About Tacoma's Stadium District

I was at Tacoma General the other day to see my sister in law Kathy. Another cancer operation. My brother Terry looked tired. He was hungry and wanted to get something from his car. He needed a brake so we went for a walk. On the campus is Mary Bridge Children's Hospital.

It was a gray afternoon with a little rain but the sun was peaking through the clouds. There's a wonderful little garden courtyard area and everything was in bloom. This is where I met the shrubbery cats and other creatures...

Going to the hospital is rarely ever fun. The only exception I can think of at the moment is coming to see a newborn and mom when you know everything is okay. As we walked through the garden area I noticed my mood shift and I had to acknowledge the power that brought a smile to my face. 

We count our blessings. Life is such a succession of fleeting moments and we really never know what the next one will bring. I find it ironic I'm trying to remember something from the past, especially when life seemed to be standing still for just a minute.

Thank you my funny little shrubs. You were a good distraction. You helped me to stop for a moment and contemplate the miracle.

The Blackberry Chronicles
ARFCO Media ©2011

There are some pretty cool (and fun) tools to explore neighborhoods. Regardless if you plan to move there and buy, or rent, or maybe you’re just curious about what’s there. In part one, we’ll look at a couple of sites from my toolbox that I find invaluable for quick research and use all the time to get info about the character and amenities of a neighborhood I’m looking at.

I chose Stadium High School in Tacoma, Washington as my target. I don’t think it’s for sale and you can’t live there. But you just never know, Queen Anne High in Seattle was sold and converted to a condominium! Anyway, I didn’t want to cause anyone, including myself, any grief by choosing someone’s home address as a target, so we’ll use the school address to get us into the neighborhood for this particular experiment.

Stadium High School: 111 North E Street Tacoma, WA 98403-2630 (Google Maps)…

One of my favorites is walkscore.com. With this nifty little app you can simply input an address to find what amenities are in the neighborhood. They’re plotted out on a map and the site gives you a score determined on the number of retail stores, schools, libraries, restaurants, etc. that are within walking distance. When I look at homes for sale online, this is a great way to explore what’s close by.

If you want to live in a neighborhood where you can walk to the grocery store, grab a bite to eat, get a haircut, a good cup of coffee, or a local beer without driving, look here. Walkscore.com like any app of this type isn’t 100% accurate. It’s simply not possible. There’s too much frequently changing data to keep up with. Depending on the area, you’ll also find the quality of statistics can vary from neighborhood to neighborhood, but the metro areas, especially in-city work best. The Stadium District is ideal for this study.

If you’re curious about a place that shows up on the Walkscore map and you’d like to know more about it, for example there’s a little bar in the Stadium District named the Parkway Tavern, check it out on Yelp.com. Yelp is an online business directory written by the people for the people. If you want to know what the regular folk who’ve been there think, this is the place.

Another key factor about neighborhood value is the rental rates. You may want to move into the neighborhood of your desire and rent first so you can study it for a while to find your perfect location within. I like Zilpy.com for this. Click the link then add property type and number of bedrooms. Remember when you use online search, less is more. Don’t filter too much so you can see what’s there. You can always go back to refine your search parameters.

Hotpads.com is similar. Here you can search for rentals, sales, foreclosures, and compare rent to purchase price values. Taking the same neighborhood, here’s Stadium rentals and Stadium for sale.

These are just a few tools, a few favorites. I think with a little experimentation you’ll find you can learn a lot about the neighborhood you want to live in and hopefully this kind of research will help you articulate the questions you'll want to ask the prospective real estate professional you choose to represent you.

Happy Hunting...

René

Originally posted on 2/17/2010 on: classichomesnorthwest.com

René is well known throughout the Pacific Northwest for his innovative marketing programs. He is a sought after speaker and motivator respected for his knowledge, keen interest, and insightful approach to contemporary marketing ideas and technologies. His obvious passion for the subject is contagious. René frequently gives workshops, lectures, and consults businesses large and small on Social Media Marketing and Web Presence Development.

I am lucky to live next to Wright Park in Tacoma. A beautiful 27 acre park in the middle of the city. One of the things I have noticed is that I was not taking advantage of the park both as a great place to walk and get some exercise and as a place of beauty. Seems I take for granted things around me if I am not careful.

