Old City Hall Tacoma
The architectural beauty of the Old City Hall Tacoma building is a historic gem that offers a glimpse into the past. The building’s design includes many beautiful features, such as its Doric columns and pilasters. It also has gorgeous stained-glass windows and marble floors. There are even paintings on the walls from artists who have visited this site throughout history.
Old City Hall Tacoma is an architectural beauty with a historical setting. The building includes many beautiful features, such as its Doric columns and pilasters. It also has stained-glass windows and marble floors. There are even paintings on the walls from artists who have visited this site throughout history.
The design of the Old City Hall Tacoma building offers visitors to take in all that it has to offer throughout every season of the year because it is located downtown near central attractions like museums, restaurants, theaters, malls, parks, and more! Whether you want to spend your time watching street performers or taking part in one of our many festivals at nearby Freighthouse Square, there’s always something fun happening around here!
About the Old City Hall Tacoma
First opened in 1893, the Old City Hall Tacoma is one of the oldest continually operating courthouses west of the Mississippi River. Not only does it serve as an important reminder of our history, but it also provides a beautiful architectural addition along with its public library and art museum right on Pacific Avenue downtown. Its interior features hand-carved wooden paneling throughout, which includes intricate woodwork that depicts scenes from Tacoma legends like “The Sinking of The Frank O’Connor” shipwrecks; this was done by master carver Charles McCarty who worked for 20 years over two decades carving these panels so carefully you can hardly even see his brush strokes. This beauty holds about 70% more floor space than today’s courtrooms; not only was the building built with grandeur in mind, but it also served as a place to have community meetings and social events during its early years.
The building has been restored to its original grandeur while maintaining all of the charms that make it unique. In addition to tours showcasing this historic landmark’s architecture, there are also art exhibits for visitors to enjoy throughout the year. Renowned landscape architect John Charles Olmsted initially designed this incredible 16-acre park with towering trees for his brother Frederick Law Olmsted. The latter created New York’s Central Park as well as many other famous gardens around the country. Today you will find plenty of grassy areas where picnics can be enjoyed, along with multiple sculptures honoring some notable figures from Washington State history.
Best Time to Visit
Anytime during the day is a great time to visit Old City Hall and enjoy everything it offers! Families have plenty of activities, including walking tours, scavenger hunts, and self-guided audio tours with fun facts about Washington State’s history. Art exhibits feature local talent and traveling shows from around the country which change throughout the year, so there will always be something new and exciting here at this attraction in Tacoma, WA.
What Should To Bring?
Visitors are welcome to bring their food or drinks into Old City Hall Tacoma but leave any alcohol at home because it is not allowed on the premises. If you plan on getting your family here for an outdoor picnic, don’t forget bug spray and sunscreen during the warmer months! There isn’t much shade in some areas, so ensure everyone has adequate protection from harmful UV rays before heading out. Water bottles fit nicely inside backpacks, making them easy to transport without taking up lots of room that could be used for other things like snacks or souvenirs purchased throughout your visit.
Possible Challenges
There are no elevators inside Old City Hall Tacoma. Many areas have steep stairs leading up or down to other levels, which may not make this attraction accessible for those with limited mobility or who use crutches during their daily lives. Parents need to keep younger children away from railings for safety reasons because they could easily fall over if not properly supervised.
No matter what time of year it is, there are plenty of tours available here at Old City Hall Tacoma, so everyone can experience all that this place has to offer regardless of whether or not they have a valid driver license or if their physical ability allows them to climb stairs throughout the building. On days when the weather isn’t cooperating, visitors will still be able to enjoy art exhibits inside while staying safe and dry from rain showers and thunderstorms, which could roll in quickly, especially during springtime months.
Facts about the Old City Hall Tacoma
Old City Hall Tacoma is one of the most significant and best-preserved historic buildings in Tacoma, Washington. It was built with a combination of stone and brick masonry. The building is constructed on an old-fashioned red brick foundation. Today, this foundation has been described as massive, stable, and durable by many museum visitors and was completed in 1884 to provide office space for city government administrative needs such as courts, police departments, jail cells, etc. It served that purpose until 1969 when the new City Hall opened at its present location downtown near Union Station.
