Step into Tacoma’s shadowy past. Have you heard about the 1951 vice raids – the kind of story that doesn’t just make the headlines, it rearranges a whole city. Hear about the scandal, the secrets and the shockwaves. From bootleggers and bordellos to a former city attorney who died in a mysterious fire, these aren’t…

What if Tacoma was built twice … once in lumber and brick and again in courage? Join Tacoma historian Patty Mannie (4th generation Tacoman) for a vivid presentation on “The Women Who Built Tacoma” about female entrepreneurs who saw what could be and built it anyway.  Meet Bethel Schneebeck, Miss Alice Humble, Mrs. Violet Green…

Science has no certain answer for what lingers inside Tacoma’s longstanding buildings after the doors are locked and the lights go out. But some say the past does not rest quietly here.  Have you ever stepped into a room and felt the air turn cold, as if unseen eyes were watching from the shadows? Beneath…

Science has no certain answer for what lingers inside Tacoma’s longstanding buildings after the doors are locked and the lights go out. But some say the past does not rest quietly here.  Have you ever stepped into a room and felt the air turn cold, as if unseen eyes were watching from the shadows? Beneath…

Decades ago, Tacoma had a darker side—one that operated in the shadows and was rarely spoken about openly. The Tacoma Underworld was alive and well, and during the 1970s, arson, bribery, extortion, illegal gambling, and organized crime cast a long, uneasy shadow over the city. Names like Janovich and Carbone were only pieces of a…

Science has no certain answer for what lingers inside Tacoma’s longstanding buildings after the doors are locked and the lights go out. But some say the past does not rest quietly here.  Have you ever stepped into a room and felt the air turn cold, as if unseen eyes were watching from the shadows? Beneath…

Science has no certain answer for what lingers inside Tacoma’s longstanding buildings after the doors are locked and the lights go out. But some say the past does not rest quietly here.  Have you ever stepped into a room and felt the air turn cold, as if unseen eyes were watching from the shadows? Beneath…

The Summer of 1929 was exceptionally dry and the Fall was not better, significantly draining Tacoma’s electricity.  The shortage became so critical that Superintendent Ira S. Davisson had to cut power to homes and businesses. In December 1929, there were several discussions between the Tacoma Chamber of Commerce and lumber mill operators to shift their…

Little is known about the origination of the Woodbrook Club, however, newspaper articles dating back to 1911 mention the club.  The first benefactor of the Club was Tacoma Banker Chester Thorne and his wife Anna. In 1926, a large property near the Fort Lewis Reservation soon became an area for horse riding, jumps and drag hunts.  Residents…

When Tacoma’s streetcars were still humming and the Narrows Bridge gateway began here, 6th Avenue was already doing what it still does best. Moving people through, connecting neighborhoods, keeping the city in motion. Kmart is gone. Shakey’s is gone. PhotoMat, the tiny booth-like time capsule you drove past without thinking is gone too. But the…

Earl and Floyd Willits two brothers who came from Iowa with a talent like no other: determination, perseverance and unique carpentry skills. These brothers worked together along the shore of Commencement Bay while a neighborhood of homes and families grew up alongside them. Discover how the Day Island Yach Club was formed, how documenting their…

The Summer of 1929 was exceptionally dry and the Fall was not better, significantly draining Tacoma’s electricity.  The shortage became so critical that Superintendent Ira S. Davisson had to cut power to homes and businesses. In December 1929, there were several discussions between the Tacoma Chamber of Commerce and lumber mill operators to shift their…