Category Archives: WA State – Pierce County

Kobayashi Park

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I had no idea that Kobayashi Park was there at 6420 Chambers Creek Road West in University Place. It is tucked away and not very clearly marked and we only found it by accident. But we’re glad that we found it! We walked the trails in both directions from the small parking lot. In one direction the path followed a small stream. The family was thrill to see a Pileated Woodpecker (see the photo below, but you have to look hard!) ! I don’t think that I’ve ever seen one before. The path in the other direction went past the house and followed a larger stream which called to me to jump right in! But I refrained.

The 4.82 acre site for Kobayashi Park in University Place was purchased on September 16, 2004. The site contains the confluence of Chambers and Leach Creeks, both salmon bearing streams. There is a 1964 house on the site which is vacant and not in great shape.

Dometop Community Garden

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The Dometop Community Garden is really something! Located in Roger’s Park at 3151 East L Street, it has amazing view of Mt. Rainier. The garden was created in 2011 cooperatively with the Eastside neighbors and Metro Parks. There is water throughout the raised garden beds and when I stopped in one of the organizers was watering the individual gardens. It was a pleasure to chat with her. The plots themselves are gorgeous and well tended. Scattered throughout there are bits of whimsy and cheerful flags flapping in the breeze. There is a real pride of ownership here. Perhaps my favorite area was the small field of huge sunflowers planted in a boat 🙂

There is a great website that shows the garden being developed. http://tacomadometop.com/mckinley-hill-community-garden.php

 

And this site details all of the area’s community gardens and farmer’s markets. http://www.growlocaltacoma.com/

 

Harp & Shamrock, Tacoma

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The Harp & Shamrock at 2704 North Proctor is a delightful store which specializes in all things Irish. They had some lovely outerwear items that I adored. They also had hats, scarfs, food, trinkets, jewelry and a bunch of other things. I purchased some Irish Tea because dear daughter had proclaimed that the Irish had the best tea! And indeed when we tried it, the taste was excellent. Though dear daughter shouldn’t have had three cups and stayed up most of the night!

A better photo of the building can be found here http://www.proctordistrict.com/index.php/listing/The%20Harp%20&%20Shamrock

The store is in the Davies Building which was constructed in 1924 and has apartments on the upper level.

Update 8/14 — The store closed on June 14, 2014 after 38 years in business.

Old Wonderbread and Hostess Property

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I’ve been wanting to snap a photo of the old Wonderbread Building at the corner of Sprague Avenue and South 7th (703 South Sprague) for ages The property began life as the Matthaei Bread Company in 1913 at a cost of $30,000. The formal opening was in April 1913 and it was known as the plant of 150 windows.

The parent company, Interstate Bakeries Corp, went bankrupt in 2004 and this outlet closed. As of 2007 the property was up for sale, but it has been sitting vacant for ages now. An article in the Weekly Volcano mentions a proposed demolition of the building with a new retail/office facility, but it has been a couple of years and I see no evidence of new development. http://www.weeklyvolcano.com/entertainment/spew-blog/2010/05/tacoma-wonder-bread-building-demolition/

A picture of the building from the 1920s can be found here http://search.tacomapubliclibrary.org/buildings/bldg1image.asp?j=1&o=2&n=25402&i=6392#text

Lake Steilacoom

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The lovely Lake Steilacoom contains and area of 53 acres and is entirely within the city limits of Lakewood, WA. It is a man made lake that was created at the site of a small pond in 1853. Per Wikipedia “The Nisqually Indians say this lake was possessed by an evil female monster known as Whe-atchee. Legends of the creature attacking people go back over a century.To this day, Nisqually refuse to fish or swim here.”

Grassi’s

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Grassi’s Flowers & Gifts at 1702 Pacific Avenue, Tacoma, is in  cool, triangular building that was built in 1892 as the Wynkoop Drug Co. / Pagni & Lenti Grocery. The property has also been the Little Country Grocery Store. It was renovated to its beautiful condition by Alice Mack, but ended up being owned by a bank through foreclosure. Eventually it was purchased by the University of Washington and leased to Grassi’s.

http://www.grassisflorist.com/

Former Gruv Nightclub has an interesting mural

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The space at 3829 Sixth Avenue, which had previously been occupied by Gruv and before that Hell’s Kitche, is available for lease ($13/square foot) or sale ($660,000). Dear daughter has told me several times that I need to write it up as a new place because chances are that once it is leased or sold, the mural will be painted over. I like the mural which features a unicorn with 253 on its neck, the Tacoma Dome, a city skyline and a rainbow. The unicorn looks a little grumpy, but maybe that’s just macho.

The building was constructed in 1926 and has been Marshall & Kirkman Needle Work, Fowell’s Market, Snack-n-Tap, Purky’s Tavern, Spot Lite Tavern, Tuddi’s Restaurant (where it had a fatal fire because of a safecracker’s torch), Proctor Inn Restaurant, Kay’s Mexican-American Restaurant, Prosito Italian Restaurant. the Central Tavern, the
Sixth & Proctor Bar & Grill, Hell’s Kitchen Nightclub and Gruv.

MV Lotus

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The MV Lotus was moor along the public dock during Maritime Fest this weekend in Tacoma. The vessel, which is on the historic register, was built in 1909 as Edwardian Houseboat Cruiser. It is available for event and would be perfect for a wedding! More information can be found here: http://www.mvlotus.org/

Below is another photo I took while at the fest. http://www.maritimefest.org/   What a beautiful day it was!

Update 6.18.17 We again went to the Tall Ships event (to see the Big Rubber Duck) and here are a couple of new photos of the MV Lotus.

 

A 1967 Amphicar at Sharp & Sons USA of Yesterday Motors

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This car on display at USA of Yesterday Motors at 455 St. Helens, Tacoma, is one of 500 remaining Amphicars left in existence. The informational sign said that these amphibious cars are capable of crossing between England and France!

The USA of Yesterday building was constructed in 1948 and contains 61,000 square feet of space. It was originally known as the Mueller-Harkins Motor Co. Building and Silas E. Nelsen was the architect. It was a Buick Dealership. It is now U.S.A. of Yesterday Motor Car Co. (see the link below) and besides showroom space has a large banquet room in the style of the 1950s. In 2007 there was talk of demolishing the property to make way for a downtown grocery store, but that didn’t happen.

http://collectorcar.com/

A picture of the building from 1950 can be found at Tacoma Public Library http://search.tacomapubliclibrary.org/buildings/bldg1image.asp?j=2&o=2&n=24408&i=8170#text

1912 Buick in the showroom.

Sally Beauty Supply

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Sall Beauty Supply by Gexydaf
Sall Beauty Supply, a photo by Gexydaf on Flickr.

Sally Beauty Supply, located at 3842 University Place in Green Firs Shopping in University Place, has a great deal of beauty product. The company was founded in 1964 and is headquartered in Denton Texas (where I once went to college). There are over 4,000 stores.

http://www.sallybeauty.com/