Washington Elementary To Celebrate 100 Years

Washington Elementary on 26th Street in Proctor is celebrating 100 years in Tacoma.  If you’ve been in Tacoma a bit, you may be thinking, “Wait a minute, didn’t we celebrate 100 years back in 2001/2002?”  Yes, but that was the original school.  That school was demolished in 1906, the wood was reused in what was then a University of Puget Sound building at 602 North Sprague.  So anyway, back to the party talk. 

The current Washington School is celebrating 100 years and its recent inclusion on three historic registers.  When the school first opened, the staff consisted of a single teacher and a principal. The first principal, Mrs. Carrie Shaw Rice, had won fame in Tacoma as the author of the first official city poem, “Tacoma, the Rose of the West.” The poem was later set to music and sung by 1,000 students at the dedication of the Stadium Bowl in 1910.  Washington Elementary is unfortunately on the list of schools the district is considering closing.

Tacoma and Pierce County residents are invited to attend a celebration at Washington Elementary School Friday, October 6th from 6:30 to 8:30 pm.

What can we expect?

Bingo, a cake walk,  and other family-friendly activities. A commemorative plaque will be unveiled to recognize the building as a historic site and to note its recognition by Tacoma Register of the Historic Places, the Washington State Heritage Register, and the National Register of Historic Places.

Cake Walk.  Enough said.  I’ll be there.