The Tacoma station was a passenger
rail station 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, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...
, owned by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (the "
Milwaukee Road
The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMStP&P), better known as the Milwaukee Road , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States, Midwest and Pacific Northwest, Northwest of the United States from 1847 ...
"). It opened in 1954 and closed in 1961. It was the Milwaukee Road's final station in Tacoma, replacing a station formerly owned by the
Tacoma Eastern Railroad.
Design
The building was designed by K. E. Hornung of Chicago. The station interior was and included a ticket office, baggage room, restrooms, and a separate lounge for women. A noteworthy feature of the waiting room was a gold-toned mural of the Chicago skyline (the Milwaukee Road's headquarters were also in Chicago.) The
masonry
Masonry is the craft of building a structure with brick, stone, or similar material, including mortar plastering which are often laid in, bound, and pasted together by mortar (masonry), mortar. The term ''masonry'' can also refer to the buildin ...
construction incorporated a
Red Roman brick finish. The building's centerpiece was a tower topped by a large
stainless-steel sign bearing the name of the company. The waiting room itself featured full-height glass windows on two facings, overlooking the Milwaukee rail yards. The station cost the Milwaukee Road $150,000.
History
The Milwaukee Road had used the
Tacoma Eastern Railroad's former station since beginning service to Tacoma in 1909. That station was located at South 25th and A street, near the present location of the
South 25th Street Tacoma Link station and
Interstate 705.
The new station sat at East 11th and Milwaukee Way, near the Milwaukee Road's yard in the
Tideflats area and roughly from the old station.
The first train to use the station was a westbound ''
Columbian'', which arrived from
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
on April 20, 1954. The first train to depart was an eastbound ''
Olympian Hiawatha''.
Service ended with the discontinuation of the ''Olympian Hiawatha'' on May 22, 1961.
See also
*
Tacoma Union Station
References
External links
*{{commons category-inline, Milwaukee Road Tideflats station
Buildings and structures in Tacoma, Washington
Former Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad stations in Washington (state)
Railway stations in the United States opened in 1954
1954 establishments in Washington (state)
1961 disestablishments in Washington (state)
Transportation in Tacoma, Washington
Railway stations in the United States closed in 1961