Object Record
Images
Additional Images [9]
Metadata
Object Name |
Pagoda |
Other Name |
Streetcar Station |
Collection |
Metro Parks Tacoma - Permanent Collection |
Date |
1914 |
Description |
The first streetcar station at Point Defiance Park was a small wooden shelter built shortly after the completion of the streetcar line in 1890. In the early days, most visitors to the park arrived by streetcar. Soon, the shelter could not accommodate the crowds. In 1914, the rustic shelter was replaced by a large two-story brick and concrete streetcar station, built by local architect Luther Twitchell. Twitchell based his design on recommendations from the 1911 Hare & Hare Master Plan for the park. The building features an Asian inspired roof with an Arts and Crafts styled main floor. The spacious facility housed the waiting room for streetcar riders as well as a modern first aid station and luxurious restrooms finished in marble. During the summer, restroom attendants handed out towels and kept everything spotless. After buses replaced streetcars in 1938, the station continued as the terminus for the routes that served Point Defiance Park. The official name of the building was the Point Defiance Park Unloading Station (and later Bus Station). Over time, community members began referring to the building as 'the Pagoda' and the name was officially changed in 1960. When bus service to Point Defiance Park ended in 1963, the Capital District of Washington State Federation of Garden Clubs remodeled the building for use by affiliate clubs for garden shows, demonstrations and meeting space. In 1980 Metro Parks Tacoma began operating the Pagoda as one of the city's premier rental venues. The Pagoda underwent a complete restoration in 2012 to repair damage from an arson fire. The Pagoda is on the National and State Registers of Historic Places, and on the City of Tacoma Historic Register. |
Location |
Point Defiance Park |
Object Number |
PDP-003 |
Web link |
Metro Parks Tacoma, Point Defiance Park, Pagoda |