I started this project the first of October with the stated goal of taking a photo a day of the Seymour Conservatory. Now, I cannot be there at the same time everyday so the photos will have diferences because of the time of day but that should not matter too much. Also, I am taking the photos from the same spot but I am not using a tripod or anything else so the photos will be a bit different daily too.

What is exciting is that while walking around Wright Park to get to the conservatory I have been saying hello to a lot of people and I am finding that there are some really friendly people here in Tacoma!

Everyone are you taking for granted some wonderful treasure in your community? Perhaps you need to get out more and smell the coffee of your community! I know I've been enjoying the fruits of my efforts.

If you would like to see the photos you can visit my site by following the link here. I update the photos every day or so. I do take them everyday I just don't always get them uploaded to the site.

I live and work in Tacoma Washington. The little brother of Seattle Washington the self appointed coffee capital of the world. I love coffee. I drink it all of the time. I worked for seven years for a major Seattle coffee company and had access to more coffee than one could drink in a lifetime. Trust me I tried, oh I tried but the beans just kept coming.

When I moved back to Tacoma six years ago I left my job in Seattle and along with that I left my loyalty to the coffees from Seattle. Recently I was rewarded with the best coffee I have ever had. It was right here in Tacoma within TWO MINUTES of my home. Right under my nose is Satellite Coffee Co. Above Supernova Hair & Tattoo. This small shop serves the BEST coffee I have ever had.

The barista took her time. It looked like she rejected more than 50% of the shots she pulled which slows down the service but oh the results let me tell you.... amazing. Satellite Coffee serves Stumptown Coffee and from what I can gather Stumptown is one of the pickiest roasters and wholesalers of coffee going. This article provides some insight on the Stumptown experience.

If you like coffee you will LOVE Satellite Coffee. Drop by and try your favorite coffee drink. You can find them at 817 Division Ave in Tacoma's Stadium district. Hours are 6:30am to 9:00pm Mon-Fri and 7:00am to 9:00pm Sat & Sun. They have free WiFi too!

Truly they serve heaven in a cup!

Best,

Scott Cowan

In 2006 Stadium High School in Tacoma held their 100 year anniversary reunion. Almost 3,300 people attended the reunion setting a world record for the number of people to attend a school reunion. This record will be included in the upcoming 2009 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records.

Here is a link to a blog that celebrates the 100 year history of Stadium High School.

Here is another link. This is the Celebrate Stadium website.

The castle as it is often called was originally intended to be a hotel for the Northern Pacific Railroad. Due to a downturn in the economy the shell of the building was abandoned. There was a fire of questionable origin and the Northern Pacific decided that enough was enough. The Tacoma school board was consulted and Frederic Heath was commissioned to turn the hotel into Tacoma's newest high school. Completed at a cost of almost $500,000.00 Stadium doors opened to students in 1906. At that time the school was called Tacoma High School. The name was changed in 1913 to Stadium in honor of the high schools new bowl.

The bowl has been the site for many sporting events in Tacoma throughout the past 98 years. Babe Ruth played in an exhibition game here. Louis Armstrong performed in the bowl. Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson and Warren Harding spoke in the Bowl. There was even a reenactment of the burning of Rome! On the Fourth of July thousands would gather in the bowl to watch the fireworks display over Commencement Bay. Every Thanksgiving Stadium would play cross-town rivals Lincoln High School in the bowl.

Many of you have seen Stadium High in the movie 10 Things I Hate About You. The building provides a wonderful backdrop for the movie.

Here's a tip of the hat to Stadium as it will now be remembered in the Guinness Book of Records.

If you would like more information on the history of Stadium High School I have some links on my website that you can use to learn more.

Contact Scott Cowan Realtor®, Rainier Real Estate, Inc. Puyallup, WA 98371 at 253-219-1194 to purchase or sell homes or property in Tacoma, Puyallup, and the greater Puget Sound region.

Visit my profile for more information on my services. Call today 253-219-1194. You can contact me via email by using the email link on my profile.

I know the Tacoma Pierce County area and will help you buy a home or sell your home if you need to sell. Call today or visit my website for more information.