The name Tacoma stems from the Indian name for Mt Rainier, "Tacobet," meaning Mother of the waters.
On May 3, 1792, Captain George Vancouver named Mt. Rainier for his friend Rear Admiral Peter Rainier, who, incidentally, never saw the mountain.
The last major eruption of Mt. Rainier occurred about 150 years ago.
On August 11, 1890, Fay Fuller, a Tacoma school teacher, became the first woman to climb Mt. Rainier.
Tacoma was founded in 1865 by pioneer Job Carr, who staked the first claim in what is now the "Old Town" neighborhood of the city.
"City of Destiny" became Tacoma's moniker when it was designated – instead of Seattle – as the Northern Pacific Railroad's western terminus for its transcontinental route in 1873.
Location:
Pierce County encompasses 1,790 square miles and stretches from lower Puget Sound to Mt. Rainier National Park
The altitude ranges from sea level to 440 feet in the metropolitan area and 14,411 feet at the summit of Mount Rainier.
Despite the Pacific Northwest's rainy reputation, the average annual rainfall is just 39.9 inches [less than New York], 75 percent of which falls October through March. The driest month is usually July and the wettest month is December.
People:
Dale Chihuly, world-renowned glass artist, is a native of Tacoma.
Bing Crosby [Harry Lillis Crosby] was born May 3, 1903, in a house that his father built at 1112 North J Street, Tacoma. Bing's family moved to Spokane in 1906.
Musicians Robert Cray and Steve Miller are from the city of Tacoma.
The Wailers, a rock band, was formed in Tacoma in 1959. They hit the national Top 10 with their first release, the instrumental "Tall Cool One."
Gary Larson, the noted cartoonist of the "Far Side," is a native of University Place [near Tacoma].
Teddy Roosevelt stayed at what is now Thornewood Castle Bed & Breakfast.
ABC's "Dirty Sexy Money" star Blair Underwood, was born in Tacoma. Underwood was voted one of People Magazines "50 Most Beautiful People" in 2000 and was one of TV Guide's most influential faces of the 90s.
Academy award nominee, Dyan Cannon, was born in Tacoma. Cannon had a role in the sitcom "Ally McBeal" and is known for her marriage to one of Hollywood's favorite leading men, Garry Grant [1904-1986]
The Ventures are an American instrumental rock band formed in 1958 in Tacoma. The band has had an enduring impact on the development of music worldwide, having sold over 100 million records. In 2008, the Ventures were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Sweet treats:
Irvine Robbins, co-founder of the Baskin-Robbins chain of ice cream stores, got his start in Tacoma in 1927, selling ice cream and cottage cheese produced from his father's cows' surplus milk.
Almond Roca, a Northwest favorite since 1912 began right here in Tacoma [and is still made in Tacoma]. The crunchy, log-shaped candy is wrapped in gold foil and has become famous around the world as the "candy that travels."
The MARS Bar [also known as the MILKY WAY Bar] was created in 1911 when Frank + Ethel Mars began making and selling a variety of butter-cream candies from the kitchen of their Tacoma home. Nine years later they produced a version of chocolate malted milk that became the candy bar that is known today and loved by millions!
Places:
Tacoma is the largest city in Pierce County with a current population of 201,700 and the third largest city in the state of Washington [as of 2008].
Puyallup is the second largest city in Pierce County with a population of 35,861.
Steilacoom, was the first incorporated city in Washington territory in 1854. Steilacoom also gave Washington its first Protestant church [1853], first library [1858], and first jail [1858].
Movies Filmed in Pierce County:
Rose Red, Enough, Preston Tylk, Get Carter, Prefountaine, 10 Things I Hate About You, Countdown, Born to be Wild, The Hand that Rocks the Cradle, I Love You to Death, Waiting for the Light, Come See the Paradise, Chips the War Dog, Three Fugitives.
Unique Structures + Facilities:
The Tacoma Dome is the largest wood-domed arena in the world, using 1.6 million board feet.
The Tacoma Dome requires 265,000 square feet of roofing, enough to cover 140 average homes.
The roof of the Tacoma Dome is comprised of 288 triangular wood sections, each weighing 5,000 pounds. That means the Dome roof totals more than 1,444,000 pounds!
Dale Chihuly's stunning glass chandelier, "End of the Day," hangs in the rotunda of the Union Station [free & open to the public]; it has 600 pieces and weighs 2,000 lbs!
Tacoma lumber company Fred Tebb & Sons has supplied the Pacific Northwest-grown spruce to piano-maker Steinway & Sons since the early 1920s.
The Tacoma Narrows Bridge – now with a second, parallel span – is the fifth longest suspension bridge in the world.
Tacoma's 700-acre Point Defiance Park is among the 20 largest urban parks in the nation.
Stadium High School, known as "The Castle," was originally built as a luxury hotel by Northern Pacific Railroad. The Depression of 1893 halted construction just before completion, and a major fire left only the brick exterior. Architect Frederick Heath adapted the original plans to transform it into a high school, which opened in 1906 and is still in use today. Dale Chihuly graduated from Stadium High School.
The Port of Tacoma is the sixth largest container-handling port in North America, covering more than 2,400 acres, and ranks in the top 25 for worldwide container trade. The Port services more than 15 steamship lines, two transcontinental railroads, 200 inter-and intrastate trucking lines and 20 air freight forwarders.
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