Tag Archives: Tacoma

More – Year 8 – Tacoma Bible Presbyterian Church

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So here we are on the eve of year 8 of the blog (yes, year 8!) and it seems like it is time for a shift. Over the Summer I started the Adventures of Lego Librarian (Reading in Place) and that has been fun and oddly well received. The best place to see all of that series of photos is Instagram. So this blog will be seeing more of Lego Librarian. But not to fear, I’ll still be out and about!

Looking back at this blog so far, I have some new observations. My most popular posts in order of popularity since inception have been:

The home page is also popular.

There are 1,358 blog entries.

The most popular tag by far is Tacoma, followed by Art, WA, restaurant, park, coffee, Lakewood, historic, mural, vacant, store, food, downtown, University Place, Seattle, grocery, avenue, flowers.

And now today’s place is the Tacoma Bible Presbyterian Church at their previous location of S G St, Tacoma, WA 98405. It is in the Stadium District, across the street from Wright’s Park and Stadium Thriftway. This building is slatted for demolition with a mixed use development in the works. From what I could gather, there was a fire in the building and afterwards the City of Tacoma did not permit it to be renovated. The congregation of the church has a new location in University Place and their website is here if you want to know more. The nice folks from the church were having a sale which included several pianos, church pews, kitchen items, books, etc. One of the workers was telling me that the building had a seminary on the upper floor and that young men would watch the 4th of July fireworks from the window in their area.

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Alegre Bakery and Gelato in Tacoma’s Proctor District

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There dear husband and I were looking for an afternoon treat and I remembered that there is a new bakery in the Proctor District, Alegre Bakery and Gelato at 3820 North 27th.

It is a little off the main business area, around the corner from the dry cleaner, but it is well worth finding. It was a warm day so we picked the gelato option and both got pistachio. It was so darn good! I also got a jam topped cake that I stuck in my purse (in a bag!) and promptly forgot about it for three days. While I found it this morning and microwaved it and it was delicious!

The space itself is thoughtfully designed and the woman who served our gelato was charming. I’m sure we’ll be back. They have a Facebook Page and I see there is mention of a gelato with wine in it. Now doesn’t that sound interesting?

 

Wapato Lake’s North Loop and Old Entrance

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While walking our new pup around Wapato Lake in an effort to socialize him, I found one of the Park’s original entrances off of Wapato Lake Drive. Pup and I had taken the long way around the lake, crossing a narrow bridge and passing the largest field of cat tails that I’ve ever seen. We came out of the minor upper lake path to the site of two entry markers that said “Built by WPA”. The history of Wapato Lake is very interesting and can be found here.

Field of cattails

Lake Wapato

This use to be an entrance to Wapato Lake Park

The new dog, Rhody, a Norfolk Terrier

The narrow bridge on the north loop of Wapato Lake, Tacoma

Stink

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I was beginning to feel like I was the only person in Tacoma that hadn’t been to Stink at 628 St Helens Ave, Tacoma, WA 98402. But dear husband and I were back at the new art supply store, Artist and Craftsman (yes, that is going to be a problem), and Stink was open and we were hungry, so off we went. I had the Five Mushroom Soup and he had the Italian Mac and Cheese and both were yummy. The service was fast and friendly and the décor is quirky since they use box springs as wine holders. For more information, check out their website.

Decline to Sign, I-1552

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There was a rally today (2/25) against Washington State Initiative 1552, which would “repeal critical protections for transgender Washingtonians” (Source). The news reports that there were over 2,000 people there and I readily believe that. I was delighted to see many people I know there supporting themselves and their transgendered friends and family. I started at the railing, but moved up to the sky bridge, where the view was better, though it was more difficult to hear (of course).

I was standing on the sky bridge when a young mother came out with her child who was maybe three. They walked over to see the cheering crowd and she turn to her child and said “look how many people love us!”. It was a lovely moment.

Later I found my first Tacoma Rocks Rock which I later hid. Oh and there is a photo of a flower on my table at lunch and some of the old buildings on the University of Washington Campus.

 

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Potato Chip Nachos at Southern Pacific, Tacoma

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So a while back Buzzfeed proclaimed that Pacific Southern at 3832 S. Pine Street Tacoma, WA 98409 had one of the best nachos in America. It was one of only thirty restaurants to get this honor and the only restaurant in Washington State.  I made a note to go try them sometime. The Buzzfeed link is here and the Facebook Page for the restaurant is here.  All we ordered for two of us for dinner was the nachos and we ate about 1/2 of them (all the pulled pork). They were delicious and very filling. I hadn’t realized that the nachos themselves were potato chips, so that was a first for us.  I didn’t think to take a picture until we were part way through, but there is a better photo on the Buzzfeed link. Other dishes of note included Waffles and Chicken, catfish, grits and cinnamon roll French Toast.

The service was great. This restaurant had previously been known as the Pinecone and it is across the street from the Tacoma Mall.

The signs of the Lincoln District, Tacoma

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Today was the celebration of the Lunar New Year in Tacoma’s Lincoln District and I took the chance to snap some photos of the new signage that reflects the revitalization of the district. An article on the revitalization project can be found here. I love this district and am really looking forward to how the revitalization project proceeds. It was also a joy to see how some of the more recent immigrants are positively shaping the country.

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Art House Cafe

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I’ve been meaning to visit Art House Café at 111 North Tacoma Avenue in Tacoma’s Stadium District for ages. And this weekend I finally got around to it. The service was pitch perfect and the food was amazing. I had a bacon and onion stuffed bisquit with an egg on top, It didn’t look huge, but it was so rich and filling that I didn’t finish. The restaurant has charming space with featured art on the walls and an unexpected upstairs with a meeting room. Their website is here.

 

Kids Don’t Float, Life Jacket Loaner Station

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I was delighted to see a couple of seals swimming in the icy cold Puget Sound while dear husband and I enjoyed our lunch at Anthony’s at Point Defiance. Afterward lunch I took a brisk stroll and found this Life Jacket Loaner Station. A little research informed me that stations such as these are fairly common. A list of many of them (but not this one!) can be found here.

“Colored” Art Exhibit

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I read about the “Colored” art exhibit located in the Carpenters Building at 1328 Fawcett Avenue, Tacoma, on the King 5 News Website. Dear daughter, her friend and I arrived around 4, which apparently was well after it had closed for the day. When I mentioned that dear daughter was returning to college and that this was her only chance to see the exhibit, they kindly allowed us to go through. It was a great exhibit and I plan to go back and spend more time. The murals, by Chris Jordan, were painted in inverted colors. We looked at them normally and then with our iPhones set to reverse colors and the difference was amazing. Chris Jordan even spared us a moment to visit with us about his art.  When I go back I’ll be sure to spend more time and to appreciate the other artists as well.

My understanding is that the exhibit has been extended to run an extra few weeks.

The exhibition space is in the Carpenters Building which had been the Carpenter’s Union Hall which was designed by McGuire and Muri, architects and was constructed in 1955. The Kiro article said “The inside ones (murals) will soon be hidden by the upcoming Carpenters hall renovation“.

#colored2017