Monthly Archives: January 2012

Satellite Coffee on Division

“Coffee in Tacoma that doesn’t suck” is the motto of Satellite Coffee at 817 Division Ave., Tacoma, WA 98438. I stopped in today for coffee and a cookie and they were both unusual. The coffee was French Press and really good and the chocolate chip cookie had raisins. The cookie was good to, just not what I expected. There are two Satellite Coffees and this one is located up a short flight of stairs. Inside there was some catchy music and a funky, pleasant atmosphere.

There website is here:  http://www.coffeetacoma.com/

The write up of their other location is here: http://blog.firsttries.com/?p=2237

Normanna Hall, Tacoma

Normanna Hall at 1106 S 15th St., Tacoma, WA 98405 is another very wonderful building in Tacoma (the corner of South 15th and Martin Luther King, Jr.). The building was constructed in 1922 and Geo. Trust was the architect. The dedication was on March 19, 1923.  On August 24, 1979, the lodge celebrated 75 years in America.

The Sons of Norway, is a lodge that is dedicated to preserving Norwegian heritage and culture in the Tacoma area for over 100 years. Sons of Norway and promote Norwegian traditions and fraternal fellowship through cultural and social activities. Once a year, in October, the Norden Lodge (Sons of Norway) has its annual Lutefisk Dinner there.

The Metro Tacoma Fencing Club occupies space in the building and the Seattle Branch of the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society has been known to kick up their heels there.

For more information about the lodge, including some photographs, check out their website at http://www.norden2.com/

North Slope Coffee House

North Slope Coffee House by Gexydaf
North Slope Coffee House, a photo by Gexydaf on Flickr.

I needed a lime for Sweet Potato Black Bean Soup http://www.food.com/recipe/black-bean-soup-with-sweet-potatoes-174500. Stadium Thriftway was nearby so we made a quick stop and then grabbed a decaf Americano at North Slope Coffee Shop at 915 N Sheridan Ave, Tacoma, WA 98403. The Shop is at the entrance of Stadium Thriftway and today it was pretty chilly. The coffee was extra good and the service was cheerful. I remember when the coffee shop was in a slightly different location before they remodeled Stadium Thriftway.

Happy New Year at the Pythian Temple

 

As we usually do, dear daughter and I celebrated New Year’s Eve at Tacoma’s First Night in Downtown Tacoma. We drove to the Dome Transit Center and caught the Link to the theater district and then we kicked up our heals! It is really a top notch event. The weather was cold, but not frigid and there was no rain (a small miracle). I ran into a bunch of folks that I knew, but dear daughter seemed to know almost everybody! She declared that her schoolmates owned the downtown domain!

The new place for the day is the Pythian Temple at 924-926 1/2 Broadway, Tacoma. The building was constructed in 1906 for the Commencement Lodge No. 7 of the Knights of the Pythias. On August 23, 1985, Pythian Temple was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The meeting room is upstairs and is amazing, with dark carved woods and lovely frescoes and a huge organ.

For more on the Temple, including some historic photos, go to here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythian_Temple_%28Tacoma,_Washington%29

This is my sixth building that was designed by Frederick Heath, architect and named after the 25th President of the United States, William McKinley. The others are:

http://blog.firsttries.com/?p=2012 Oakland School

http://blog.firsttries.com/?p=1961 Urban Grace

http://blog.firsttries.com/?p=1335 Titlow Lodge

http://blog.firsttries.com/?p=2370 Tacoma Public School’s CAB

http://blog.firsttries.com/?p=2374 McKinley School