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Tacoma? Thoughts, feelings, stereotypes?


Randy@Tacoma

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I actually met a girl from Tacoma last week who's now going to school here in Tucson.

I made mention of the negative opinions people tend to have about Tacoma, but also mentioned how I had an interest in going there since a friend had visited for a conference and was impressed. She wasn't too talkative, but responded with something like "Yeah, they're trying to do a lot to improve it."

I actually did try to go when I was in Seattle last September, but I missed the train by about 15 minutes, and instead spent most of the day in Chinatown ("International Village" or whatever the hell they call it). I'll certainly go next time, especially since I'll probably rent a car.

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Thank you everyone! Love the photos!!! Keep em coming!!! And yes, Tacoma has had it's unfair wrap in gossip!!! I posted this forum because I wanted to clear those things up! Next time you visit the area, definately hop on the Sounder again!!! It's a great train ride... it's unfortunate they only have 4 round trips.... and they're definately not suited for the tourist... there is however, and express bus that runs right by the King Street Station and it has regular service... I believe it's the 590,591,592, and 594... Ran by Sound Transit and they'll get you from Seattle to Tacoma, or vise-verca... Thanks again everyone, and keep em comin!!! :-)

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I know Tacoma has Point Defiance with the Zoo.

I know the bridge(the Narrows Bridge) in the earthquake video that so many people have seen is in Tacoma even though most people don't know it.

I know Meghan Lindholm...who under the pen name Robin Hobb is one of my favorite writers...lives in Tacoma.

I know the Tacoma Dome is wood and flew the 12th Man flag to support our Seahwaks during the playoffs.

I know the name Tacoma comes from the regional native american name for Mt Rainier which is Mt Tahoma.

I know Tacoma is the name of a truck.

I know Tacoma is overshadowed by Seattle...which we all are in the NW...but that doesn't bother me as Seattle is probably my favorite city in the country.

I know Tacoma is a major port city just like Seattle and Portland.

Hmmm...I probably know some more but I'm getting sleepy...

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I've been pleasantly surprised by Tacoma everytime I've visited. While it will always be in Seattle's shadow, I think it's a great smaller city with a good urban feel. The fact that Tacoma has light rail is great accomplishment! :thumbsup: I love the architecture and feel of it's downtown.....the hills in downtown give it a very dense, urban feel. Can totally see Tacoma in 10 years with an incredible revitalized downtown....seems well on it's way. Every trip to Seattle, I schedule at least a day, to make it down and see whats happening in Tacoma. Pleasantly surprised everytime! :thumbsup:

A few pics from the museum area:

Lima04andSeattle04098.jpg

Lima04andSeattle04101.jpg

Lima04andSeattle04104.jpg

Lima04andSeattle04094.jpg

Lima04andSeattle04099.jpg

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I love the photos!!! Good ones of the Glass Musuem, Glass Bridge (though it's not glass), and the new condos popping up along the Thea Foss Waterway... to be specific, Thea's Landing as shown... :-)... And to clarify something, Inkdaub, you mentioned that video of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge... that actually isnt an earthquake. I know a lot of people of misunderstand that. It is actually an amazing powerful (and common) wind storm. I believe average wind speeds for that day back in the 1940's when the bridge came down registered in at around 40mph.

Other than that... THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!!! KEEP EVERYTHING COMING!!! I LOVE EVERY BIT OF IT!!!

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And to clarify something, Inkdaub, you mentioned that video of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge... that actually isnt an earthquake. I know a lot of people of misunderstand that. It is actually an amazing powerful (and common) wind storm. I believe average wind speeds for that day back in the 1940's when the bridge came down registered in at around 40mph.

That's right...haha. Wind storm! Still a crazy video for sure.

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Does any one have pictures of UW-Tacoma (current) and drawings of what the built out campus will look like?

In the very first pic above, the campus is located just to the left of the Federal Courthouse (look for old dome roof), in renovated historic buildings.

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I've lived in the Puget Sound area since 1995, and I've been to Tacoma many times.

You couldn't ask for a nicer city in which to visit or live. Tacoma's "negative image" is a bunch of b.s.---totally untrue and absolutely undeserved!

Agreed! :thumbsup:

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Ok pardon me for asking, as I am an ignorant guy from the Great Lakes Region living in Phoenix. I have NEVER heard of Tacoma's "negative" image. I have heard you guys all say that the "gossip" is totally untrue. I have never heard a word of it, and apart from reading next months issue of "vague" magazine. Can someone fill me in on some of the things people are saying about Tacoma?

What I see in the pictures is a Midsize city with a great skyline. It may not be very tall, but Tacoma looks like it has density. Coming from Michigan, where all the cities are represented by minuscule downtowns. Tacoma puts them to shame. Is it a northwestern thing to plan cities with a more urban style. Say build up instead of out? All of the cities I have seen in the American Northwest (namely Seattle, Portland and Tacoma) Seem to have great urban planning and, GASP, downtown residents! Something that to many American cities are anemic of because of bad regulations. Washingtons Cities look Canadian in Nature, that's awsome!

