Tag Archives: historic

Downtown Tacoma’s Post Office

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Today dear husband and I toured The historical post office at 1102 A Street, Tacoma. The tour was sponsored by Historic Tacoma http://www.historictacoma.org/ The property is a glorious three story plus basement building that was constructed as a federal building in 1910.The architect was James Knox Taylor. In 1992, the 2nd and 3rd floor courthouse space was vacated in 1992 when the courts moved to their current Union Station location. The tour included a jail cell, courtrooms, the Tacoma School of the Arts (SOTA) space, several large wall safes and a vacant postal area. We got to hear the vision for the property including commercial;retail space, perhaps a restaurant. The 72,000-square-foot building is listed on the city, state and national registers of historic places.

First Congregational Church, Tacoma

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The First Congregational Church at 918 Division Avenue, Tacoma, WA 98403 is being sold to Mars Hill Church. The church will be renovated and services for the new congregation will begin in about a year. First Congregational Church was built in 1908 with George Bullard as the architect. I was pleased that the building will not be razed.

The sign outside of the church says “God’s love embraces all persons equally, no matter their gender, race, or sexual identity.” I hope that the church’s new congregation feels the same way!

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.

 

Bunratty Castle and Folk Park

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Bunratty Castle and Folk Park in Killarney, Ireland was my idea of a perfect way to explore history. The castle was built in 1425 and restored in 1954. Visitors get to explore most of the castle, using tight, twisting steps. Folk Park consist of village buildings from the 19th century including farm buildings, a mill, church, homes, school and stores. We had a chance to visit with the mill worker and other members of our group were scolded by the school master.

http://www.shannonheritage.com/Attractions/BunrattyCastleandFolkPark/

Roman Baths

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We I learned that we were visiting the Roman Baths, I initially pictured ruins in the countryside. But the opposite is true. The Baths are restored for the most part and situated in the middle of a vibrant city, Bath.

For more information, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Baths_%28Bath%29

and http://www.romanbaths.co.uk/

Church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

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We went to Patty’s Burgers for milkshakes and I admired the light reflecting off the steeple of the Church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary at 3314 South 58th Street, Tacoma. The church was dedicated in 1913, the school in 1924 and the addition to the school in 1949.

http://visitationchurch.org/

Pochert Building,1112 Martin Luther King Junior Boulevard

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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

Ambrose Russell Historic Home

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Dear husband loves estate sales and he was so impressed with the house for this sale that he made me come with him today. The 1908 house at 710 North I Street was recently listed for auction by the owner and the Tacoma News Tribune ran an article on it. http://www.thenewstribune.com/2012/01/06/1971410/a-bit-of-tacoma-history-goes-on.html#storylink=misearch

Ambrose Russell was the architect for the home. He also was involved with designing the governor’s mansion in Olympia and Stadium High School in Tacoma. The house is large at 4,700 square feet and really lovely with plenty of wood details. The wallpaper is a delight!

Immanuel Presbyterian Church

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Today I went to say goodbye to a friend at Immanuel Presbyterian Church at 901 North J Street in Tacoma. The church, which was constructed in 1909, is beautiful with its mission styling and stained glass windows. It’s long history is explained on the congregation’s website http://www.ipctacoma.org/about.php?id=4

 

Normanna Hall, Tacoma

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Normanna Hall at 1106 S 15th St., Tacoma, WA 98405 is another very wonderful building in Tacoma (the corner of South 15th and Martin Luther King, Jr.). The building was constructed in 1922 and Geo. Trust was the architect. The dedication was on March 19, 1923.  On August 24, 1979, the lodge celebrated 75 years in America.

The Sons of Norway, is a lodge that is dedicated to preserving Norwegian heritage and culture in the Tacoma area for over 100 years. Sons of Norway and promote Norwegian traditions and fraternal fellowship through cultural and social activities. Once a year, in October, the Norden Lodge (Sons of Norway) has its annual Lutefisk Dinner there.

The Metro Tacoma Fencing Club occupies space in the building and the Seattle Branch of the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society has been known to kick up their heels there.

For more information about the lodge, including some photographs, check out their website at http://www.norden2.com/