I turned the corner at the Scholastic Book Warehouse at 5103 D St, Auburn, WA 98001 and there was Clifford, the Big Red Dog! He is about the size that he is portrayed in the ever loved Clifford books. Clifford has his own, barking, website. The Clifford books were first published in 1963 and Clifford acts as the mascot for Scholastic Books.
Tacoma’s Urban Exchange at 1983 Pacific Avenue in the University of Washington Tacoma Branch area is pretty cool. I didn’t have much time to look, but they had some really cute clothes and shoes at dynamite prices. The space is in the McDonald Smith Building which was constructed in 1890.
I stopped to take a photo of this wonderfully playful mural at Dawg Town Tacoma, 1602 Tacoma Avenue South. It was early in the morning and there weren’t any dogs outside of this doggie daycare, training and grooming facility yet, but it was clear to see that there was a large outside play area. Looking over their webpage (see below), it appears that they also have specially designed inside space. What is extra fun is that there is a webcam, so that one can watch one’s furry friend having fun! When I took a look, there was a guy sweeping up and one dog (maybe his?). The 1935 building was originally the Coast House Materials Warehouse and later Coast Furniture Co. http://www.dawgtowntacoma.com
The Renaissance Cafe at 1746 Pacific Avenue, Tacoma is located in the Birmingham Block and was constructed in 1892. The history of the building, which also includes a Starbucks can be found here http://www.tacoma.uw.edu/campus-map/buildings/birmingham-block-bb
Friday I went off to the Scholastic Books warehouse at 9631 Lathrop Industrial Drive S.W., Olympia, WA 98512. I was on a mission to purchase books for two school libraries. Scholastic books is the largest children’s book seller in the world and there warehouse is only open to school employees and book fair volunteers. While the shopping itself can be a little overwhelming (so many books and people), the people are wonderful.
While I was there I picked up ten copies of the new Wimpy Kid book (5 per school) because yes, it is just that popular!
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.