by Philippe Cloutier

Last week LLOPSters were treated to an early documentary screening and talk with Jack Hamann. This nearly final version of the film focused on Tacoma Union Station, a monument of the Progressive Era that turns 100 years old this year. Union Station played an important role in Tacoma (and U.S.) history, connecting Washington to Minnesota and the East Coast, serving U.S. Presidents, transporting Hollywood and sports celebrities, dispatching soldiers off into two world wars, and sending Japanese-Americans to internment camps. However, once automobiles and interstates took hold, the station’s glory days quickly faded. The gild and shine of a once grand structure died a slow death until being shut down in the early 80s.

What must have been a complete 180 degree turn from the affluence and media sensation of the 1910-1930s came the drugs, poverty, and crime that consumed the Tacoma Union Station area in the later 20th century. Luckily, for the station and the area, new life was found – although it was not easy or simple to achieve. The Federal Government leased and renovated the old station that had become something of a death-trap and toilet since it’s disuse. Today the station functions as a public space and most notably as the U.S.  Western District of Washington’s Union Station Courthouse.

The improvements are remarkable, and Tacoma Union Station’s tale is fantastic. Once available, the final documentary will be worth seeing. And if you haven’t visited the Union Station Warehouse District yet (I haven’t), the film will show you what you’ve been missing.