Tacoma!!
The largest city in Pierce County
DEMOGRAPHICS-Tacoma, with a population of 184,500 is the largest city in Pierce County.
Tacoma was rated fourth in the nation as the best place to live (Money Magazine, 1990).
It is located 18 miles from Sea-Tac International Airport, 36 miles from Seattle, 142 miles from Portland, OR, and 174 miles from Vancouver, BC.
HISTORY-The Puyallup and Nisqually indian tribes used to call nearby Mount Rainier "Tacobet," meaning "Mother of Waters." When the white man arrived here they interpreted Tacobet as "Tahoma," which later became the name of a pioneer city, Tacoma.
The first settlers, mainly lumberjacks, began arriving in the early 1850's. Nicholas Delin built the first sawmill in 1852 on the waterfront near what is now downtown Tacoma.
His lumber business thrived and helped make Commencement Bay the major port it is today.
In 1863 Job Carr claimed land along Commencement Bay, hoping it would become the western terminus for a yet-to-be-named transcontinental railroad.
Carr didn't realize that dream, but went on to become Tacoma's first mayor, postmaster, and election officer. "Old Tacoma," the area now called "Old Town," was settled in 1865.
Morton M. McCarver arrived in 1868 and purchased most of Carr's real estate. He then led a successful campaign to convince officials of the Northern Pacific Railroad to designate Tacoma as it's western terminus, over the competing towns of Seattle and Olympia.
In September 1873, "New Tacoma" was indeed selected, and building of the railroad began. "City of Destiny" became the town's popular nickname. Rapid development began when Tacoma was linked by rail to the rest of the nation in 1883.
The 1880's saw major growth. The population had soared to approximately 5,000 in 1884 when Old Tacoma and New Tacoma agreed to merge and incorporate. By 1890 there were 36,000 people living in Tacoma. Two years later, The population swelled to 50,000.
Banking, merchant business, as well as exports of lumber and coal made Tacoma a boom town until May 1893.
The boom ended abruptly with the Panic of 1893, a nationwide financial depression. The population dropped back down to 37,000. Although the City of Destiny rebounded by the turn of the century.
By 1900 Frederick Weyerhaeuser and other lumber leaders had established the Weyerhaeuser Timber Company, purchasing 900,000 acres of land at $6 an acre. This rejuvenated the economy, and by 1914 Weyerhaeuser Timber had added another million acres to its holdings and built a downtown Tacoma headquarters.
In 1911 Northern Pacific Railroad built Union Station in the heart of Tacoma, a magnificent copper-domed landmark that has recently been restored to it's former grandeur.
Commencement Bay was named one of the official U.S. Ports of Entry in 1918, enjoying increased shipping activity thanks to the Panama Canal's opening in 1914. The Port of Tacoma grew to become the sixth largest container port in North America today and one of the top 25 container ports in the world.
During World War I, the Army established Camp Lewis, later Fort Lewis, south of Tacoma. In 1938 McChord Air Force Base was added nearby. Tacoma's industries supplied both military branches with raw materials and civilian manpower during World War II.
Meanwhile, downtown Tacoma had blossomed with major retail merchants, impressive office buildings, and sophisticated theatres. The Pantages Theatre opened in 1918 as part of a national vaudeville chain, distinguished by striking Greco-Roman architecture. The 1,182-seat theatre hosted variety shows by W.C. Fields, Mae West, Charlie Chaplain, and the Marx Brothers. Completely restored in 1983, it's now one of the outstanding performing arts centers in the Pacific Northwest.
In 1920 the new 17-story National Realty Building ranked as the highest concrete and glass structure on the west coast. Another structure also put Tacoma on the map in 1940, somewhat infamously.Next Page...
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