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Ok... here's a brief synopsis of Tacoma's beginning to now. We started out as a railroad city, as did most of the Western Cities. Tacoma was chosen as a terminus for the railroad in (I think) 1873 over Seattle and Everett to name a few. Tacoma prospered in the late 1800's due to that. Also due to that, the city chose it's nickname as it planned to become the center of the Pacific Northwest; The City of Destiny. In 1893, the US had an economic recession and Tacoma has been struggling to pick up from that ever since. Coupled with that, the railroad chose to construct a spur to Seattle and decided to move the hub from Tacoma to there. Tacoma took several nose-dives during the 20th century. In the 1960's, the suburban shopping center, Tacoma Mall, was built only 4 miles from Downtown. This robbed Downtown of any commerce it had. Coupled with that, general trend at that time was "White Flight" as many wealthy Tacomans left for the Suburbs. On into the 70's the economy stagnated. In the 80's, the city made it's first major attempts to do anything about their distraught city. Thanks to them, we have our city's major landmark; The Tacoma Dome. During this period, however, crack/cocaine became an extremely bad problem for the city. The Hilltop neighborhood in particular was hit hard by that. Coupled with that, gang activity began to increase substantially as well as general crimes. Finally, in the 90's, a century after the recession that set Tacoma down the wrong path, things began looking up for Tacoma. Ironically, this was namely due to Seattle, the city that screwed Tacoma over in the first place. Many people couldnt afford to live there thanks to Microsoft, Nintendo, and whole bunch of High-Tech employers attracting a new wave of residents sending the property values through the roof. Many people saw Tacoma as a place where they could own a home and commute to Seattle, having a comfortable lifestyle. (Heck, thanks to my parents, this is why I ended up here :-) This in-turn, helped Tacoma IMMENSLEY. Today, this trend continues. Tacoma's Downtown is finally attracting residents in search for an affordable (In comparison to Seattle) urban lifestyle. Tacoma has added a branch of the University of Washington in Downtown, numerous hotles, a new Convention Center, and many new residences and stores in the past decade. Crime has also gone down. Things are finally beginning to look up for Tacoma.

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Tacoma still has higher crime and the most affordable housing in the metro area, but it is a mega improvement over 15 years ago and the parts of town that weren't so nice are improving. Downtown and the northern and western parts are doing great but the south side still is waiting for more love. With the housing boom in the Canyon Rd-South Hill area, it maybe awhile for that part of town to catch up unless Tacoma gets so trendy to the point that people want the Tacoma address.

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I see, alot of the cities where I come from have all but died, it's good to see that kind of resurgance. You want to see Urban drought, or decay check out Flint, Detroit, and Gary. To name a few.

How many people live in Tacoma?

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Sundodger,

I agree with the north end of Tacoma doing very well (as it always has) and the western part as well as Downtown. The central and Southern parts are still trying to play catch up. They still SUCK! Thats where I live. Im SO looking forward to moving to Spokane and going to college. But, as for the image you posted about the metro area... I don't think the county line is the dividing part between metros... And in all reality, Tacoma and Seattle are all in the same metro area... thats what the census records it as... 3.8 million people living in the Puget Sound Metro Area. I know quite a bit of people that live in that general midway area (Anything south of Seattle and north of Tacoma... ie. Federal Way, Kent, SeaTac... etc.) that work in Tacoma as well as some that work in Seattle... and hell... even some that work in Bellevue... So... I see the point... but that line is DEFINATELY blurred nowadays... :-)

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But, as for the image you posted about the metro area... I don't think the county line is the dividing part between metros...

That's another point it makes. Some folks divide Seattle and Tacoma into seperate markets when in fact they have grown together, the above pic helps show that.

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The specifics re: Tacoma's negative image are all subjective.

Coming from the American Southeast, Tacoma's crime rate seems very low. Coming from Jacksonville, Florida, Tacoma's occassional air pollution seems not so bad.

Hilltop doesn't have near the crime problem as the Riverside neighborhood in Jacksonville, where I lived (a similar inner city historic district)

Hilltop's overall crime rate is probably comparable to suburban crime rates in Southeastern cities.

And I don't know why anyone ever thought downtown Tacoma is lackluster (???) Try Antique Row, the Chihulli Museum, and the numerous shoppes and restaurants....

People I used to work with in Seattle snubbed their noses at Tacoma, warned of the "high crime rate". But when asked when was the last time they were actually in Tacoma.....all these negative image problems are based on simple igorance of the facts~~

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Hello! I'm surprised nobody's mentioned THE AROMA OF TACOMA. I remember gagging from that smell all the way in Puyallup. Anyway, Tacoma just needs to add tons of new density to its downtown if it wants to be more lively. i think Tacoma has the potential to be so much more.

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Do you think that maybe... just maybe... the reason why we didnt mention the Tacoma Aroma is because it DOESN'T exist anymore... ??? Just a thought... and as for density.... thats already on its way!!! More and more and more and more people keep moving to Downtown... its amazing. There even looks to be a sort of nightlife developing... (aside from homeless people that used to rampage throught Downtown). Its amazing to see the progress Tacoma has made in these last ten years. I will say though, I believe Tacoma needs more major additions to its skyline and more than just neat museums and mom and pop shops to intrigue people Downtown. They need a major retail core along with other forms of entertainment, such as Gameworks or movie theatre. Thats all ive got to say. Sorry for sounding crabby... its been a semi-rough day... :-(

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