Yesterday I had a meeting at Tacoma Community College (TCC) and while there I stopped at the library. It had a wonderful, comfortable ambiance with plenty of study carrels, tables and of course resources.
http://www.tacomacc.edu/library/
There is an apparently vacant building at 1214 Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, Tacoma, WA. Or maybe it is being used for storage. The public record indicates that a meat store (or facility) was or is in place. There are two murals on the storefront of animals eating spaghetti.
Today we stopped at Hidden Treasures in The Old Trolley Building. The street address is 3902 South 12th. The store’s space was larger than I first expected and includes a lovely tea room. Hidden Treasures really is packed full of interesting items — glassware, decorative items, vintage clothes, books, etc. And the owner’s (I think it was the owner) two darling dogs were there to interact with potential buyers. I’m thinking about going back for the rooster! More about Hidden Treasure here http://www.oldtrolleybuilding.com/hidden-treasures/index.html
The building was constructed in 1890 as the Steilacoom Line Powerhouse for the Tacoma & Steilacoom streetcar line. By 1896 it was being used for railroad car storage and in1912 it was being used for commercial fuel and feed storage. In 1916 the railroad tracks were removed. In 1947 it was remodeled into the A-G Food Mart and Emmons Apartments. Other occupants have included a drugstore, meat market, salon, barbershop, paper products, hobby shop, furniture shop, lawn mower repair, sign maker, Radio & TV sales and repair, restaurant, carpet store and a preschool. More info about the building can be found here
http://www.oldtrolleybuilding.com/
Faith Dairy at 3509 72nd St. E., Tacoma, WA opened in 1963 and closed in 2007. I remember stopping there for some of their delicious ice cream and some fresh milk. I found a few articles from back when the facility closed.
http://www.dairyexpress.net/FaithDairy.htm
http://www.thenewstribune.com/2007/07/30/121562/ideas-abound-for-saving-iconic.html
http://www.thenewstribune.com/2007/07/16/110871/time-for-a-last-bottle-of-chocolate.html
I’ve gone past the Jarvie Memorial Family Lodge at 1521 Sixth Avenue, Tacoma, several times, but there were always people in front it and I don’t want to be obnoxious by taking a photo. The housing units were built in 1927 as the Creso (or Cresco) Court Apartments. They have a bungalow court design.
In 1983 the property converted from City Center Motel to the Salvation Army Family Lodge and in 1994 is was rededicated after remodeling. There is an article about the family lodge here http://www.weeklyvolcano.com/entertainment/spew-blog/2011/12/Salvation-Army-Tacoma-provies-housing-for-homeless-families/
So I printed out a map of a potentially lovely park in Gig Harbor and I grabbed my camera and daughter who wanted a ride and off I went. As we are crossing the Narrows Bridge I tell her that I’m going hiking and within seconds it started to hail! Well, OK then, maybe not a hike. I drop her off at the movie theater and remember that there is a Coldwater Creek in the Uptown Gig Harbor Center (4621 Point Fosdick Dr. NW,Gig Harbor, WA 98335). Great. I’ve had my eye on a scarf/vesty thing that is a requirement for the women in my generation and was waiting for a big online sale to buy it. This was my chance to look at it in person. Imagine my delight when they had it marked down from $49.95 to $29.99, and then it was 60% off! And it was a great fit. Oh happy days 🙂 I bought two (different colors). Part of one is pictured here (the pink border is part of the processing) and there is a bonus Buddha, which was at the center and I thought was cool.
I guess we’ve reached that stage of life where we are looking at colleges. Today is my dear daughter’s birthday and we celebrated by going to visit DigiPen Institute of Technology at 9931 Willows Rd NE Redmond, WA 98052. Digipen has five undergraduate degree programs
So, it is a pretty narrow focus, but they have a great reputation for what they do.
The Tahoma Indian Center at 1556 Market Street, Tacoma, is part of Catholic Community Services and their website is at http://www.ccsww.org/site/PageServer?pagename=families_emergencyservices_tahomaindiancenter
Their website states “Located in downtown Tacoma, the Tahoma Indian Center has met the basic needs of low-income and homeless Urban Native Peoples for more than 20 years in a safe, warm, peaceful and drug- and alcohol-free environment. The purpose of the Center is to restore and sustain the dignity and culture of Urban Native Americans in Pierce County.”
This is great old building and it has an interesting history.I’m not sure, but I think it use to be connected to a building on the now vacant lot next door. So, in full disclosure I’m not sure of the history of the property, the lot next door or both. Tacoma Public Library says the Lorenz Bldg. / Sisson House was constructed in 1890. The Astor House opened c.1899 as the first major Japanese hotel in Tacoma. It was also known as the Hiroshimaya Hotel. As of 1946, the property was known as the Columbus Hotel / Yunan Ling Herbal Medicine / Tacoma Jujitsu School. The same year, a petition was denied for the hotel and the headlines read “all colored hotel” closed for prostitution violations.
In 1947 it was Fukui’s Grocery Store (and was “surprised by the police!”). And by 1996 it became the Intertribal Cultural Arts Center. When looking at the spectacular doorway, I noticed that the Lion King is hanging from a coconut over the doorway. I bet there is a story there!
Mud Bay is a natural dog and cat food store located at 3804 Bridgeport Way (Green Firs Center), University Place, WA 98466. There are 23 Mud Bay Puget Sound locations. The store is cheerful and well stocked and the cashier was very nice. I picked up a card for my friend who is getting a new dog and two treats, one for each dog. (Though somehow the sneakier of the two dogs got both of them!).
Mud Bay’s website can be found here: http://www.mudbay.us/
The Toy Rescue Mission is located at at 607 South Winnifred Street, Tacoma, WA 98465. I remember when I was a Girl Scout leader, we collected toys for this fine organization. Their detailed website states that “Toy Rescue Mission (TRM) is an all-volunteer run, grass-roots organization. It was organized in 1991 with the purpose of providing toys to children who find themselves in unfortunate circumstances, either due to family hardship or an immediate disaster. TRM programs center upon recycling used but still useable toys. Its volunteers are dedicated to its Mission:”
http://www.toyrescuemission.org/index.html
