Object Record
Images
Metadata
Object Name |
Boathouse |
Other Name |
1921 Boathouse |
Collection |
Metro Parks Tacoma - Permanent Collection |
Date |
1921 |
Description |
One of the many draws of Point Defiance Park is the water access, whether via beach or marina. The first boathouse pavilion was built along the water in 1903, nearby the present marina location. The need for greater water access spurred the development of a second, larger boathouse in the 1920s. Architects Ambrose J. Russell and Earl N. Dugan first presented the plans for the structure in 1919, and the work was undertaken by the Hurley-Mason company soon after. The project was designed to be completed in stages, and the first floor was opened in 1921 with great ceremony. Even before the second and third floors were added, the concrete boathouse and terrace were in use, hosting musical events and other entertainments. The completed three-story building housed a restaurant and other amenities when it first opened in 1925, and became the home of the first Point Defiance aquarium in 1936. (The aquarium was moved to its current location in the 1960s). After nearly six decades of use, the boathouse burned down in 1974 leaving only the concrete ground floor intact. Fire destroyed several other buildings in the boathouse complex over the next several years, but the community rebuilt and by the 1990s an active Marina complete with bait shop and restaurant filled the space. Today, the original concrete boathouse is still in use as a storage locker for small watercraft and fishing equipment. |
Location |
Point Defiance Park |
Object Number |
PDP-017 |
Web link |
Metro Parks Tacoma, Point Defiance Marina |