Tacoma Public Library's Northwest Room

Despite all of the new apartment buildings and condos that have begun dotting the Tacoma landscape, there are still plenty of homes in the area that have long histories. From our origins as the City of Destiny over 100 years ago, up through the 20th Century, and to today, Tacoma has largely held on to its past. For those who are just curious about the backstories of buildings in Tacoma, or those who want to look into their own home's history, the Northwest Room is an invaluable resource.

Located on the second floor of Downtown Tacoma’s Main Library, the Northwest Room offers a wealth of archives covering, among other things, storied buildings in the area – microfiche, handwritten accounts, newspaper clippings, preserved photographs, original maps, and much more. Tacoma resident Cheri Rae first bought a house in 1982, and has since looked into the history of that home, as well as two others, through the deep dive of the Northwest Room.

“The second house that I bought was over in the Mason district, on N. 28th and Mason,” says Rae. “It was a little bungalow, constructed in 1924. I went to the Northwest Room and found the coolest thing: it had been a woman contractor that built the home. It was so cool! I think this woman had oriented it, knowing that it would get morning sun and afternoon light. It was so well-crafted. She had built a series of homes in that neighborhood, and was in the design team for the Blue Mouse Theater and the Wheelock Library. I just love knowing that!”

Rae also discovered that her first house had been built as part of a post-war effort to quickly create homes for returning soldiers, and though it was modest, it was built entirely with locally-sourced lumber that had stood the test of time. More than just finding out neat facts about your home, the Northwest Room has the ability to provide some very important information that might otherwise be lost to the sands of time.

“It was originally built as a single-family home,” says Rae about her third house. “It was converted into a duplex in 1938, boarding up the interior to create two spaces. When I acquired it, we tore off one wall, and it connected the two dwellings. Through the Northwest Room, I found out that it was built on two lots, so we didn't have to subdivide. The house was contained on one lot, and the other one was a free-standing lot, so I found out in my research that I could actually sell that. It was fortuitous, and really helpful, in a time when the real estate market was very volatile and I was going through a major life change.”

In a lot of ways, researching your home is akin to those genealogy tests that have risen in popularity: at the very least, looking into these origins will provide some fascination and fun bits of trivia, but at its best, you can learn something that completely reframes your living situation. The Northwest Room is a terrific well of information to get you started on a road to discovery!