Category Archives: Tacoma

Skookum Wulge Beach Habitat Restoration

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Driving home from Brown’s Point the other day, I stopped to admire the view along Marine View Drive. The information sign told me that I was enjoying the Skookum Wulge Beach Habitat Restoration, a 1.19 acre parcel of uplands and tidelands of Commencement Bay that had previously been the Meeker Log Storage lease. When the lease expired in 1999, the property was purchased and the title conveyed to the Puyallup Tribe. The site was renamed to Skookum Wulge, which translates to powerful salt water. There are two other sites in this project, Yowkwala and Squally Beach. For more information on the Skookum Wulge, go here.

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Cafe Vincero

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imageToday  I enjoyed an impulsive lunch with my good friend. We went to a new to us place, Cafe Vincero at 714 Pacific Avenue in Tacoma. The Cafe  pictures Italian dining and specializes in wood fired pizza. The space is lovely with the abundant tile working well with the historic building. Our waiter was attentive and funny! Because of a tiny mix up, which was graciously handled, we ended up with two pizzas.  They were both delicious. Really, they were so good I would happily go back tomorrow!

The building is known as the Kaufman-Wolff Building and was constructed in 1888 with Farrell & Darmer being the architects. Occupants have included: Sperry & Spengemann, G.L. Holmes Furniture, Wallerstein Candies, Edwin Chambers Auto Supplies, Soldiers & Sailors Club House, War Camp Community Service, Edward B. Rhodes Post – American Legion, Sutherland Tire Co., B. Wingard &
Sons Butchers’ Supply Co., United Service Organization (U.S.O.) and the Footprinters’ Club (seriously, what is a Footprinters’s Club?!). As of May 2014, the Vincero was in place on the Pacific Avenue level of the building.

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Tacoma’s Liberty Bell

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17666669973_a11e74dbdd_kOn Saturday I was exploring the Museum District in Tacoma and we stopped to take a group photo near Union Station. A delightful security guard stopped to offer to take a photo with all of us in it. And then he told us about the often overlooked Liberty Bell in Tacoma. It is located down a staircase next to Union Station and tucked around the corner. It is available for ringing and makes a lovely tone.

Tacoma Weekly did a great article on how the bell got there.

17707234784_f8767647d6_kWant to hear it ring? IMG_0588

Judge Wilson House in Lakewood

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15997589223_b0cde1332d_k(1)After a trip to the Lakewood History Museum, I went off on their driving tour beginning with the Judge Wilson House (a private residence). The map can be found here.

Per the driving tour map:

The Judge Wilson House, a Gothic Revival two-story structure, was built ca. 1885, the same year the Western Steel Company built a plant in the vicinity hoping to make the area, known as Lakeview, the new Pittsburgh of the west. Judge Wilson was the superintendent of the short-lived company which closed by 1893.

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Original Pancake House

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IMG_2514I’ve been meaning to the Original Pancake House at 601 Pine Street since it opened a few months ago (December 2014). Dear husband and I finally went to the all breakfast restaurant the other day and the pancakes were indeed delicious. I hadn’t realized the chain is so extensive, all over the US and now in Japan and South Korea. The original Original Pancake House opened in 1953 in Portland, OR. Their website is here.

Nuckle’s Sandwich Shop, Tacoma

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16468453312_87fd024e35_kNuckle’s Sandwich Shop at 4312 6th Ave in Tacoma was a wonderful find for dear husband and me. We stopped in for lunch. I had the Hot Pastrami and soup and dear husband had the BBQ Cheese steak and soup. He was surprised when his cheese steak came with pineapple, but he loved it! Really, everything was delicious and reasonably priced too. Their menu is here.

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Yes Mural

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IMG_2475The YES WE CAN mural by Mindy Barker is located at the Tahoma Associates Building, 1545 Tacoma Ave. The mural, which features an elk in front of an abstract Mt. Rainier, is located near the site where the local Indian tribes would welcome the Winter Solstice. More information on this wonderful neighborhood addition can be found here.

The mural is part of the Tacoma Murals Project.

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Brides Blowing Bubbles – First Night 2014

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IMG_2473First Night 2014 Tacoma was a joy! One of the Live Spectacles was this year’s World Record Attempt, the Largest Gathering of Brides Blowing Bubbles at One Time!  We also watched the opening parade, Stephanie Jackson (love her), Uncle Bonsai (every year we go) and strolled the entire length of the event several times. We caught the link to Freighthouse Square and made it back home in time to bang some pots and pans (sorry neighbor people!).

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Beyond the Bluff, Beneath the Bay

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mural corner 2“Beyond the Bluff, Beneath the Bay”, by Janice Lee Warren is part of the Tacoma Murals Project. More work by Ms. Warren can be found here. It was painted this year along Stadium Way and replace another mural that had been in place. That mural, featuring sailboats on the bay, had been extensively tagged. The house shown represents the home of “Skookum” Smith who made history by bringing the Northern Pacific rails into Tacoma just one day before the line’s charter expired. While I was out and about, I noticed the mountain was out 🙂

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