Downtown is the central business district of

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Pa ...

, United States, located in the inner Northeast section of the city. It is approximately bounded east-west by A Street and Tacoma Avenue, and north-south by South 7th Street and South 25th Street. The center of downtown is the intersection of 9th and Broadway.

History

Downtown Tacoma's mid-century downturn was exacerbated by the opening of the

Tacoma Mall The Tacoma Mall is the largest shopping center in Tacoma, Washington, and is owned and operated by the Simon Property Group. Anchor tenants include Dick's Sporting Goods, JCPenney (originally two levels, but added a third level in 1986), Macy's ( ...

in the 1960s. Many of the anchor retail stores left downtown to relocate to the mall. Following this exodus of retailers, city leadership attempted to make downtown more appealing to shoppers by building two large parking garages and by closing off to traffic two blocks of Broadway Street between South 9th and South 11th Streets. The Broadway Mall was less successful than hoped and the street was re-opened to traffic during the 1980s. Later revitalization efforts were centered around the renovation of Union Station in 1990, which became Tacoma's federal courthouse, coupled with the opening of University of Washington Tacoma. The University of Washington rejected a greenfield site for its new South Puget Sound campus and, instead, decided to restore six historic warehouses in a dilapidated district on the edge of downtown Tacoma. Today, the area is a thriving museum and university district. Retail and restaurants have returned and downtown is undergoing a renaissance. The addition of the

Museum of Glass The Museum of Glass (MOG) is a 75,000-square-foot (7,000 m²) art museum in Tacoma, Washington, dedicated to the medium of glass. Since its founding in 2002, the Museum of Glass has been committed to creating a space for the celebration of the st ...

Tacoma Art Museum The Tacoma Art Museum (TAM) is an art museum in Tacoma, Washington, United States. It focuses primarily on the art and artists from the Pacific Northwest and broader western region of the U.S. Founded in 1935, the museum has strong roots in the c ...

, and the

Washington State History Museum The Washington State History Museum is a history museum located in downtown Tacoma, Washington, United States. It is operated by the Washington State Historical Society under the official approval of the Washington State Legislature. The museu ...

added much life to the area. The Tacoma City Council passed the Local Improvement District for St. Helens Street in April 2006, which was designed to improve areas which have been neglected. Also central to the revitalization effort has been the city's adoption of the

tax exemption Tax exemption is the reduction or removal of a liability to make a compulsory payment that would otherwise be imposed by a ruling power upon persons, property, income, or transactions. Tax-exempt status may provide complete relief from taxes, redu ...

for new residential units in multifamily dwellings, primarily apartments and condominiums. Starting in 2002, downtown Tacoma began seeing an increase in the number of residential units being built or renovated downtown. Buildings such as the Perkins Building, Harmon Lofts, and Cliff Street were renovated for living units. A new regional

convention center A convention center (American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typica ...

, the

Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center The Greater Tacoma Convention Center, is a convention center in downtown Tacoma, in the U.S. state of Washington. It opened in November 2004 and has been described as the "second largest meeting and event facility in Western Washington". It was ...

, opened in 2004.

Buildings and features

Downtown Tacoma is well known for its historic buildings, most built at the end of the 19th century. These include the Old City Hall Building, Union Station, Elks Temple, Bostwick Building, the Winthrop Hotel and the Pythian Temple, which houses Seabury Middle School. The Mecca Theater is currently being restored. The city's

Christmas tree A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen conifer, such as a spruce, pine or fir, or an artificial tree of similar appearance, associated with the celebration of Christmas. The custom was further developed in early modern ...

is located in the downtown area.

References

External links

New Tacoma Neighborhood CouncilTacoma Downtown Merchants GroupDowntown TacomaTacoma Regional Convention and Visitor Bureau
* Geography of Tacoma, Washington T Tacoma {{PierceCountyWA-geo-stub