A Look Inside Tacoma’s Eccentric Casablanca Apartments
As the Tacoma landscape rapidly changes, it's heartening to know that there are some places that have retained their unique charm and irreplaceable architecture. One of the most fascinating buildings in Tacoma – both for its history and its awe-inspiring design – is the Casablanca Apartments in the Stadium District. Originally built in 1890, what were then known as the Lincoln Apartments were purchased by eccentric millionaire Ray Gamble and subsequently remodeled in 1944.
To look at the Casablanca from the outside is to see a fairly standard, though livingly built brick complex. Its modest facade hides a gorgeous, alluringly mysterious interior, though, with labyrinthine corridors decorated with a jaw-dropping array of exotic tiles and artwork that Gamble had collected over the course of his worldly travels. Gamble, an inventor and magic-enthusiast, was a fan of illusion and spectacle – and, to walk the winding halls and stairwells of the Casablanca, it shows.
We recently were granted a tour of the Casablanca by a resident, and were immediately taken with its eccentricities. No one entrance will allow you access to every part of the building, columns of punchy neon lights greet you around corners (though the chance they'll be lit, these days, is hit and miss), and of course, there's that abundance of globe-trotting tiles.
There's no rhyme or reason to the style and flow of the tiles, with the exception of clusters of tiles representing animals like elephants, peacocks, and various other birds. Geographically, the tiles represent the art and histories of regions from all over the world, including Latin America, Morocco, Egypt, Japan, and all parts of old-world Europe. Other treasures that line the walls include embossed ceramic ships, gilded flowers, and several depictions of the Billiken – a charm doll created in the early 20th century, who's also known as “The God of Things As They Ought to Be.” Every square inch of the Casablanca is filled with interesting diversions, a hodgepodge of cultures, a dizzyingly colorful exploration of dada architecture that's been frozen in amber and preserved for the 21st century. The cavernous basement, in particular, is a gorgeously moody excursion.
All of this fascination to be found –
and not even in a gallery! No, the Casablanca Apartments remain functional
housing, and though tenants tend to stay there as long as they can, it is
possible to move in and become a part of this living Tacoma history (as we left
our tour, some college-aged folks were coming in to take a look at a unit). As
one might expect, the owners of the Casablanca are loathe to let strangers roam
the halls, so unless you have a friend who lives there, your only hope of
seeing this beautifully nutty building in the flesh is to hope that a room
opens up soon. For sight-seeing purposes alone, the Casablanca Apartments are a
wild time capsule!
