For more than 150 years, the activity on and around Commencement Bay-since the 1840s, when Charles Wilkes first named it, to the present day-has been a barometer for measuring Tacoma's maritime and industrial growth and development. Wilkes's early exploration assured the inclusion of Puget Sound within the boundaries of the United States following negotiations with Great Britain in 1846. Drawn to the deep waters of the south shore of the bay, the Northern Pacific Railroad established its transcontinental terminus here in 1873 and, in the process, created the city of Tacoma. In the early...

In 1865, Job Carr paddled a canoe to his new homestead on a small harbor that would become Old Tacoma. The area's notorious reputation--as "The Wildest Port North of San Francisco's Barbary Coast"--haunted it for decades after the tall-masted schooners, sailors, brothels, and saloons were gone. Situated on the deepwater shoreline of Commencement Bay to ship timber from the vast tracts surrounding it, "Old Tacoma" was bypassed by the Northern Pacific terminus in favor of "New Tacoma" a few miles away. Settled by waves of Scandinavian and Croatian immigrants to work the mills and purse seiners,...

Tacoma, like most cities across the nation, has changed its appearance over time, creating many different urban landscapes. This phenomenon was apparent throughout the area as landowners, developers, community organizations, and government agencies all contributed to the citys growth and transformation. The changing landscape was further impacted by fires, earthquakes, and other acts of nature, resulting in a rich mosaic of old and new. The history of Vanishing Tacoma illustrates the citys past and present landscapes and honors the historic properties that still remain.