There’s a “DomaTacoma” Song From 1983 You’ve Got to Hear
February 14, 2019“Driving down I-5, feeling kinda witty/Takin’ in the sunshine, lookin’ at the city” begin the lyrics of a Tacoma Dome song not nearly enough people are aware even exists. Recently we bumped into the carnivalesque ditty on Instagram, thanks to a post by @tacomamusichistory. Just a few days prior they’d published a short article that…
A Rare Look at the McNeil Island Prison
January 26, 2019Less than three miles from the beaches of Chambers Bay lies one of the most unfamiliar and inaccessible places in all of Washington State. This is the Alcatraz of the Puget Sound. Unless you were a prisoner, a guard, or a family member of either, it’s unlikely you’ve ever seen the island up close. Over…
Ever Wonder What Happened to Galloping Gertie’s Broken Bits?
January 4, 2019The image of Leonard Coatsworth’s car stuck on the swaying Tacoma Narrows Bridge known as Galloping Gertie might be one of the most well known from that disaster, but though it’s dramatic it does little to give viewers a true sense of just how large a span of the bridge collapsed. Here’s a different view…
1955 Tacoma: Safety via Bikinis at Kaiser Aluminum
December 12, 2018In 1955 Kaiser Aluminum decided there was no better way to promote safety on the job than to have models—in bikinis—demonstrate proper equipment handling. That’s how the woman seen in the photo below came to pose holding a gas hole bar while wearing fireproof covers over her shoes, thick gloves, safety glasses, a hard hat,…
The Chilling History of Tacoma’s “Elf” Storage Building
November 27, 2018There was no marketing genius behind turning Tacoma Self Storage into Tacoma “Elf” Storage 11 years ago. It wasn’t a ploy by the company to get free press, or even an enthusiastic holiday reveler looking to spread cheer—it was a happy little accident caused by our feathered friends. The story on the company’s site explains:…