Blockbuster Video at 3833 Pacific Avenue, Tacoma, WA 98418-7897 is closing. It is the last Blockbuster Video in Tacoma and once gone, the closest store will be in Kent. I use to get my dvds there and found the parking lot to be difficult to maneuver. This month (November 2013) it was announced that the remaining stores will be closing.
I was planning on spending some quality time at one of my favorite stores, The Paper Source at 700 Bellevue Way NE, Bellevue, WA 98004. Sadly I ended up being in such a time constraint that I only paused to snap the one photo. The Paper Source has an abundance of very cool kits, stamps, stationary, unique trinkets and gift wrap. I’m hoping to go back soon and spend some more time!
Once a year, the Emergency Food Network has a fundraising event called Empty Bowls. This year it was at Charles Wright Academy, 7723 Chambers Creek Rd, University Place, 9846. The premise of this charity event is that folks can chose amongst a large selection of handmade bowls by local potters and all of the money raised supports the Emergency Food Network. Prices typically varied between $10 and $30. The Network provides more than 15.1 million pounds of food annually to local 67 food banks.
The Lexington Apartments at 8720 58th Ave SW, Lakewood, WA 98499 has three floorplans (1, 2 and 3 bedrooms). It was pretty dark when I got there and worse when I left, so my only photos were of the pumpkins on the end table and of the doormat. It looked like a nice apartment complex, well maintained. Their website is here.
Burger Ranch at 820 South 38th Street, Tacoma, has been around for a long time. For such a long history, there is very little information on it. The public library lets me know that there use to be a Shank’s Shell Station on the site. And the Pierce Co. Assessor’s Office shows the building was constructed in 1967. I stopped in for a good burger, fried mushrooms and a really tasty vanilla shake.
Lunch today at the Silver Lake Cafe at 616 Regents Boulevard, Fircrest was very tasty. The wait people there were really nice about taking in our large group with no prior warning and everyone seemed very pleased with their lunch. Spring Lake Cafe’s Facebook Page is here.
Frank 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).
I 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.
The 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.
Azteca 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.