{{dablink, "North Tacoma" may also refer to the purported toponym of the state that contains Springfield, the fictional town where

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...

takes place. North Tacoma (also called the North End) is a neighborhood in

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 ...

, in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. The area is most known for waterfront parks and restaurants,

Point Defiance Park Point Defiance Park in Tacoma, Washington, United States, is a large urban park. The park includes Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, the Rose Garden, Rhododendron Garden, beaches, trails, a boardwalk, a boathouse, a Washington State Ferries ferry doc ...

, the

University of Puget Sound The University of Puget Sound (UPS or Puget Sound) is a private university in Tacoma, Washington. The university draws approximately 2,600 students from 44 states and 16 countries. It offers 1,200 courses each year in more than 50 traditional an ...

Stadium High School Stadium High School is a public high school in Tacoma, Washington, and a historic landmark. It is part of Tacoma Public Schools, or Tacoma School District No. 10 and is located in the Stadium District, near downtown Tacoma. The original buildin ...

, and the

Tacoma Narrows Bridge The Tacoma Narrows Bridge is a pair of twin suspension bridges that span the Tacoma Narrows strait of Puget Sound in Pierce County, Washington. The bridges connect the city of Tacoma with the Kitsap Peninsula and carry State Route 16 (know ...

Background

The North End of Tacoma has informal and formal boundaries. Informally, the generally accepted boundaries of the North End are 6th Avenue and Division Avenue to the south and

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...

to the north, west, and east. Although the independent city of Ruston is not legally a part of the city of Tacoma, most residents of Ruston self-identify as being from Tacoma. Formally, the city has designations for each of the eight neighborhoods which are represented by neighborhood councils. These designations are not generally known, but they are marked on city streets by special signs. For the North End, 6th Ave forms the boundary on the south and southeast to 4th St., Puget Sound which runs NE to North, 46th St. on the North to Huson, and back down to 6th on the South. While much of the West End and some the Central District (such as the Stadium District) are identified with the informal boundaries of the North End, the City of Tacoma identifies these area as separate for purposes of representation and planning. The main commercial areas are along Sixth Ave and in the Proctor District and Old Town. The Sixth Ave corridor, Old Town and the Proctor District, have a variety of independent restaurants and shops. Although the area has a traditional heritage of lower middle class residents such as fisherman and

ASARCO Asarco LLC (American Smelting and Refining Company) is a mining, smelting, and refining company based in Tucson, Arizona, which mines and processes primarily copper. The company has been a subsidiary of Grupo México since 1999. Its three la ...

plant workers (before it was demolished in 1993), the community has a small-town feel. Most north end residents still work in Tacoma as evidenced by commute time figures from the 2000 Census. The waterfront, specifically around Old Tacoma has undergone redevelopment in recent years. North Tacoma votes heavily Democratic on federal, state, and local areas, with all precincts giving sizable victories to

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he ...

in the 2004 Presidential election,

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

in 2008, and U.S. Senator

Patty Murray Patricia Lynn Murray (; born October 11, 1950) is an American politician and educator who is the senior United States senator from Washington since 1993. A member of the Democratic Party, Murray was in the Washington State Senate from 1988 to ...

in 2010.

Neighborhoods

* Buckley Addition * College Park National Historic District * North Slope * Old Tacoma * Proctor District * Prospect Hill * Ruston (independent town) *Ruston Way *

Skyline A skyline is the outline or shape viewed near the horizon. It can be created by a city’s overall structure, or by human intervention in a rural setting, or in nature that is formed where the sky meets buildings or the land. City skyline ...

* Stadium District * Yakima Hill

Parks

*Baltimore Park *Commencement Park *Cummings Park *Dickman Mill Park *Garfield Park *Hamilton Park *Jack Hyde Park *Jane Clark Playfield *Jefferson Park *Kandle Park *Les Davis Pier/Marine Park *North Slope Historic Park *Old Town Dock *Old Town Park *Optimist Park *

*Proctor Community Garden *Puget Gardens Park *Puget Park *Ruston Way Park * Titlow Park *Ursich Gulch *Vassault Playfield *War Memorial Park

Education

Public elementary schools

*Downing Elementary School *Grant Elementary School *Jefferson Elementary School *Lowell Elementary School *Point Defiance Elementary School *Sherman Elementary School *Skyline Elementary School *Washington-Hoyt Elementary School

Public middle schools

* Jason Lee Middle School *Mason Middle School * Truman Middle School

Public high schools

Silas High School Silas High School is a four-year public secondary school in Tacoma, Washington. It is one of five traditional high schools in the Tacoma Public Schools and is located at the intersection of Orchard Street and 11th Street. Silas' current principal i ...

Private schools

* Annie Wright School * Saint Patrick Catholic School

Universities

Other landmarks

* Blue Mouse Theatre *

Commencement Bay Commencement Bay is a bay of Puget Sound in the U.S. state of Washington. The city of Tacoma is located on the bay, with the Port of Tacoma occupying the southeastern end. A line drawn from Point Defiance in the southwest to Browns Point in ...

* Cushman Substation & Towers * Engine House No. 9 *

Fire Station 13 Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition point, flames are pr ...

Fort Nisqually Fort Nisqually was an important fur trading and farming post of the Hudson's Bay Company in the Puget Sound area, part of the Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia Department. It was located in what is now DuPont, Washington. Today it is a living h ...

* Old Woman's Gulch *

Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium (PDZA) is the only combined zoo and aquarium in the Pacific Northwest, located in Tacoma, Washington, US, owned by Metro Parks Tacoma. Situated on in Tacoma's Point Defiance Park, the zoo and aquarium are home to ...

Puget Creek Puget Creek is a small urban creek in the U.S. state of Washington, in the north end of Tacoma, It rises in Puget Park and flows north to Commencement Bay, part of Puget Sound.

* Washington School * College Park National Historic District North Tacoma, Washington Neighborhoods in Tacoma, Washington