|
 |
|
|
|
| Neighborhood History |
Today's Tips |
|
 The history of the neighborhood plays a vital part in the identity of its residents. If you have lived in the neighborhood for many years, the neighborhood history is a heartfelt reminder of days gone by.
If you have just come to call the neighborhood home, it is a way to learn more about the new community you have joined. We would love nothing more than to be able to share the history of neighborhood name with all who reside there. If you are interested in writing a brief history of the neighborhood to share with the community, please contact us! |
|
|
|
 |
Fireboat
The fireboat dry-docked along the Ruston Way waterfront has a history as deep as the bay it now overlooks.
After 54 years of service to Tacoma in waterfront fire protection, harbor security patrols, search and rescue missions and water pollution control, Fireboat No. 1 is one of only five fireboats designated as National Historical landmarks. It is the only one in the United States to continuously protect a major port by itself for more than half a century.
Designed by T. McK. Rowlands of Seattle, Fireboat No. 1 was built in 1929 by the Coastline Shipbuilding Company of Tacoma for $148,000. It was one of the first vessels on the West Coast built specifically as a fireboat, rather than converted from a tugboat.
|
|  |
Browns Point Lighthouse
Charts have been found that show an 1840s expedition named today’s Browns Point as Point Harris; after a sailmaker’s mate, Alvin Harris. It is not certain whether the point was later re-named after a member of the 1846 British expedition or the 1877 U.S. expedition. Browns Point was known as Point Brown until about the 1920s.
On December 12, 1887, two years before Washington became a state, a fixed white light lens lantern was placed on a white post on Point Brown. It was about twelve feet above sea level and 50 yards from the low water end of shore. In 1901 the first lighthouse and a house for the lighthouse keeper were built. The lighthouse was a wood frame structure on wood pilings off shore. At low tide one could walk to the lighthouse, but at high tide it was necessary to take a rowboat.
The first white residents of Browns Point were the lighthouse keeper, Oscar Brown, and his wife Annie. They arrived by government boat in October 1903. The rowboat used by Oscar and his crew of two or three men no longer exists. A replica constructed in 1994 by boat builder Mar Vlahovich is housed in the original boathouse located next door to the lighthouse keeper’s house.
For the next 30 years Oscar Brown tended the light and battery operated bell. Every evening at the exactly sundown Brown would light the lamp in the attic. Each morning at sunrise he put it out. When the bell rang all night long due to fog, he had to rewind the mechanism every three quarters of an hour. When the bell would not function properly during a fog, he and Annie manned the lighthouse – he with a sledgehammer and she with a timer. She monitored the timed intervals as he struck the bell.
|
|  |
Grassi's
Built in 1892 by Russell Joy was first occupied by Wynkoop Drug Co. Later occupants included Tagni & Lenti Grocery, The Little Country Grocery, and Bill's Tavern. The building became commonly known as 'the Mack Building'.
In 1987 the building was remodeled by Merritt Pardini Architects under the direction of Alice Mack and family. this charming, pie-shaped building is now occupied by Tacoma's own premier floral and gift family, the Grassi's, along with their latest endeavor, Grassi's Garden Cafe. The unique architecture provides a stunning backdrop for the breathtaking floral and gift displays which in turn create a warm and inviting setting for the Victorian Style Tea Room upstairs.
|
|  |
History of Point Defiance Park
President Andrew Johnson originally set aside Point Defiance Park as a military reservation, although it never was home to military operations. A bill authorizing Tacoma to use the reserve as a public park was approved in 1880 by President Grover Cleveland.
Visitors in the 1890s came by streetcar to stroll through the new gardens and dense forest. An octagonal waterfront pavilion was completed in 1903. Park visitors gravitated toward the beachfront where they could rent a boat, eat ice cream or clam chowder, picnic and enjoy the view. The southern end of the park became a seaside resort known as Nereides Baths by 1907, offering a heated saltwater bathing pavilion on the bluff above the boathouse.
In the 1920s, an added two-story building served as a restaurant and ballroom. After 1935, it also was used as an aquarium and a boathouse. The aquatic animals have since moved to a modern aquarium within the zoo grounds. The Boathouse Marina was built in 1988-90 following a 1984 fire.
The Lodge, the oldest standing structure originally built in the park, was finished in 1898. It served as the park superintendent's home until 1980. The Pagoda was completed in 1914 as a streetcar station. It became a bus waiting area in 1938 and was remodeled in 1963 as a center for flower shows and social gatherings. The Pagoda and Lodge were refurbished in 1988 and are now popular rentals for meetings, receptions and weddings.
|
|  |
Fort Nisqually at Point Defiance Park
About the Fort
Northwest history comes alive with a visit to Fort Nisqually. Fort Nisqually is a reconstructed fur trading and farming post, established by the British Hudson's Bay Company in 1833. Originally located 17 miles south of Tacoma near DuPont, the fort was reconstructed at Point Defiance Park in the early 1930s on a site overlooking the Tacoma Narrows.
The fort's Factor's House and Granary are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Washington Museum Association chose the Factor's House Restoration Project as the recipient of the WMA Award of Project Excellence for 2004. The Granary, one of the oldest standing structures in Washington state, also is a National Historic Landmark.
On exhibit in Factor's House is a collection of fur trade artifacts from the 1800s. The reconstructed Trade Store, Blacksmith Shop, Laborer's Dwelling and Bastions are furnished to reflect their use in 1855. The gift shop carries books on Northwest history and replicas of items from the 1800s such as potter, glass beads and Hudson's Bay Company blankets.
|
|  |
Job Carr Cabin
One of the most noted of Old Town Tacoma’s founding fathers was Job Carr, a Civil War veteran who came to Puget Sound in 1864 seeking the terminus of the Northern Pacific Railroad. In 1865, while living in a lean-to made of cedar bark planks attached to a large log, he built the log cabin that became his home. By 1869, the cabin became the first Post Office and Job Carr was named the first Postmaster. The first election was held at the cabin, and Job was elected to the first city council, becoming the first mayor of the new city.
Part of the original cedar-log cabin was moved west to Point Defiance Park in 1900. That cabin was demolished in 1916 and rebuilt in 1917. The reproduction deteriorated over time and was finally dismantled in 1980. In 2000, the Job Carr Cabin Museum, a replica of Carr’s original cabin, was built in a small park at the foot of North 30th Street. The museum uses family diaries and period interiors to trace Carr family history as it relates to Tacoma’s early days as a white settlement built around fishing, logging and rail transport.
When in Old Town, be sure to look down. Commemorative plaques embedded in the sidewalks along North 30th Street describe the achievements of notable Tacoma women, including tug-boat company founder Thea Foss, who happened to be afraid of the water. The museum and local business have copies of a walking-tour map with the addresses and original photos of local historic sites as well as mini-profiles of all the women who have sidewalk markers.
|
| |
|
|
