Monthly Archives: November 2013

The State Farm (previously Frank Russell) Building shining at night

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10864887284_e009b980c9_hFrank Russell moved out of this major office building at 909 A Street in 2009 and in April 2013 the property was purchased by State Farm, which is in the process of moving in. I read somewhere (now where was that?) that as a show of good intent, State Farm is leaving the lights on at night to enhance the ambiance of downtown Tacoma. The building was constructed in 1988 for Russell Investments (Jack Russell Company).

Pierce College. Possibilities. Realized.

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10787338136_059e3549ba_bI was at Pierce College Puyallup at 1601 39th Avenue SE, Puyallup, Washington 98374 for a meeting today. I had never been on this campus before, but it looking over their website, they have some interesting continuing ed classes.

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The Wall That Heals

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the wallThe Vietnam Veterans Traveling Wall is in the Auburn Veteran’s Memorial Park at 411 E Street NE this Veteran’s Day Weekend. The exhibit is a half size replica of the Washington DC Vietnam Memorial Wall which was designed by Maya Lin. It was really a very interesting exhibit. So many dead — 58,195 names are listed. And there is an iPhone App to help one find any name by panel number and line. The original wall is listed as number 10 for America’s favorite piece of architecture per Wikipedia. While I was at the park I snapped some photos of the rest of the park including mural art representing many of the major US wars.

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Sunflowers at Azteca

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10752541343_3a4c5d30ad_hAzteca is a chain of Mexican Food restaurants that are located in Washington (26), Oregon (2) and Florida (5). Really, The Tacoma Azteca is located at 4801 Tacoma Mall Boulevard.  I would have taken a better photo of it, but it was crowded with folks starting their three day weekend.

Tinkertopia, Tacoma’s Creative Reuse Center

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IMG_5272The Tacoma Studio Tours happened on a rainy, windy weekend but I was determined to go to at least some of them. Tinkertopia at 1914 Pacific Avenue is really delightful and it would be easy to spend a great deal of time here, but not a great deal of money since everything is so reasonably priced. To get a sense of the place, check out the photos below and the website which has plenty of links to articles and a free mini poster! Tinkertopia is a Spaceworks Project and when their Spaceworks funding expires they will be able to continue with the generous support of University of Washington, Tacoma.

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Terrified in Tacoma Tour

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10670982786_1de98b5a50_bWow, what a night. Cold with a strong breeze. But the stories we heard on the Terrified in Tacoma Tour were so fascinating and well presented that I (hardly) noticed the weather. We started at the Pantages Theater, strolled down to Fireman’s Park, crossed over to hear about Old City Hall (pictured), walked up the Spanish Steps and then through Antique Row back to the theater area. Along the way we heard about jealousy, murder, accidents, sightings, history and even UFOs! There was so much to take in that I would love to go again! Thanks to my good friend for this great idea! Terrified in Tacoma’s Facebook Page is here.

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