From Ruins to Renaissance - Opens Tonight
Tonight is the opening night of a fascinating new exhibit presented by the Tacoma Historical Society called From Ruins to Renaissance: The Architecture of Downtown Tacoma. The exhibit covers the architecture of Tacoma from its “Golden Age” to its empty dark phase, and now to its current renaissance. Tonight is the opening night reception from 5 to 8 pm. Refreshments will be served at Sanford & Sons.
This got me thinking … What building from Tacoma’s past do you most miss? Do you consider the loss of any single building particularly significant?
Details
Open July 9, 2009 to Jan 2, 2010
Tacoma Historical Society
747 Broadway
Tacoma, WA
Filed under: General
9 comments
D David Boe July 9, 2009
Bimbo’s. For so many reasons – both obvious and clandestine.
R Rob McNair-Huff July 9, 2009
The Municipal Dock building along the Thea Foss Waterway. That building is a pretty recent loss…and just imagine if it had been saved and was being used today as the site of the kind of a thriving farmers market/semi open air market like Tacoma really should have.
S sexet v July 10, 2009
most missed:
1) Pizza and Pipes on Alameda!!!
2) Not really a building, but Never Never Land.
F Flyin' V July 10, 2009
Don’t get me started! Although these were all gone by the time I came into existence, here’s my wish list of buildings I wish we still had around:
Ditto on the Courthouse;
The first Chamber of Commerce building on Pacific (aka Wells Fargo Plaza);
The Hotel Donnelly (aka Spark Park block);
The Fidelity Building (aka Woolworth’s), not becuause it was particularly significant architecturally, but look at what replaced it;
The Hippodrome on 9th & Pacific (just because I can’t stand one-story stucco box buildings).
And pretty much every other building razed on Pac Ave in the name of progess.
T The Gulag July 10, 2009
TACOMA HOTEL (the first one)
L Lisa July 10, 2009
For me, the most significant building loss in Tacoma is a very personal one, the <a href=“http://www.flickr.com/photos/luludynamite/sets/466404/”>Pearsall Floral Company</a>. It was the family business for over 50 years, and my childhood wonderland. It was torn down in 1994, and the Timothy’s Meadow housing development is located where it stood. Losing that building still haunts me (and most of my family, I’m sure).
But I also second Pizza and Pipes!
T Thorax O'Tool July 11, 2009
For me, it’s everything along Pacific Ave that got razed for Park Places North & South.
That was a crime.
J Jesse July 11, 2009
I am fairly new to Tacoma but I would have liked to see the streetcar and cable-car system, what was along the tracks, and how it influenced growth here first-hand.
I’d also like to see that County Courthouse that sat at up by the armory, the original Annie Wright School, the (original)Tacoma Hotel, the Music Box Theatre, and the Top of the Ocean (???) restaraunt on Ruston Way.
The truth is, Tacoma blows my mind because of all the missed opportunity here with historical buildings. It had so much worthy of aww and just watched it delapitate and disappear into history.
If I could have one day in Tacoma to see her in 1898-1911 time frame, I’d feel like a lucky guy.
K Kevin Healey July 12, 2009
I will second both Pizza & Pipes and the original Tacoma Hotel.
I will add the Bavarian Restaurant (later El Toro). I miss that place, especially as The Bavarian. We had some good times there.