TACOMA, WA – C-SPAN production crews visited Tacoma, Washington early this summer to capture stories for its national Cities Tour project. This weekend, with the help of Comcast partners, C-SPAN’s Book TV and American History TV will air a series of segments that explore Tacoma’s literary culture and rich history. You can watch and learn about Tacoma while also sharing with friends and family across the country.
Show times and channels are listed below, followed by program details:
BOOK TV Tacoma: SATURDAY, August 5th at 9:00 AM Pacific time, 12:00 PM Eastern time, on C-SPAN2, or Comcast channel 25
AMERICAN HISTORY TV Tacoma: SUNDAY, August 6th at 11:00 AM Pacific time, 2:00 PM Eastern time, on C-SPAN3, or Comcast channel 150
BOOK TV (on C-SPAN2) – Saturday, August 5 at 9:00 AM
Among our programs Saturday on Book TV (C-SPAN2 or Comcast channel 25), we’ll interview Tacoma’s first African-American Mayor, Harold Moss. In his book, Fighting for Dreams that Mattered, Moss recounts his role as a politician and the important part that he played in the civil rights movement in the Pacific Northwest. Also featured is author of God in Captivity, Tanya Erzen. She’ll share the history of faith-based programs in prisons and the role religion plays in the U.S. prison system. See all this and more (listed below) as we highlight the literary culture of Tacoma:
– Russell Holter, Rails to Paradise: The History of the Tacoma Eastern Railroad 1890 -1919
– Leon Grunberg and Sarah Moore, Emerging from Turbulence: Boeing and Stories of the American Workplace Today
– Marian Harris, Racial Disproportionality in Child Welfare
– Justin Wadland, Trying Home: The Rise and Fall of an Anarchist Utopia on Puget Sound”
– Katherine Baird, Trapped in Mediocrity: Why Our Schools Aren’t World-Class and What We Can Do About It
– American History TV (on C-SPAN3) – Sunday, August 6 at 11:00 AM
On Sunday, all of our history programming from the city will air on American History TV (C-SPAN3 or Comcast channel 150). We’ll visit the Great Hall of Washington History at the Washington State History Museum and find out how the museum reflects the area’s legends; learn about Women’s Suffrage in Washington too – the 100th anniversary is coming up! We will travel to the Tacoma Narrows Bridge with historian Michael Sullivan to hear about its collapse into the Puget Sound on Nov. 7, 1940. The bridge was considered the third-longest suspension bridge in the world. Today, the story of the 1940 collapse is used as a case study for civil engineers and the study of bridge design. Also featured is University of Puget Sound Professor Andrew Gomez who shares the story of Tacoma’s Chinese Expulsion. Known as the “Tacoma Method,” the city’s Chinese population were driven out of the area in 1885. Today, the Tacoma Chinese Reconciliation Park represents the city’s acknowledgment of the Chinese expulsion and serves as a reminder of the city’s multicultural past, present and future.
– Northern Pacific Railroad – Michael Sullivan, Historian
– Suffragist Emma Smith DeVoe – Susan Roher, Washington State History Museum
– Chief Leschi & Medicine Creek Treaty – Cynthia Iyall, Nisqually Indian Tribe-descendant of Chief Leschi
– Great Hall of Washington History – Gwen Whiting, Washington State History Museum
In addition to the programming listed above, visit the Hot Shop! – located inside the Museum of Glass – watch the art of making glass using our 360 video here:, or see the main 360 page here: https://www.youtube.com/user/CSPAN/playlists
Each segment will be available to view after it airs, you can see it all at our special Tacoma city page! In addition, all video segments will be available indefinitely in our C-SPAN Video Library.
For more information about the C-SPAN Cities Tour and programming, visit www.c-span.org/citiestour
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About The Washington State Historical Society
The Washington State Historical Society partners with our communities to explore how history connects us all.
Address: 1911 Pacific Avenue, Tacoma, WA 98402
Hours: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM Tuesday through Sunday. On the Third Thursday of each month, 10:00 AM – 8:00 PM.
Admission: Free for members; $12 for adults, $8 for seniors, students and military veterans with ID, free for children under 5. Patrons with a Washington Quest card can attend for $1 per person or $2 per family. Admission is free after 2:00 PM on the Third Thursday of each month when the museum stays open until 8:00 PM.
Washington State Historical Society’s most visible activity, the Washington State History Museum (WSHM) is located in Tacoma’s downtown core along Pacific Avenue among a thriving cultural scene. WSHM is one of six downtown museums, and is walking distance to Tacoma Art Museum, the Museum of Glass, and Children’s Museum of Tacoma. WSHM is also within blocks of the recently renovated Marriott Courtyard and boutique Hotel Murano.
– Washington State Historical Society
