TACOMA, Wash. — The City of Tacoma’s Historic Preservation Program is hosting a kick-off meeting for residents and business owners in South Tacoma who are interested in learning more about the South Tacoma Mixed Use Center Historic Property Survey. There is little existing data on historic properties within the South Tacoma Mixed Use Center, and any data gathered through the survey will inform the City’s planning, economic development, outreach, and education efforts.
Projected to be completed by August 2024, the survey will record approximately 200 buildings that are close to, or more than, 50 years of age. Ten of these buildings will be selected for intensive-level documentation.
Buildings will be documented using digital photography from the public right-of-way along with field observations on construction, materials, function, and architectural features. Historical research will address the broad patterns of development for the neighborhood, not individual buildings.
The project is partially funded by a Certified Local Government grant from the Washington Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation. As such, this project will comply with Washington State Standards for Cultural Resource Reporting, specifically standards for reconnaissance- and intensive-level surveys.
Residents and business owners in South Tacoma are encouraged to email suggestions on buildings with community and/or cultural value that they would like to see included in the survey to landmarks@cityoftacoma.org with “South Tacoma Survey” in the subject line.
A final community meeting will be held in the summer of 2024. Residents and businesses will receive a presentation at that point on the survey findings.
More information on this and prior neighborhood surveys is available here.
The community kick-off meeting on October 17 will take place in person at STAR Center (3873 S. 66th St. in Tacoma) starting at 6:30 PM. Doors will open at 6:15 PM. The event will conclude by 7:30 PM. Light refreshments will be provided. There is no cost to attend, and no RSVP is needed.
Residents and businesses with questions about the survey can contact Historic Preservation Coordinator Susan Johnson at sjohnson7@cityoftacoma.org or (253) 281-7445.
