Winters, Spaceworks Tacoma earn historic preservation awards

May 6, 2014 2:59 pm
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Metro Parks Tacoma and the City of Tacoma earned the Stewardship in Historic Preservation Award for their work to rehabilitate 141-year-old Old Town Dock. (PHOTO COURTESY METRO PARKS TACOMA)
Metro Parks Tacoma and the City of Tacoma earned the Stewardship in Historic Preservation Award for their work to rehabilitate 141-year-old Old Town Dock. (PHOTO COURTESY METRO PARKS TACOMA)

The City of Tacoma’s Landmarks Preservation Commission has named this year’s recipients of awards for outstanding achievement in historic preservation.

The awards will be presented by the Landmarks Preservation Commission and Historic Tacoma during a reception and ceremony on Thurs., May 8, at 6 p.m., at the B Sharp Coffee House, located at 706 Opera Alley, in downtown Tacoma. The event is free and open to the public.

The awards ceremony is just one of several events planned in May in honor of national historic preservation month. Locals interested in celebrating historic preservation this month in Tacoma can learn more online here.

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To read the Tacoma Daily Index’s complete and comprehensive coverage of the annual Tacoma Landmarks Preservation Commission Historic Preservation Awards, click on the following links:

University of Washington Tacoma earned the Stewardship in Historic Preservation Award for its work to adaptively re-use the 122-year-old, three-story, 47,000-square-foot Russell T. Joy Building by creating classrooms and retail space along Pacific Avenue in downtown Tacoma. The building opened in spring 2011, and was soon awarded Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification — the highest possible, most rigorous certification in the LEED system — by the Green Building Certification Institute.

According to City of Tacoma staff, the building was named for local realtor and developer Russell T. Joy, who hired prominent architects Pickles & Sutton to design a “flatiron” building with eight storefronts. Newspaper accounts of the day reported the building was nearly fireproof, yet firemen from four stations battled a 1903 fire that destroyed much of the wood interior. Over the years, the building has housed a glove manufacturer, seed store, coffee company, machinery distributor, logging supplier, and automobile dealerships.

“This reconstruction has carried forth a tradition of entrepreneurship while giving new life and purpose to a valuable Tacoma landmark,” wrote Tacoma’s Landmarks Preservation Commission in announcing the award.

University of Washington Tacoma earned the Stewardship in Historic Preservation Award for its work to adaptively re-use the 122-year-old, three-story, 47,000-square-foot Russell T. Joy Building. (PHOTO COURTESY THA ARCHITECTURE)
University of Washington Tacoma earned the Stewardship in Historic Preservation Award for its work to adaptively re-use the 122-year-old, three-story, 47,000-square-foot Russell T. Joy Building. (PHOTO COURTESY THA ARCHITECTURE)

To read the Tacoma Daily Index‘s complete and comprehensive coverage of the University of Washington Tacoma’s Russell T. Joy Building renovation, click on the following links:

Spaceworks Tacoma, a joint initiative launched in 2010 by the City of Tacoma and the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber, earned the Downtown Revitalization Award for its work to activate empty storefronts and vacant spaces with art and creative enterprise. “Spaceworks Tacoma has helped revitalize downtown partly by incorporating the use of historic buildings as part of their efforts,” wrote Tacoma’s Landmarks Preservation Commission in announcing the award.

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To read the Tacoma Daily Index‘s complete and comprehensive coverage of Spaceworks Tacoma, click on the following links:

Sharon Winters earned the Leadership in Historic Preservation Award for her work dating back to 1999, when she joined Tacoma’s Landmarks Preservation Commission. In 2005, as chair of the commission, she oversaw the first major overhaul of historic preservation codes in 25 years.

Following her commission service, Winters founded Historic Tacoma and served on the non-profit’s board of directors through the end of last year. During her tenure at Historic Tacoma, Winters was a significant voice for preservation matters, policy, and partnerships. Most notably, she championed Tacoma Public Schools’ plan to place several school buildings on Tacoma’s Register of Historic Places.

“Winters’ influence on Tacoma’s architectural history will endure for years to come,” wrote Tacoma’s Landmarks Preservation Commission in announcing the award.

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To read the Tacoma Daily Index‘s complete and comprehensive coverage of Tacoma historic preservationist Sharon Winters, click on the following links:

Metro Parks Tacoma and the City of Tacoma earned the Stewardship in Historic Preservation Award for their work to rehabilitate 141-year-old Old Town Dock, which served the Tacoma shipping industry until operations moved to the tide flats. In recent years, Old Town Dock, located at 2123 Schuster Parkway and stretching out toward Commencement Bay, has been a hub for a range of recreational activities. It was closed to the public in the summer of 2008 for a variety of safety reasons, including a deteriorating deck and structural deficiencies.

Old Town Dock reopened in May of 2013 following a $2.3 million renovation. Visitors can now enjoy views from the new benches, improved lighting, and two new slips that can moor vessels up to 40 feet and 60 feet, as well as low, free-board floats extending off the main dock to accommodate kayakers. In addition, the new dock grating increases light penetration beneath and around the dock by 30 percent to better serve the salmon population nearby. A project is currently under way to install two public restrooms, sidewalk and crosswalk improvements, a rain garden, native plant landscaping and irrigation, and public art. Construction is scheduled to be completed this summer. “The renovation allowed the dock to reopen, providing new life to a structure of great historical significance,” wrote Tacoma’s Landmarks Preservation Commission in announcing the award.

Metro Parks Tacoma and the City of Tacoma earned the Stewardship in Historic Preservation Award for their work to rehabilitate 141-year-old Old Town Dock. (PHOTO COURTESY METRO PARKS TACOMA)
Metro Parks Tacoma and the City of Tacoma earned the Stewardship in Historic Preservation Award for their work to rehabilitate 141-year-old Old Town Dock. (PHOTO COURTESY METRO PARKS TACOMA)

To read the Tacoma Daily Index‘s complete and comprehensive coverage of Tacoma’s Old Town Dock, click on the following links:

A partial list of past award recipients includes Tacoma Public Schools (2011 and 2006), Bill Baarsma (2010), University Union Club (2010), Urban Grace Church (2010), Roger Johnson (2010), Park Universalist Church (2009), St. Luke’s Memorial Church (2009), Frisko Freeze (2009), Blue Mouse Theatre (2009), Johnson-Gehri Residence (2009), Historic Tacoma (2009 and 2008), Caroline T. Swope and David Waring (2008), Metro Parks Tacoma (2008), Chinese Reconciliation Park (2008), Save Our Bridge Organization (2008 and 2005), David and Josephine Root (2008), Todd and Paula Bond (2008), Michael Sullivan (2006), Gary E. Milgard Family Foundation and BOE Architects / Teamsters/Chauffer’s Hall (2006), Geoff Corso and Marshall McClintock / Rhodes House (2006), Emery Chang / First Swedish Baptist Church (2006), Bob’s Java Jive (2005), Cooper House (2005), Larsen House (2005), Fern Hill Elementary School and Friends (2005), Seymour Conservatory and Wright Park Master Plan (2005), and Anne deMille-Flood (2005).

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