A wonderful mural appeared on the side of the commercial building at 5441 South Sheridan this year. The lead artists were Kenji Stoll and Chris Jordan and the artist team included David Long, Yvette Simone, Chelsea O’Sullivan and Natalie Oswald. Sir-Amicks is the name of the ceramics business that occupies most of the building. The building was constructed in 1940 as a Safeway.
http://www.tacomaculture.org/arts/MuralsComplete.asp
I really love the FlowerHouse at 618 South 15th Street (and South ‘G’ Street)! It is a temporary photographic art instillation by Duncan Price and funded through a grant from the Tacoma Artists Initiative Program (TAIP). Each window in this 1907, three story house (apartments?) has a full paned photography of a flower which is back-lighted.
http://tacomaarts.wordpress.com/2012/12/02/botanicals-are-ablaze-in-flowerhouse-on-the-hilltop/
http://www.duncanpricephotography.com/
The Carlson Cabin in Yelm at 301 West Yelm Avenue was constructed in 1945, so I’d consider it old but perhaps not historic. It was constructed by Yelm’s Lions Club and Axel Carlson (co-owner of the Sundown Logging Co.) made all of arrangements. The logs were hand hewed. The space is used for Lion’s Meetings, Scout Meetings, weddings, parties and other social events. The Yelm Lions Club, which was chartered in 1939, offers a free dinner every Thursday to anyone who is hungry.
I went to Yelm for a holiday gather and had a lovely time both there and on the drive to and fro. Yelm has a population of about 7,000 and per Wikipedia, “the word “Yelm” is said to come from the Coast Salish word shelm or chelm, meaning “heat waves from the sun” referring to heat mirages.”
I wandered out on this rainy, rainy night to take a photo of Tacoma’s McDonald’s at 802 Tacoma Avenue South, which has a hanging Dale Chihuly glass art piece. I’m not finding much information about this piece and the restaurant was busy enough that I didn’t want to bother the servers.
Dale Chihuly is a Tacoma native and I have seen him about town at art functions on occasion. He was born here in 1941 and attended Wilson High School and the University of Washington. His website can be found here http://www.chihuly.com/
Update: It ends up its not Chihuly art! Just very similar looking.
This interesting statue is located at 765 Court C in Tacoma and represents Sarah Bernhardt, the famous French actress. The most interesting thing that I learned about Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923) is that as an adult she often slept in a coffin! Also she performed at our very own Pantages theater and visited Wright Park. What little information I can find said the statue’s artist is unknown.
Tacoma has one of the 100 Wyland Whaling Wall murals “Washington Orcas” around the world and its on the Bowes Building at 100 South 9th Street in Downtown Tacoma. Currently the main level of the building is occupied by Big Whiskey Saloon, but the building has a long history. The architect was Edward Heath and the building was constructed in 1908 in white Vermont marble. The property was added to the National Historic Register and the Tacoma Register in 1979. Edward J. Bowes, the original owner, eventually gained a national reputation as an entertainment figure. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Bowes
Over the years, the occupants have included: Pacific Bldg. & Loan Assoc., M. Schmidt & Son Merchant Tailors, Tacoma Savings & Loan Assoc., All About Travel, Pacific Rim Restaurant, Zeppo Italian Restaurant, and Seven Cities Restaurant.
Wylan started painting his large murals in the 1980s. This was his 21st mural and I remember taking my lunch break from my downtown job at the time to watch him paint. I was fascinated. There were four Whaling Walls in Washington State, but sadly now only the Tacoma one remains.
I stopped to take a photo of this wonderfully playful mural at Dawg Town Tacoma, 1602 Tacoma Avenue South. It was early in the morning and there weren’t any dogs outside of this doggie daycare, training and grooming facility yet, but it was clear to see that there was a large outside play area. Looking over their webpage (see below), it appears that they also have specially designed inside space. What is extra fun is that there is a webcam, so that one can watch one’s furry friend having fun! When I took a look, there was a guy sweeping up and one dog (maybe his?). The 1935 building was originally the Coast House Materials Warehouse and later Coast Furniture Co. http://www.dawgtowntacoma.com
I remember taking my daughter to Never Never Land at Point Defiance Park in Tacoma when she was young. It was run down at that point, but we enjoyed it in its woodland setting. This evening our family took the Once In A Lifetime Underground Tacoma Flashlight Tour, which was offered by Angela Jossy http://www.theangelajossy.com/artbus.htm. The tour included several wonderful sites including the entrance to the underground tunnel, the soon to be filled under the sidewalk space and several historic buildings. But to me, the highlight was the chance to see the Never Never Land figures again. They are stored in the basement of a historic building near fireman’s park and I have a vague impression that the exact location is a secret. The smell of basement combined with the layer of dust provided an eerie vibe and dear daughter was more than ready to go outside, but I was happy to stretch out the time and examine each figure.
The park was created in 1964 and by the late 2000s most of the figurines had been removed. The last of the structures in the park (the stack of books entrance and the shoe/slide) were demolished in the fall of 2010.
http://www.cityartsmagazine.com/issues/tacoma/2009/12/never-again-land-0
Dear husband and I arrived in Tacoma about 23 years ago today. I remember that we had a not very good Thanksgiving dinner on the road from our prior home in Texas, so I might be off a couple of days, but not much. One of the first things we saw as we drove into downtown, through a very different from today Tacoma, was this cheerful, colorful sculpture titled Locomotive Monument. The artist, Douglas Charles Granum, created the piece in 1988 to reflect Tacoma’s railroad heritage.
There is a great mural on the exterior wall of the Crystal Voyage building at 2601 East D St #201, Tacoma, WA 98421. It is a stone mural triptych created by Macy Jewell, Jody Bergsma and Crystal Stone, the last of whom was kind enough to tell me about it. The elements of this mural form a story for those with “eyes to see”. The mural has many stories to tell, including the elements, native American legends and the Vitruvian Man.
I remember when I enjoyed Crystal Voyage in its Freighthouse Square location, but their current space is especially nice, roomy and full of delightful merchandise. I purchased some trinkets. Really, I need to come back here more often!
