To celebrate Halloween I snapped a couple of photos of neighborhood decorations at an undisclosed house (not mine!). I kind of admire the folks that go all out with seasonal decorations and this house feature a giant pumpkin with three ghosts and a skeleton coachman driving a pumpkin full of skulls.
Rumor has it that Old City Hall at 625 Commerce Street is haunted by a ghost named Gus.
http://www.ghostsandcritters.com/washingtonghosts.html
The building has a varied history. It was built in 1893 as Tacoma’s City Hall (E.A. Hatherton, Architect) and the original jail cells are still located in the building’s basement. In 1959, City of Tacoma offices moved and the building was vacant until 1969. In the 1970s the building was renovated into shops and restaurants and in 1974 it was placed on the historic register. In the 1980s it was converted into professional offices. I even worked there for a couple of years and enjoyed a water view! In 2005 there was talk of converting the property into condominiums. Thanksgiving week 2010 there was a flood brought on by a broken sprinkler pipe. The property is vacant.
The building has a dedicated website here http://www.thestratfordcompany.com/oldcityhall/
A wonderful post of the building when it was new can be found here http://search.tacomapubliclibrary.org/postcard/postcardfull.asp?db=60#Front
The 43rd Street Bridge at 401 E 43rd St Tacoma Washington is very lovely. My family members actually found this bridge and pointed it out to me. I’ve been waiting for the trees to have some color before using it as my new place of the day. The bridge goes over a railroad track. The lead artists for lovely foliage mural are Chris Sharp and Kelda Martensen.
I was in my 20s when I read Stephen King’s Pet Cemetery and it scared me to death! Though I did better then my husband who tossed it across the room and refused to pick it up for about a month. So in my head Pet Cemetery’s are creepy places, appropriate for a Halloween New Place of the Day. But all in all the Pet Cemetery in the New Tacoma Cemetery is lovely and peaceful. With umbrella in hand I walked through what I guess was the pet section, though I couldn’t find more then one grave. The photo with the graves is the traditional cemetery. The link for the cemetery is here http://www.newtacoma.com/fh/facilities/facilities.cfm?page=4&fh_id=12090
The Goddess of Commerce Statue at the corner of Sixth and St. Helens in Tacoma has been in place since August 31, 2011. While it is by no means a replica, it is based on a 10′ tall, copper, 1886 statue with the same name. That statue was melted for its copper in the 1940s. The hope is that the creation of this statue will turn the tide of economic downturn for Downtown Tacoma, which I guess means it is a giant good luck charm! Last April Fool’s Day there was a rumor going around that the Goddess had been snatched by thieves to be melted down for her copper! Luckily the rumor was an April Food’s prank.
The piece was created former art teacher Marilyn Mahoney whose other statue is a bronze mermaid on Salmon Beach. The Goddess stands about 7′ tall on a 4′ tall granite base.
Per the link below “The Goddess sculpture symbolizes our rich heritage in many ways. Her face is that of a Native American woman; her dress that of a pioneer. She holds a model of several iconic Tacoma buildings [Old City Hall, the Tacoma Dome, St. Joseph Hospital, the Bostwick Building, Waddell Building, a Pierce Transit bus and the Hot Shop at the Glass Museum]. The model freighter in her left hand signifies maritime commerce; and crane earrings epitomize Tacoma’s identity as a major port. Salmon streaming down her back honors the fishing industry”.
http://tacomahistory.org/SpecialProjects/Goddess_of_Commerce.html
This lovely burbling fountain is located at the University of Puget Sound. Their website says “Commonly known as the Jones fountain, Hilton Bowen Gardner Memorial Fountain was added to campus during the 1967-68 academic year. Mr. Gardner, who passed away in 1961, was university attorney and a member of the University of Puget Sound Board of Trustees. Mr. Gardner’s wife and son both graduated from Puget Sound.”
I had stumbled upon the Belmarlow a few years back when I went to an estate sale at the neighboring property. Today I rediscovered it and hopped out of my car to snap a photo. Two large dogs greeted me and they didn’t look too happy. So, I hopped back into my car! But then their owner called them off and gave me permission to walk around.
I couldn’t find much about the Belmarlow Addition, so I wrote to the wonderful professionals in Northwest Room at Tacoma Public Library. They said “According to the book, “Of Lions and Dreams, of Men and Realities” by Richard D. Osness published in 1976, the Belmarlow Addition was on 19th Street West, in an area of what is now University Place, and Belmarlow Beach was near the old day island bridge. Osness says a Francis M. Stephens built a store here in 1909, thus having the first grocery, general merchandise, hardware store in University Place area…although he says he had a tent store here even earlier during the summer months. The Belmarlow addition ran from 18th to 21st streets and from the water to Crystal Springs Road.”
The Goofy Goose at 3702 6th Ave Tacoma, WA 98406 is a Tacoma institution. I needed a place to stop for a bite before a meeting and cruised down Sixth Avenue. I didn’t want a chain restaurant or a fancy restaurant, and the Goofy Goose was just right. The man at the counter patiently went over all the options with me and I ordered the smaller cheeseburger meal, which was plenty of food and very tasty. Next time I think I’ll try their Teriyaki.
The building at 1302 Tacoma Avenue, Tacoma is mixed use property with the Tacoma Avenue frontage having a vacant convenience store/deli and the part fronting South 13th Street having apartments. I remember when the convenience store was open and it never seemed very welcoming to me. Since its been vacant, it has been repainted to a pleasant dark green. The building in 1926.
A little ways back I purchased a Living Social coupon for Classic Coffee at 7609 Custer Road in Lakewood. It was a buy a $20 coupon for $10 coupon and today I stopped to pick up fruit smoothies for dear daughter and me.