I was up well before the break of dawn driving down Highway 99 and went past the Daffodil Motel at 7909 Pacific Highway (Highway 99) in Milton. So I stopped to take a photo of the terrific vintage sign featuring a daffodil and the promise of free movies.
Per the News Tribune Tacoma has 60+ medical marijuana stores. It’s always seemed to me that Pacific Avenue has more than its share, so today I drove by and counted them. There are 13 retail locations between I-5 and Highway 512. In comparison, there are two dedicated liquor stores, though of course other places to buy liquor both for on site drinking and take out. One mentioned by the News Tribune is no longer there, but I found two new ones. In one case the owner was actually hanging up his open sign for the first time.
So, just for the record, no it isn’t my vice and I didn’t go inside. But I do think there is a place for medical marijuana. It just seems like like 13 is a great many. The article said that most will be asked to close their doors, so I thought if I was going to take their photos that now was the time. Maybe I’ll revisit next year and see what remains.
My favorites were Pacific Rush which has flames and the drive through (yes, drive through, my mind boggles). My favorite name was Ancient Medicine Collective.
Starting at the north end near I5:
Darn it was cold today, so I had a very quick stop to photo the vacant lot on the southeast corner of Pacific Avenue and South 38th Street. I remember when there was a building on the large lot, office space I think. Somebody demolished the buildings and there were plans to building something, maybe a drugstore? Anyway, its been vacant for years now. Maybe now that the Northwest corner is being redeveloped, this lot too will see new life. One can hope.
The Tacoma Studio Tours happened on a rainy, windy weekend but I was determined to go to at least some of them. Tinkertopia at 1914 Pacific Avenue is really delightful and it would be easy to spend a great deal of time here, but not a great deal of money since everything is so reasonably priced. To get a sense of the place, check out the photos below and the website which has plenty of links to articles and a free mini poster! Tinkertopia is a Spaceworks Project and when their Spaceworks funding expires they will be able to continue with the generous support of University of Washington, Tacoma.
Savor Creperie at 1916 Pacific Avenue in Tacoma opened in April 2013. I had some time before my book group meeting (we read The World’s Strongest Librarian) and needed dinner. I’ve been wanting to stop at Savor for sometime and there was an unusual amount of available parking in Tacoma’s museum district. I had the Maple Roasted Butternut Squash, Stilton Cheese, Candied Hazelnuts, Fresh Thyme Crepe and it was amazing. And the service was flawless. They also have glutten free rice flour crepes. Next time I go, I’m going to try a sweet crepe. I loved the hanging artwork of photos of local landmarks. Their website is here.
In the 4300 block of Pacific Avenue, there is a private house with an outside table and two chairs in the front yard. One of the chairs is always occupied by a manikin and that manikin is always dressed for the season or holiday. Yesterday, July 4th, he was wearing his northwest summer gardening outfit (overalls, flannel shirt, hat) and on the table was a patriotic bucket with red, white and blue flowers and a flag. It reminds me of the Holiday house on South 9th, near Sprague, only its more subdued.
Grassi’s Flowers & Gifts at 1702 Pacific Avenue, Tacoma, is in cool, triangular building that was built in 1892 as the Wynkoop Drug Co. / Pagni & Lenti Grocery. The property has also been the Little Country Grocery Store. It was renovated to its beautiful condition by Alice Mack, but ended up being owned by a bank through foreclosure. Eventually it was purchased by the University of Washington and leased to Grassi’s.
http://www.grassisflorist.com/
We wandered over to the Pacific Avenue Street Fair today, but got there too late to see all of the cool old cars. But dear daughter declared that she had to have a Popsicle! Lively Market at 4505 Pacific Avenue had a fairly nice selection of Popsicles including Rice Pudding which I got, but didn’t eat yet. Dear daughter got one of those rocket, multicolored frozen treats. Lively Market was been a neighborhood market (most likely) since it was built in 1923.
The Home Video Express building at 6401 Pacific Avenue has been vacant for some time. I remember going in there years ago and a couple having an awful argument that made all the customers and staff very uncomfortable. Later the store was closed and as I recall then open for a short time, then closed. But the store stayed pretty much fully stocked for a long time. But now it is vacant. I didn’t see a for sale or for rent sign, so I don’t know its future.
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.
