There is a tiny candy store named Sugar in the Proctor District at 3901 N. 27th St. . With about 72 square feet, the store is full of all kinds of unusual and vintage candy. Sugar, which opened in August 2010, also creates wedding and birthday favors.
Update 4/2017: Sugar has been out of business for some time. Last I looked there was a lego store there.
Sparky the Salmon by Susan Carles is in front of the fire station at 2515 North Proctor, Tacoma, WA.
I had a quick lunch at European Bistro at 2515 North Proctor in Tacoma and it was delicious. I was in a rush and picked what I assumed was the quickest thing available, the lentil soup. It was a full bowl and coupled with the warm bread made an exceptional meal, especially considering it was less than $4! I’m eager to go back when I have a little more time and try some other items on their menu. It all looks good. There website is here.
Allen C. Mason was a real estate developer who coined the phrase City of Destiny for Tacoma. He arrived in Tacoma in 1883 with almost no capital and eventually became a major developer for Tacoma’s North End. His statue festoon in holiday finery is located in Allen C. Mason Plaza at the southeast corner of North 26th and Adams Street near the Wheelock Library. The plaza also features six pillars from Mason’s mansion. In addition there is a replica of the Star of Destiny, which is pretty interesting.
http://www.proctordistrict.com/index.php/aboutus/masonplaza/
Dear daughter and I hadn’t actually had this plaza in mind when we set off in the night, but the parking lot and ancillary parking lot for zoo lights was full! The plaza is pretty cool anyway. I’m glad I saw it!
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.
A brief moment of sunshine allowed me to snap this photo of the murals at 3823 North 26th Street. The heron is fairly recent, installed in 2010 and the original salmon part was created in 2007. The artist is Alexis St. John and her website is here http://alexisstjohn.blogspot.com
Metropolitan Market (Metro Market) at 2420 N Proctor Street,Tacoma, WA 98406 is Tacoma’s most upscale grocery store. It is full sized store, but has many specialty items like a fine selection of salts, wonderful cheese and a great deli. I picked up a salad for lunch tomorrow, a birch beer and some Gelato which they serve right there. The employes are helpful and the check out line moved quickly.
The building began life in 1966 as the Lucky Stores Grocery and in 1995 it became Queen Anne Thriftway. In 2003 the name changed to Metropolitan Market. There are five other locations, three in Seattle and one in Kirkland.
I love this graphic I found on their site. http://metropolitan-market.com/produce/localNWgrowingSeasonChart.pdf
The Harp & Shamrock at 2704 North Proctor is a delightful store which specializes in all things Irish. They had some lovely outerwear items that I adored. They also had hats, scarfs, food, trinkets, jewelry and a bunch of other things. I purchased some Irish Tea because dear daughter had proclaimed that the Irish had the best tea! And indeed when we tried it, the taste was excellent. Though dear daughter shouldn’t have had three cups and stayed up most of the night!
A better photo of the building can be found here http://www.proctordistrict.com/index.php/listing/The%20Harp%20&%20Shamrock
The store is in the Davies Building which was constructed in 1924 and has apartments on the upper level.
Update 8/14 — The store closed on June 14, 2014 after 38 years in business.
I’ve been meaning to stop at the Garden Sphere for ages and today I finally did! What a lovely welcoming place. As I wandered around one of the workers offered to help me and I mentioned that it was my first time there. She said they change out stock every couple of weeks, so there is usually something new to see and that if I wanted something they didn’t have, they’d get it for me. Wow. That’s nice.
While there I purchased a lavender plant, something with a purple flower, a package of sweet peas and a candle. I’m sure I’ll be back for more.
I think my favorite part was the chicks. There were three sizes of them and they were all darling! I could just sit and listen to their trilling, chirping noise for hours!
The Rosewood Cafe between the Proctor District and the Stadium District is just what a cafe should be. They have wonderful, creative food, an extensive selection of wine and pitch perfect service.
3323 North 26th Street
Tacoma, WA 98407-6236
(253) 752-7999
http://www.rosewoodcafe.com/about.html
