Monthly Archives: December 2012

Tullys in the Stadium DIstrict, Baby It’s Cold Outside

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While out running errands I stopped at Tully’s in the Stadium District (24 Tacoma Avenue North). This is one of three Tully’s in Tacoma and one of 200+ locations in the US. The first Tully’s opened in Seattle in 1992.

I usually order an Americano, but today I drank a peppermint mocha because it just looked so darned good advertised up there on the board.

Unbeknownst to me, Tully’s has been in the news the past few days. Apparently the chain is up for sale and Starbucks is one of the potential buyers. There are 47 company owned stores and I don’t know if this is one of them. Another potential buyer is a Grey’s Anatomy actor Patrick Dempsey’s investment group.

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Kinokuniya Bookstore for all your Manga needs

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When dear daughter was in middle school, she didn’t want to go anywhere with her parents. The idea of going up to Seattle was abhorrent to her, but we dragged her along anyway. We stopped at Uwajimaya and the Kinokuniya Bookstore (525 S Weller St
Seattle, WA 98104) and she fell for it — hard. Ever since we have been visiting Seattle’s International District at least once a quarter. Today, my now happy travel companion and I went up to Uwajimaya because we were having an udon craving. We can’t go to Uwajimaya without buying those little chocolate mushroom cookie treats and visiting Kinokuniya. She walked away with a present for her friend, a manga and a CD. The store is packed with manga and all types of traditional, Japanese language books (novels, cookbooks, art, history, etc.). We found both The Hobbit and 50 Shades of Grey in Japanese! There is also a large music selection and plenty of adorable stuffed animals, toys, t-shirts, stickers, pens and miscellaneous. Parking is free for up to two hours with store validation.  http://www.kinokuniya.com/us/

By the way, when we got home… she thanked me for taking her!

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Allen C. Mason Plaza

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8320716904_7aa7a27563_cAllen C. Mason was a real estate developer who coined the phrase City of Destiny for Tacoma. He arrived in Tacoma in 1883 with almost no capital and eventually became a major developer for Tacoma’s North End. His statue festoon in holiday finery is located in Allen C. Mason Plaza at the southeast corner of North 26th and Adams Street near the Wheelock Library. The plaza also features six pillars from Mason’s mansion. In addition there is a replica of the Star of Destiny, which is pretty interesting.

http://www.proctordistrict.com/index.php/aboutus/masonplaza/

Dear daughter and I hadn’t actually had this plaza in mind when we set off in the night, but the parking lot and ancillary parking lot for zoo lights was full! The plaza is pretty cool anyway. I’m glad I saw it!

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JC Penneys, Tacoma Mall

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8316724954_d2e45abab5_oDear daughter needed some professional clothing and I searched my brain on where to go. Finally I remembered how pleased I was that JC Penney made Ellen DeGeneres their spokes person and then stood by her when the One Million Moms group started complaining about her being gay. So, good job, JC Penney, you have our teeny tiny bit of disposable income. We went to the JC Penney at the Tacoma Mall. They had a good selection, a righteous after the holiday sale and pleasant and efficient sale people.

Dear daughter say that their mannequins  are too tiny and don’t reflect real women. But I think they are a pretty standard size for clothing stores in the US.

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Norman Bates Motel

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The Norman Bates Motel at 4411 Pacific Highway East, Fife, Washington 98424 was demolished in 2012. The land is available for sale. I’m not finding much information about the motel or why it was named after the hotel in the famous Hitchcock movie, Psycho.  I’ve included photos from today and from April 2012, which the building was in place but behind a fence.

My family just recently watched Psycho in an effort to find a movie that isn’t a slasher flick, but actually scares my dear daughter. She enjoyed the movie, despite the fact it was in black and white, but wasn’t overly scared. Info about the movie can be found here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psycho_%28film%29

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Merry Christmas

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8308112977_a6afa2a98e_bAccident & Injury Chiropractic at 1702 South 72nd Street, Tacoma, makes good use of its building to share holiday joy! The building has colonial pillars wrapped in red ribbon (plastic?) and a huge wreath in the center of the second floor. Their website is here http://www.accidentandinjurychiro.com/

And now I’m back to making the ham and mashed potatoes for Christmas dinner 😀 Happy holidays everyone!

Tacoma Elf Storage on Christmas Eve

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8305957078_463350461a_bWhat better way to celebrate Christmas Eve then to take a family photo in front of Tacoma Elf Storage at 2602 South Holgate Street  Tacoma, WA 98402. Eleven months of the year, this facility is known as Tacoma Self Storage, but in December they darken the S and make it a handy spot for Santa to store the toys and one assumes, elves. Their link is here http://www.tacoma-selfstorage.com/

The legend goes that a bird shorted out the letter S during the holiday season in 2007 when the business was new. It was so popular that the owners have purposefully recreated the dimming each year.

The building was originally Tacoma Ice & Refrigerating Co. and A.W. Sterrett was the architect. It was constructed in 1923. In 2000 it was known as Alpine cold storage. In November of 2006 it opened as its current use, a self storage facility.

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Jesus’s Custom Muffler and Dual Exhaust Shop

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8300939791_68642fd04c_oJesus’s Custom Muffler and Dual Exhaust Shop at 4003 McKinley Avenue is a cheerful yellow with red trim and has some great muffler art! The property started it life in 1925 as Mac’s Super Service Station and there was an addition in 1949.

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Chirp & Co. in the Proctor District

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Chirp & Co. at 3808 North 26th Street, in Tacoma’s Proctor District has been around for 20 years. It’s main emphasis is on wild birds and it offers feeders, food, book and gift items around that theme. There is also a quality pet food selection. Really it has some unusual items and is reasonably price. I walked out with a darling little bird figurine for my window and three different suet square for about $12 altogether.

www.chirpandco.com/

 

Ole 99, South Tacoma

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8295763482_c9c83b13e9_oSculpture Fritz Church created Ole 99, a life sized metal horse that was installed at the corner of South 47th Street and South Tacoma in 2011. The horse looks like he is patiently waiting for a Pierce Transit bus. The piece’s name reflects that fact that South Tacoma Way use to be part of Highway 99, the original thoroughfare that ran from Canada to Mexico. I love that the sculpture is tied to an ring on a spike that had originally been used for real work horses.

http://www.tacomaweekly.com/citylife/view/south-tacomas-ole-99/