BY MORF MORFORD for WEEKLY VOLCANO 4/3/26 |
Remember the term “It is what it is”?
If there is anything that is not what it is, it would be almost any of the historic homes in Tacoma.
Tacoma has more than its share of local history nerds, and for good reason.
All kinds of crazy things have happened here, and all kinds of interesting people have made their way through some of Tacoma’s historic homes and buildings.
From mayors to celebrities and everyone in between, historic houses and buildings in Tacoma have been used as hideouts, headquarters, movie studios, and places where writers, actors, criminals, and relatively normal people grew up, discovered their passions, encountered life challenges, and maybe even left a few marks on the place.
From Mark Twain to Elvis to various presidents and more than a few artists, like Dale Chihuly, and of course a few well-known organized crime figures who found Tacoma a welcoming place on the map of witness protection sites.
The first weekend in May is a tour of some of those buildings. This is the opportunity to see, up close, some of these magnificent homes.
These homes were built by some of the classic lumber barons, and a few others who made their fortunes in other, perhaps not always socially approved, ways.
These homes feature hand-carved trim and furnishings, as well as accessories from travels or work around the world.
Some homes have installed artwork. Some have stained glass windows. Some have tucked-away rooms with hidden passageways. One home on the tour recently had a built-in bowling alley. Another had a tunnel. Others have had safe rooms or fully curtained home stages. Some, during Prohibition, even hosted speakeasies.
Many cities have historic districts. Tacoma has historic homes all over the city.
It is easy to drive by without really noticing the historic homes of Tacoma. Almost every neighborhood has homes and other buildings, like churches and lodges, and other structures like the Pythian Temple, that have quietly, or sometimes brazenly, impacted Tacoma and beyond.
Some homes, for example, have features that were high-tech for their time. One home has a still-operational hydraulic elevator to bring firewood up to the living room fireplace.
Most of these homes were built before electricity or even indoor plumbing was an option.
A fair number of movie stars have had reason to spend time in Tacoma. From Orson Welles to Charlie Chaplin to Pamela Reed, and several others who would prefer to stay anonymous, Tacoma was the place, unlike Hollywood or New York, not to be seen, but to be unseen. Some of these celebrities found Tacoma to be the ideal place to live incognito.
If you join the tour of historic homes, you can see where these and many other peculiar characters of Tacoma once lived or visited.
The tour usually takes place in a walkable area with ample free street parking. Each year, six to eight buildings are on the roster.
Homes, churches, warehouses, performance spaces, and all manner of structures have been featured, each one with a story or two, or ten, to tell, or to keep to itself.
In 2026, the North Slope neighborhood will be the center of the tour. Eight buildings will be on the tour this year.
If you are on a budget, tickets are available for half price for those who volunteer to be a docent or guide to the homes.
I have been a docent for about five years.
Among the volunteer docents, you are likely to meet some of Tacoma’s most ardent history nerds.
One of Tacoma’s premier history observers, former mayor Bill Baarsma, has been a docent for twenty years. If you want to know secrets, arcane facts, and municipal minutiae about Tacoma, Bill is a primary source. Not only did he study Tacoma history, he lived much of it.
Tacoma’s historic homes have stories, layers of stories.
From bootleggers to movie stars to crime figures on the run, Tacoma’s homes have seen it all.
And you have the opportunity to walk those hallways, peer out those windows, or even be a part of Tacoma’s story.
A couple suggestions: Get there early. It can get busy and crowded. The best way to see those classic, one-of-a-kind homes is to do it slowly. Do not rush through.
When you see one of these houses up close, you learn how to see the neighborhood up close.
Those houses have seen a lot, more than a hundred years’ worth. They made it through. So can we.
Set aside the first weekend in May for a look at the houses and buildings you may have wandered by or wondered about for many years.
If you want to be a docent, contact the historical society, but do it soon. There will be a preparation and training session, or two, in mid-April.
If you do, you will meet interesting people, learn more about the history, destiny, and backstory of Tacoma, and of course get to see aspects of Tacoma not everyone gets to see.
And if you go, find me and say hello. I just might have an unofficial Tacoma story for you.
Click info box to get tickets online.
