South Tacoma Historic District

09/14/2018

Everyone knows Bob's Java Jive on South Tacoma Way— did you know it was the birthplace of surf rock with the Ventures, or that it was featured in 4 major films?

Up-and-coming rock stars once came and went from Bob’s Java Jive. Go-go dancers performed on a greased wooden stage, and macaque monkeys lived in the backroom.

06/25/2018

Earlier this month, we presented our historic research at City Hall, and Tacoma Weekly reporter and history buff Steve Dunkelberger was in the audience. Here's his great writeup on our projects in Edison and McKinley Historic District Tacoma.

05/25/2018

While a lot of buildings on South Tacoma Way have seen businesses come and go over the years, here's one that's stuck around for over a century.

The prominent brick building at the corner of 56th was built in 1914 as the joint home of North Pacific Bank and the neighborhood post office branch, designed by the young architecture partnership of Lundberg & Mahon. That firm later designed the nearby Realart Theatre. At it's construction, the building featured twin doors for its two tenants.

North Pacific Bank opened in a small storefront at 5221 South Tacoma in 1906 (later the first home of South Tacoma Cycles—see our last post). German immigrant Peter Wallerich bought out the bank in 1910: rumor has it that Wallerich heard the news of the bank's financial distress in the course of his job as a telegraph operator.

Wallerich oversaw the four-block move, and the bank saw three generations of his family at the helm. The post office relocated to the old movie theatre next door in 1929, though the bank, ever growing, would acquire that building, too. (The twin doors, of course, were removed.) In 1998, North Pacific merged with Heritage Bank, who continues business here.
These two photos show the bank in 1924 and 1977. Other than the sign, not much has changed since then!

05/22/2018

Coupon clipping, 1950s style.

05/21/2018

If you've dined at Stonegate Pizza, you might have noticed that unique curving brickwork on the facade, and that it doesn't quite fit the rest of the building. In past incarnations the building was home to a number of other restaurants (including the similarly named Stone Gate in the 1990s), but for decades, it was a bicycle shop.

In the 1930s, Southwell Brothers operated here, selling Philco radios and hobby supplies. Frank and George Southwell had previously owned the South Tacoma Cycling Company up the street, and, going back to their roots, changed the name to Southwell's Schwinn Cyclery.

1969 was the year the shop got its brick facelift, designed by Tacoma architects Harris, Reed & Litzenberger. The Southwest Washington chapter of the AIA granted the design an award of merit and was featured in the News Tribune along with other works by the firm. The firm would later design Evergreen State College's lecture hall and the bronzed-glass Bell Building downtown among numerous others in Tacoma.

Southwell's wouldn't stay in the renovated building long, moving across the street to 5408 South Tacoma Way around 1974, and opening more outlets in Proctor, Westgate, and Highland Hills. By the end of the 80s, only the South Tacoma location remained. It later became a BikeTech in 1991 after Dale Carson purchased them; Carson himself retired from 50 years in the bike business earlier this year.

We've found an article on Frank Southwell on his retirement, enjoying a stationary bike in his living room. We also even found a photograph of Frank's father and nephew enjoying National Bicycle Week, 1925.

05/08/2018

One of the highlights of the tour was a site of Steve's Gay 90s, a lively Victorian-themed spot that operated from 1941 to 1973 at 5234-40 South Tacoma Wy. We even had a few guests who remembered the live entertainment and seating made from a San Francisco cable car. For those of us who never got the chance to see, we've found a few photos of the interior and some ephemera, including a recipe card. You can even recreate their baked beans at home!

Steve's spanned across three buildings, which today are home to Ah Badabing Pizzeria, Subway, and Curtis Upholstery. Next time you walk past, try and spot some of the vestiges of this nightspot.

05/08/2018

Thanks for the great turnout last weekend, and thanks to Chris at Pretty Gritty Tours for the storytelling. Nice meeting you all.

04/27/2018

Here's a story from 2016 we found when researching the Tacoma Mausoleum & Mortuary (which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places): Tucked in between the Tacoma and Oakwood Hill cemeteries is the site of the Pierce County potter's field, the final resting place of the city's poor and indigent before the 20th century. Bill Habermann is tracing their histories.

Historic pauper cemetery in South Tacoma rediscovered by local funeral director. More than 1,600 people were buried there. Information about them is now posted on genealogy website.

04/16/2018

Shown here in 1938, Radnor Pratsch's Realart Theatre brought movies to South Tacoma from 1920 to 1961, well after some of the region's largest drive-ins opened further down the street. The theatre was designed by Tacoma firm Lundberg and Mahon, who were previously commissioned for Edison's Visitation Catholic Church on 58th.

After a decade as a dance hall, the Realart was home to a number of restaurants over the years—some longtime neighbors and highway travelers might remember the neon sign of Fu Shung's.

Today the Realart lends its name to Real Art Tacoma, the live music venue across the street, and the theatre is up for sale, a great opportunity for a preservation project.

(Photos: TPL Richards Studio Collection; RoadsidePeek.com)

04/14/2018

Thanks for the signal boost Historic South Tacoma!

04/13/2018

50+ years of GM cars here at 6001 South Tacoma Way.
in 1964, South Tacoma Chevrolet opened in this then ultra-modern dealership designed by local architect William Hocking, winning a design award three years later. The site was originally home to J.B. Ness & Son's Garage, dating back to the old US-99 era. Today, it is part of Gilchrist Chevy|Buick|GMC, still selling pre-owned Chevrolets.