Tacoma

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Tacoma

(təkō`mə), city (1990 pop. 176,664), seat of Pierce co., W Wash., on Commencement Bay and Puget Sound at the mouth of the Puyallup River; inc. 1884. It is a major seaport and railroad terminus and one of the chief industrial cities in the Northwest. Once known as the lumber capital of America, it is still an important center for forest-products industries, with a growing high-technology sector and diversified light and heavy manufacturing. There are also shipyards and many docks.

Points of interest include Point Defiance Park, containing a zoo, an aquarium, a Japanese garden, and a reconstruction of Fort Nisqually (1833); an arboretum; a number of art galleries; and the state historical society museum. Tacoma is the seat of the Univ. of Puget Sound, Pacific Lutheran Univ., and a campus of the Univ. of Washington. A project begun in the 1990s has gone far to rehabilitate the downtown waterfront and is highlighted by the dramatic Museum of Glass: International Center for Contemporary Art (2002). The Tacoma Art Museum (2003) and the Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center (2004) are also part of the project. A lilac festival is held annually in the city.

Tacoma is the gateway to Mt. Rainier National Park and many recreational areas. The Tacoma Narrows suspension bridge links the city with the Olympic Peninsula; it replaced "Galloping Gertie," which collapsed (1940) in a windstorm four months after it opened. Joint Base Lewis-McChord (a merger of Fort Lewis, a major army training center, and McChord Air Force Base) and Camp Murray (the state national guard headquarters) are nearby.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Tacoma

a city in northwestern USA, in the state of Washington. Population, 155,000 (1970; 411,000 including suburbs). Tacoma is a port on Puget Sound, with a freight turnover of 5 million tons (1970). Manufacturing is the major occupation, employing 20,000 people (1973). Industries include machine building and the production of lumber, chemicals, and food. The city also has nonferrous metallurgy plants and shipyards.

Tacoma

a port in W Washington, on Puget Sound: industrial centre. Pop.: 196 790 (2003 est.)

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

References in periodicals archive ?

The new bridge is being built next to the current Tacoma Narrows Bridge, which was completed in 1950, 10 years after the debacle of the previous bridge.

Atlas castings saddles up for cast components for Tacoma Narrows bridge project

Baarsma attributes his city's rebirth in recent years partly to influential Tacoma natives taking power in the state legislature.

Cities that smell: some urban centers use common scents. (Currents)

After a year in Tacoma, Guot's African roots have held firm.

I once was lost but now I'm found; the Lost Boys of Sudan wandered Africa for years. But Nhial Guot, who has found a temporary refuge in the United States, is no longer a boy nor lost--he knows just where his heart lies and where he wants to go

Collum received awards from Tacoma Allied Arts, the Tacoma Arts Commission, and the City of Tacoma.

Transitions

In 1997, it became the intention of the Board to expand this mission to the community through greater social accountability and involvement with the Tacoma area.

Serving All Area Seniors

The Tundra, which is manufactured by Toyota's plant in Indiana, is bigger than the Tacoma.

Toyota-GM venture mulling output of sport-utility vehicle

Gray, the Tacoma community leader, acknowledges that pushing the drug trade out of her neighborhood will have an impact on the surrounding area: "We're not getting rid of anything," she says.

The screening of America: crime, cops, and cameras

If simple resonance doesn't explain the Tacoma Narrows destruction, what does?

Rock and roll bridge: a new analysis challenges the common explanation for a famous collapse

Auto Business News-May 15, 2017--Hino USA starts production of Toyota Tacoma rear axles and front knuckle assemblies at Arkansa plant

Hino USA starts production of Toyota Tacoma rear axles and front knuckle assemblies at Arkansa plant

M2 EQUITYBITES-May 27, 2016-Mobilitie improves wireless connectivity at Tacoma's Largest Venues

Mobilitie improves wireless connectivity at Tacoma's Largest Venues

Tacoma, WA, February 19, 2016 --(PR.com)-- Travel Tacoma + Pierce County, the area's official destination marketing organization, today announced that travel spending reached $1.09 billion in Pierce County in 2015, an annual increase of 3.9 percent, breaking the record set in 2014.

Travel Tacoma + Pierce County Announces Record-Breaking Tourism Economic Impact Data