Checkpoint: Tacoma
You have now made it to the city of Tacoma, Washington! Like a great deal of places in America,
Tacoma was originally inhabited by Native Americans, but became colonized by European settlers. Specifically to Tacoma, a Swedish man build a sawmill which was powered by
water on a creek connected to present-day Tacoma, and a small settlement was built around it. This was however abandoned in the mid 1850's. Later, in 1864, John Carr decided
to make this area the end of the Transcontinental Railroad, hoping to profit off of the selection, he would then sell most of his claim to a developer, who would name this project
Tacoma City, after the indigenous name of the nearby Mount Rainier. Tacoma would later become a large town for smelting and industrial work, which would struggle during the Great
Depression. Later, however, in the 1990's, efforts were underway to revitalize the city of Tacoma, including the creation of several museusms, and a light rail.
In addition to that, Tacoma has several historic landmarks. These include Engine House No. 9, a fire house built in 1907 which now houses a pub and microbrewery, Stadium High School,
which was used in the movie 10 Things I Hate About You, Fireboat No. 1, which was used for waterfront fire protection, water pollution control, and search and rescue missions.
This boat is one of only five fireboats which is designated as a National Historic Landmark. Tacoma is also home to the William Ross Rust House, they Murray Morgan Bridge, National Realty
Building, Tacoma Dome, as well as others (image courtesy of Broran28 / Public domain).
Tacoma also has some notable figures in pop culture. It has been the home of several professional sports players, being
NBA point guard Isaiah Thomas, and NFL cornerback Desmond Trufant (information courtesy of Wikipedia.com).
Outside of athletics, there have been several notable actors from Tacoma, including Cam Gigandet, Pamela Reed, and Blair Underwood (information courtesy of Wikipedia.com).
However, in the world of acting, the most notable name to come out of Tacoma is Bing Crosby. Crosby had prolific careers in both acting and singing. In regards to his film career, Crosby was know for
starring in seven Rode To musical comedies alongside Bob Hope. Although they were never an official duo, they starred together often and when performing solo, both would make fun of each other
in a comedically insulting way. He additionally won an Academy Award for Best Actor for 1944's Going My Way, and received nominations for the sequel, 1945's The Bells of St. Mary's, and for his part as
an alcoholic entertainer in The Country Girl. Regarding his career in music, Crosby is notable for songs such as "Out of Nowhere" and "At Your Command," and for influencing the likes of Frank Sinatra,
Elvis Presley, and John Lennon (information courtesy of Wikipedia.com).
On the topic of music, Tacoma is also the birthplace of Jerry Cantrell, who is most notable for being the guitar-player, co-singer, and songwriter for Alice in Chains. Throughout the bands career,
Cantrell wrote some of the band's most popular songs, including "Rooster," which was a tribute to Cantrell's father, and the tribute to Andrew Wood, titled "Would?" (information courtesy of Wikipedia.com,
image courtesy of Søren Fuglede Jørgensen, User:Pred / CC BY-SA).
To further explore Tacoma, click here
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