t-town

Hundred-year-old dust

We visited the demolition of the Luzon this morning. While we watched, I told Viola about Burnham and Root, Chicago, the World's Columbian Exposition, historic preservation, and a certain jerk named Eric Anderson.

For all the sadness, the demolition was pretty cool. There were some protesters early in the morning, but the crowd was mostly silent and sign-less when we were there.

And I finally had an excuse to take a picture of a Tacoma legend, that guy with the fancy bike and legwarmers (and, as Joe added, "ripped calves").

Still time for a last-minute save?

It seems like it's for real this time -- the Luzon building in downtown Tacoma is going to be torn down on Saturday. It makes me feel like I've been punched in the stomach, not so much because the building is so beautiful, but because it is such an important piece of Tacoma's history. The Luzon was designed by the Chicago architects Burnham and Root, who are among the fathers of the modern skyscraper. From www.historictacoma.net:

The Luzon was a transition building for the firm because it incorporated a relatively light steel framework along with traditional masonry construction. ... The property is listed on the local, state and national registers of historic places and is one of Tacoma’s foremost architectural treasures.

No time to upload photos (I'm on my lunch break), but do check them out here .

The Telephone Room

If you're in T-Town tomorrow night, stop by the opening of the new Telephone Room gallery. I'm part of its inaugural exhibition.

"The Telephone Room is the world's second-smallest (hello Tollbooth!) art gallery at 12 ½ square feet. It is located in a Dutch Colonial home (3710 N 7th Street, Tacoma - between Union and Proctor) in Tacoma and since 1930, its sole purpose has been to house a black rotary dial telephone. Until now...