However, Old City Hall remained standing all those years after becoming vacant and closed off to public access without even essential maintenance done throughout time, thus allowing for deterioration and damage to occur. Old City Hall became a city landmark in 1979 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 for its architectural significance as an outstanding example of High Victorian Italianate style architecture, including such features as round-arched windows with contrasting limestone voussoirs and belt courses.
Activities in Old City Hall Tacoma
Even if you are not participating in an event at Old City Hall Tacoma, the historic building is worth visiting. The architecture of the building itself makes it well worth checking out, as many consider it to be one of Tacoma’s most beautiful buildings. In addition to its unique architectural design and exciting history, some fun activities can be done around this location, such as taking a tour or going on a scavenger hunt for kids!
Using all five floors within Old City Hall Tacoma allows visitors a great deal of flexibility when choosing their activities here since each floor offers something different from the others (available only by guided tour or special permission). An indoor climbing wall takes up almost half of one level, while another section is dedicated entirely to an artwork display with over 150 pieces just waiting to be admired.
The second floor of Old City Hall Tacoma has an exciting history behind it since its construction was made possible by tax money that was saved up through contributions from local citizens. Visitors can also take a peek at the former jail cells on this level which are now used for storage but still retain their original look and feel.
On the third floor, visitors will find another artwork display with over 50 pieces, along with numerous sculptures found throughout the room itself! While not every visitor is guaranteed to enjoy all of these artistic aspects of Old City Hall Tacoma, most people agree that they make visiting worthwhile due to how unique each piece of art is compared to others around town or even outside of Washington State altogether. There’s no denying that this building has quite the history, which is why it’s also fun to take a guided tour when visiting Old City Hall Tacoma for the first time.
The fourth floor of Old City Hall Tacoma is mainly used for meetings and other events, so most of this floor has a more modernized look, with chairs lining up along one side of the room. However, there are also some old-style meeting rooms located here so visitors can still get an idea about what it was like to meet in these parts before everything changed around!
On the fifth floor, visitors will find a beautiful view of the Puget Sound as well as Tacoma’s skyline. Here, one can truly appreciate just how much nature and city life exist together in this area, which makes it worth visiting for many tourists who are interested in learning more about local history aside from what they might have already read up on beforehand.
Taking advantage of all that Old City Hall Tacoma offers isn’t hard since most activities within its walls are free or relatively cheap, depending on your budget. For example, climbing costs money, but tours provide fun without requiring you to spend any extra cash at all, unlike many other things out there.
What to See in Old City Hall Tacoma?
The historic Old City Hall Tacoma building is the city’s crown jewel. Built-in 1893, this beautiful five-story red brick structure features a unique octagonal design with domed towers at each corner topped by elaborate spires. The clock tower has four faces, one on each side of the cutaway arches visible from all sides of downtown Tacoma. As part of an ongoing effort to preserve and reuse our built environment, old City Hall also houses offices for small businesses and non-profits and numerous arts organizations within its walls, including Studio East Mainstage Theatre Company.
Another place of interest at old City Hall Tacoma is Courtroom No. One has been beautifully restored and preserved as a historical site where visitors can experience what it was like for those who were called into court during that era. Each room within this building displays its unique character reflecting the tastes and styles popular when completed more than 100 years ago with details including ornate woodwork, paintings on silk, stenciling by hand, and imported tiles inlaid onto the floors just outside each courtroom door. Visitors will also enjoy seeing beautiful murals painted on glass panels lining both sides of an entire hallway depicting scenes such as farmers gathering wheat, lumbermen working in the woods, and children playing games.
Other places of interest within old City Hall Tacoma include a dining room where visitors can enjoy lunch or dinner with breathtaking views overlooking Commencement Bay; the mayor’s office decorated with hand-made rugs from Afghanistan and jade carvings from China; courtrooms that are still used for judicial proceedings when needed; jail cells complete with iron bars on windows dating back to 1904; magnificent stained glass panels depicting each signer of both the Declaration of Independence and Constitution framed by ornate brass light fixtures imported from Italy in 1880 (the same year Old City Hall was completed); murals painted by world-famous artists including Diego Rivera, Mary Cassatt and Edwin Austin Abbey; and a beautiful Beaux Arts-style dome with a beautiful marble floor surrounded by eight massive columns.
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