his stomach betrayed him after almost three weeks on the lam. Zoos serve an important purpose, but we can’t help but love a good animal escape story!
Read articleBe Kind to Animals
This article celebrates animal lovers and advocates, past and present, while gently reminding readers that not all animals are fortunate enough to have a home where they are loved and cared for. Taking the historic command to “Be Kind to Animals” to heart, Tacomans have created many opportunities to help support homeless, abused, and neglected animals.
Read articleStraw Hat Blues
Though books of style etiquette may often gather dust today, Tacomans formerly celebrated Straw Hat Day, when men would exchange their winter hats for straw hats come the end of May.
Read article“I Think Tacoma May Be the Twilight Zone”
In December of 1984, Bruce Springsteen was Rolling Stone magazine’s cover story, as he has been many times. But the first three paragraphs of that story – an interview by Kurt Loder (of MTV fame) with the meteoric mega-star – were all about Tacoma and its infamous aroma.
Read articleA Sweet and Hole-some History of Tacoma Doughnuts
I know you are trying to keep your New Year’s resolution, but did you know that Tacoma was once home to “The Doughnut King?” Read this article by staff writer Kate Albert Ward to learn more about the enduring romance between Tacomans and this delectable treat.
Read articleLearning to Love the Cross Orbweaver Spider
As commonplace in Northwest fall as clouds, the Cross Orbweaver spider (Araneus diadematus) takes up residence for the season, their pervasive webs stringing across windows, from tree to tree, from dahlia to chrysanthemum. But what are these guys really about? Is there more to this web spinner than meets the eye?
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