Van Lierop Bulb Farm at 13407 80th St E Puyallup, WA 98372 is one of two bulb farmers left in the Puyallup Valley and it is closing its door on May 15, 2013. I stopped in today and it made me kind of sad because the store seemed rather empty. The fields are full of daffodils poised for blooming.
The Hope Heights mural at 6323 McKinley Avenue is glorious! It has vibrant colors and plethora of images including skulls, fish, a raven and a dragon. The combined cultures are illustrated together around a ginormous tree. The mural had an art team of Joni Joachims and artists Yvette Simone, Chelsea O’Sullivan, Kate Cendejas, Brian Hutcheson, and Janice Lee Warren. To learn more, visit this blog http://tacomaarts.wordpress.com/2012/09/06/murals-project-update-hope-heights-mural-is-complete/
Although the building’s address is on McKinley, the mural fronts on 63rd. The brick building was constructed in 1925 and was owner occupied by the Grote Pharmacy, which included a U.S. Postal Substation. More recently it was occupied by A. A. Wedding Supplies, but it is now vacant (at least the lower level) and available for rent.
S&S Loan at 11453 Pacific Highway has long been abandon. When I pulled in to snap some photos, my daughter called it that creepy place and it does have a desolate vibe. The property is available for sale from Kidder Mathews with an asking price of $650,000. The value is in the land with the 7,000 square foot, 1964 building being a tear down. One of the best assets the property has is that it is across the street from the Sound Transit Station.
I’ve been meaning to stop at Meier’s House of Clocks at 3730 South M Street for ages and when I heard that they were closing their doors for the last time today I stopped by. There were a bunch of great clocks, as could be expected, but my favorite was the cuckoo clocks. Meier’s has been open since 1953 and at this location for four years. There is a good article on the store here http://www.thenewstribune.com/2013/01/30/2455345/longtime-tacoma-store-meiers-house.html?storylink=fb#disqus_thread
While driving around today I told dear daughter that I was going to stop at the old Greyhound Station and she was surprised when I stopped at the southeast corner of Pacific Avenue and South 13th Street. But I remember when the Greyhound station was here with its full cast of assorted riders. The station was dedicated in April 1959 and was really something in its hay day with an underground parking garage, a large waiting area, a restaurant, a row of enclosed phone booths and a gift store. Up to 82 buses per day came through the station.The majority of the building was demolished in 2000 with only the small portion photographed remaining near the entrance to the parking garage.
A photo of the original building can be found at this Tacoma Public Library page http://search.tacomapubliclibrary.org/images/dt6n.asp?un=15&pg=1&krequest=subjects+contains+Greyhound+Bus+Terminal+and+Tacoma+&stemming=&phonic=&fuzzy=&maxfiles=
And a photo of the restaurant can be found here http://search.tacomapubliclibrary.org/images/dt6n.asp?un=13&pg=1&krequest=subjects+contains+Greyhound+Bus+Terminal+and+Tacoma+&stemming=&phonic=&fuzzy=&maxfiles=
Tacoma Public Library’s Northwest Room was instrumental in figuring this property out!
Pawn 4 More at 1222 South 38th Street, Tacoma, WA is an unusually shaped building that has gone through several uses. I remember it as a produce stand, Green Frog Shelters and that it use to have mastiff dogs. Until recently the extended roof line boosted that they accepted all types of collateral including boats, cars, helicopters and 747s. I liked their optimism, but when I stopped by today that offer seems to be gone. The building was originally constructed in 1926 as a gas station.
My Flickr friend has a picture with the old signage. You can see it here http://www.flickr.com/photos/justintron/5859272661/
Update: In 2/2015 the building was demolished.
1818 Tacoma Avenue had been one of Tacoma School of the Art locations for years, but they have left it in favor of the downtown post office building. The best thing about the building is the planters with student art work. I thought my photo was a tad dull so I added a frame and a flying saucer! A not edited (i.e. boring) photo is below, as is a close up of one of the planters.
The Norman Bates Motel at 4411 Pacific Highway East, Fife, Washington 98424 was demolished in 2012. The land is available for sale. I’m not finding much information about the motel or why it was named after the hotel in the famous Hitchcock movie, Psycho. I’ve included photos from today and from April 2012, which the building was in place but behind a fence.
My family just recently watched Psycho in an effort to find a movie that isn’t a slasher flick, but actually scares my dear daughter. She enjoyed the movie, despite the fact it was in black and white, but wasn’t overly scared. Info about the movie can be found here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psycho_%28film%29
In December I try to make a point to go to local businesses and “Buy Local”. Today it was Giardini Gifts at 3815 N 26th St. in Tacoma’s Proctor District. The place was packed with unusual and good quality holiday gift ideas and very busy with shoppers. A youth band (the Salvation Army Band?) played in front of it. Dear daughter and I made a small donation. I did find an old photo from the Tacoma Public Library that showed the space as the Red & White Store in 1933. http://search.tacomapubliclibrary.org/buildings/bldg1image.asp?j=1&o=1&n=4027&i=9341#text
Update: Giardini Gifts closed after the holidays and Compass Rose opened in the summer of 2013.
Rumor has it that Old City Hall at 625 Commerce Street is haunted by a ghost named Gus.
http://www.ghostsandcritters.com/washingtonghosts.html
The building has a varied history. It was built in 1893 as Tacoma’s City Hall (E.A. Hatherton, Architect) and the original jail cells are still located in the building’s basement. In 1959, City of Tacoma offices moved and the building was vacant until 1969. In the 1970s the building was renovated into shops and restaurants and in 1974 it was placed on the historic register. In the 1980s it was converted into professional offices. I even worked there for a couple of years and enjoyed a water view! In 2005 there was talk of converting the property into condominiums. Thanksgiving week 2010 there was a flood brought on by a broken sprinkler pipe. The property is vacant.
The building has a dedicated website here http://www.thestratfordcompany.com/oldcityhall/
A wonderful post of the building when it was new can be found here http://search.tacomapubliclibrary.org/postcard/postcardfull.asp?db=60#Front
