Tag Archives: vacant

Heidelberg Brewery

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The Heidelberg Brewery has been at 2120 South C Street in Tacoma under various names since 1900.  There is a most excellent history of the brewery located here http://www.brewerygems.com/columbia.htm and a reader would learn much from reading it.  I was interested to learn that the brewery was actually constructed over an artesian well. Also of interest was that during prohibition, the brewery made soft drinks and a non-alcoholic near-beer called “Colo”. The brewery closed its doors in 1979 and was vacant for many years and was slated for demolition when it caught on fire on July 7, 2011.  As you can see from the photos, at least part of the site is currently being cleared.

 

 

Trung Nguyen Billiard Hall (vacant)

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Tacoma is not all waterfront parks and restored historic buildings. The nationwide economic crisis has hit here too and there are building that have been abandon and left to deteriorate. One of these buildings is the Trung Nguyen Billiard Hall (Pool Hall) at 722 S 38th St. Tacoma WA 98418. I remember when it was open and it never seemed very inviting, at least to me. The property originally was constructed in 1970 as a Pacific National Bank of Washington and the drive through teller is still in place. The windows were awfully dirty, but a quick glance showed the interior to be in shambles. There must be 40 full trash bags on the site. There is no for lease or for sale sign visible. The Pierce Co. Assessor’s Office still shows the property to be under private ownership.

Update 4/14: I hear rummer that the building is slated for demolition.

 

Use to be the Hillside Grocery

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Use to be the Hillside Grocery by Gexydaf

I hate when I go to find a new place of the day and the building isn’t there! I went to 1602 South G Street in Tacoma to see the vacant Hillside Grocery, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. The building that isn’t there was built in 1889 and burnt to the ground in 7/28/2009. The building began as a Estil K. Christie Grocery Store and residential rooms and over the course of its existence it has also been the Wm. Schnack Grocery Store, Nelson W. Caldwell Grocery Store, Florence Ellis Grocery Store, Thomas F. Ruckman Grocery Store, Burns Grocery Store, Orville L. Cary Grocery Store, Seizaburo Kinoshita Grocery Store, Carl Schievelbein Grocery Store, Corner Grocery Store and most recently as the Hillside Quickie Market. To see the building as it use to be look here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Building_at_1602_South_G_Street.jpg

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow (Sorry!)

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I was driving around today looking for something interesting when I spotted an interesting bar (the Opal). But when I walked up there were two guys there complaining up a storm about how their girlfriends didn’t appreciate them going out drinking every Friday. I thought I’d leave those two fun seekers alone and instead found this wonderful and vacant building at 5216 South Tacoma Way. The building had been the home to Untouchable Cuts Barbarshop and peering though the window I could see some remains of the business. The is now for lease. The Tacoma Public Library’s Northwest Room has little on the building except that it was built in 1906 and in 1913 it had housed American Dye Works (Hashime Imamura, operator). The present day bars on the windows and door suggest perhaps there have been security concerns. I love the paint job! 🙂

Lincoln Bowl in the Lincoln District

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Lincoln Bowl by Gexydaf

Lincoln Bowl is located at 3828 South Yakima Avenue, Tacoma, WA. I’ve read that it no longer functions as a bowling alley, but instead is being used as warehouse space.  It does however still have the great sign.

Update: 12/12 The building and the great sign are gone! Dear husband tells me that it will be a new Asian grocery store.

For Sale $275,000

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For Sale $275,000 by Gexydaf
For Sale $275,000, a photo by Gexydaf on Flickr.

When I see property like this for sale I wonder what happened. Somebody obviously had a vision for the site as some kind of multifamily living unit but now it is for sale with an asking price of $275,000. The concrete footings will only have value if a new buyer has a very similar vision. For now, this property on the southwest corner of Yakima Avenue and South 15th Street awaits purchase and development. Oddly, I couldn’t locate information about the Delaurenti Realty Co. on the internet.

Today’s Soup Tomato Basil

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Today’s Soup Tomato BasilOriginally uploaded by Gexydaf

Forza is a relatively small chain with 23 locations and today I stopped at the Forza at 1202 S Union St., Tacoma, WA 98438. I met a dear friend and we had coffee and visited. Twas a lovely after work event.

http://www.forzacoffeecompany.com/

Update: This Forza location closed in early 2012 and the space is available for lease.

Site of the Norwegian Congregational Church, since demolished

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Site of the Norwegian Congregational Church, since demolished

Originally uploaded by Gexydaf

I’ve been wanting to do a house as the new place of the day for a while and I’ve admired this vacant home. It is located at 1624 Ainsworth in the Hilltop area. My understanding is that this property and the adjacent lot next door had been the site of the Norwegian Congregational Church, which was constructed in 1912 and later demolished. This photograph shows the house that was constructed on the site of the church in 1922. I have to wonder why a 20 year old church was demolished. And I also wonder why it is sitting vacant now. There is no for sale sign, but there is a no trespassing sign in the living room window.

The public record shows that the house was last updated in 1953 and has 1,431 square feet of finished living area and 896 square feet of unfinished area (probably the basement area). It was most recently accessed for $193,100.

So, I know much more about this property, but the mystery remains. How many families have lived here? Where they happy? What is the future of the home?

The house reminds me of my grandmother’s house in PA.  See the older photo below.