Fircrest Park is located at 471 Electron Way, but also fronts on Contra Costa Avenue and Spring Street. It features a community building, an outdoor pool, picnic areas, ball fields and a sidewalk area around the perimeter.
The Pochert Building is located at 1112 Martin Luther King Junior Boulevard was constructed in 1908. Over the years it has been a hotel, several shoe stores, a Vaudette Theater, Fuller Company Paint, a hardware store, carpet stores, a thrift store, a beauty store and dollar stores. It is now owned by the City of Tacoma and is either vacant or used for storage.
An older photo of the building can be found at the Tacoma Public Library’s site http://search.tacomapubliclibrary.org/buildings/bldg1image.asp?j=1&o=1&n=20497&i=3496#text
Over the weekend I spent some time at William M. Philip Hall, which is part of the University of Washington Tacoma Campus. The address is 1918 Pacific Avenue. The lower level is occupied by Gyro House and there is also a vacant space that had been occupied by a used bookstore. The building was constructed for the University of Washington. The first building on the site was constructed in 1886 and a later building in 1963. The current building was constructed in 2007. My favorite part was the small balcony that let me watch the Daffodil Parade! The photo below is of the parade.
In front of the University of Washington Tacoma Library is the Kelso Gillenwater Plaza, a small, square plot of land with a lovely, blooming magnolia tree, some other landscaping and a memorial plaque (see below).
The Plaza is listed on the UW-T’s walking tour, which can be found here http://www.tacoma.washington.edu/shopuwt/docs/walking_tour.pdf
Jewell Day Spa at 2501 6th Avenue hosted a Spring Fling today with various, local vendors. Dear daughter and I cam away from it with amazing caramels, a lovely purse, a box of cupcake bandages and two tickets for the Tacoma Art Bus.
The spa itself looks wonderful and offers a variety of services. Their website is here.
I didn’t think any of my photos did the spa’s ambiance justice. But I did like a photo of a yellow dress that I took a few doors down.
I’ve always been a little nervous about visiting China Lake at 1811 S Shirley St. Though I can’t point to any particular warning, it seems like I heard of unpleasant happenings. It is really a lovely park and feels just like being in a forest (except for the SR-16 noise). The lake is nice and had various ducks. It did feel a little lonely though and next time I think I’ll take a friend.
I did find this interesting article that is well worth a visit. http://www.tacomaweekly.com/news/view/tunnels-tunnels-everywhere…-sort-of/
The park district’s site plan is here http://www.discoverparks.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=ParkDetails&PropertyID=87
Northern Fish Company at 2201 Ruston Way in Tacoma has a wonderful setting with Commencement Bay out its back door (if it had a back door!). There are two Northern Fish Co. locations in Tacoma with the other one being at 3911 South 56th. The Ruston Way location not only offers seafood to prepare at home, but also seafood chowders and baskets to either eat there or at home. Their website is here http://www.northernfish.com/
Easter dinner was Pasta Primavera which we enjoyed with our dear vegetarian daughter, but earlier in the day dear husband and I wanted a little something for lunch. I was trying to think of a place that would be open, but not packed and not too expensive and then I remembered Pick-Quick Drive at 4306 Pacific Hwy E, Fife, WA 98424. Unfortunately for us, it was closed. But I did have a great opportunity to snap a couple of photos of this Fife institution. Pick-Quick was built in 1949 and is famous for its burgers and many flavored shakes. Seating is either in one’s car or at one of the many picnic tables. There are two Pick-Quick locations, this one and a much newer one in Auburn.
It was a lovely day to walk Ruston Way with three of my friends. Along the way I stopped to photo the Tacoma Fallen Firefighters Memorial near the Lobster Shop on Ruston Way. The sculpture is called “Fully Involved” by Larry Perkins and it was dedicated in honor of those firefighters who have given their lives in the line of duty in 2001. There are twelve names on the memorial with the most recent being from 1963. A plaque near the memorial tells me that the first volunteer fire company was formed in Tacoma in 1880 and the first paid fire department in 1889. The first African American firefighter joined the force in 1972 and the first woman firefighter in 1981.
A spring day during spring break, what a gift! So I made my dear daughter on a walk along Dock Street an East D Street (the East D Street Grade Separation Project) to look at the concrete images honoring Washington State Ferry Boats. We walked from Freighthouse Square along East D Street which is elevated over the rail tracks. Along the way are depictions of various ferries and Fire Boat #1. Each one has the general outline of its named boat. It is a nice touch. On Dock Street I stopped to snap the panorama above.
