It's Twisty's Turni.FeedTacoma.com

The Story of Tacoma's Spanish Steps

Twisty — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 06:30:00 -0700

A Bygone Era Imagine living in 1916. There is no Internet. There is no television. Radio is an expensive, newfangled gizmo that is only enjoyed by it's earliest adopters. There are movies in theaters (vaudeville acts were much more common), but they have no sound, save for a pipe organ or an orchestra. The Ford Model T is available, but not yet ubiquitous. In Seattle, William Boeing is forming the Pacific Aero Products Company. The United States appears to have finally reached its manifest destiny, Arizona having been admitted as the 48th state four years previously. Obviously, a person's options for entertainment and social interaction were very different in those days. In the part of the city still known to the old timers of that era as New Tacoma, pretty much everything was anchored by the Northern Pacific Railway's headquarters building, which stood watch on the bluff overlooking Half Moon Yard and most of the city's docks. This was the center of town at that time. Historians Caroline Gallacci (co-founder of the Tacoma Historical Society) and Patricia Sias (the City of Tacoma's first Historic Preservation Officer), in the City's 'Inventory and Nomination Form' for the National Registry of Historic Places (1977)[1], had this to say about the area around South 7th Street and Pacific Avenue: "It is interesting to note that the upper stories in many cases were meeting halls for fraternal, social and religious organizations. At one time or another, the Odd Fellows, Tacoma Athletic Club, Ladies Gymnasium Association, Theatrical Mechanical Association, Woodmen of the World, Sons of Veterans, Knights of Pythias, Salvation Army, Longshoremen, Elks and the Y.W.C.A. More »

Good Vibrations

Twisty — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 20:57:00 -0700

Tonight was the Community Based Services kick-off meeting for the newly expanded focus area, which now includes the Whitman, Lincoln and Dome Top neighborhoods. The meeting was held in the Lincoln High School auditorium. Lisa Wojtanowicz, Assistant Division Manager for CBS, led an impressive cadre of top city officials which included City Manager Eric Anderson, City Council members Strickland and Lonergan, Public Works Director Mike Slevin, Police Chief Don Ramsdell, TPD Sector 4 commander Lt. More »

Community Based Services -- Coming to a neighborhood near ME!

Twisty — Thu, 29 May 2008 18:33:00 -0700

Woo-Hoo! I too have received notification from the City that my address is within the newly expanded Community Based Services area. Lately I've been looking for ways to get involved in my neighborhood, so the timing is right on the mark. In fact, I could not have hoped for a better opportunity. Well, series of opportunities, really. More »

Liveblogging from Frost Park

Twisty — Fri, 23 May 2008 13:00:00 -0700

I normally can't make it to these things because I usually work in downtown Seattle. Today, my boss is on vacation, his boss is on vacation, and I have all of my work done. Thus, I'm playing hooky. It's 11:59. Time to get busy... More »

The Hidden Amphibian

Twisty — Thu, 22 May 2008 11:54:00 -0700

I'm quite sure that many of you, like myself, have gotten a kick out of R.R. Anderson's splendiferous website, Holistic Forge Works. Perhaps you too, like myself, thought that you had explored every nook and cranny, and found every gag. More »

My World, Gone Mad

Twisty — Wed, 21 May 2008 07:34:00 -0700

A sampling of today's major headlines... From the New York Times: Israel and Syria Holding Peace Talks in Turkey From the Wall Street Journal: Myanmar Refuses U.S. More »