Tag Archives: City of Tacoma

The (Haunted) Old City Hall

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

Tacoma Public Utilities Building on Union

Originally uploaded by Gexydaf

Today’s new place is the Tacoma Public Utilities Building on Union Avenue. Their website says that they are the largest department in the Tacoma City government and public owned since 1893.

3628 South 35th Street
Tacoma, WA 98409
(253) 502-8600

http://www.mytpu.org/