It’s not your average condo building. The penthouse suite in the bell tower has a 360-degree view of Tacoma’s port, downtown and Mount Rainier. The Italianate architecture and fine red brickwork is more than 100 years old.
Yes, we’re talking about Old City Hall at the head of Commerce Street, built in 1893, abandoned in 1959, renovated in the 1970s, used as offices and recently bought by The Stratford Company to be converted into high-end residences.
It’s not the kind of space you’d have seen much of inside, especially the former lockup rooms and bell tower; and after the residents move in, The Renaissance at City Hall will be strictly private.
In between, though, the City of Tacoma Arts Commission seized the opportunity to open up the old building for art. For just a few hours, 30 local professional and amateur photographers were allowed to roam on a “safari” through the grand staircases, interior brick arches, wide windowed rooms and winding tower. The best 20 resulting pieces are on show now in the Municipal Building.
The safari is part of a City of Tacoma series opening up non-accessible public buildings to photographers and, through their eyes, to the public. Photographers went last year to Tacoma’s old steam plant in April and to the Green River watershed in August. Both trips had associated photo shows, and, according to Naomi Strom-Avila, Art at Work coordinator for the commission, it’s something the city wants to keep doing.
It’s certainly a great way for the general public to see local sites in a unique way. Each photographer has a different take on the odd mix of neo-Florentine architecture, ’70s add-ons and general rundownness.
Dan Rome focuses on the exquisite Gothic details of architecture, bringing out the snail-curve on the tower’s corbels and the stone/brick-red dialogue in the cornice molding. Steve Thomas, a safari veteran, details the metallic zigzag of a stair railing.
Chip Van Gilder’s views are wider: Seen in a stitched panorama, his “Bell Chamber” with green patinized bells, enormous arched windows, wire netting and strata of pigeon poop take on a surreal, Matthew Barney look.
Sharon Styers captures an unexpected burst of color in the poison-green, yellow-bronze and vermillion of the clock mechanism halfway up the tower. Kevin Freitas plays a Gothic riff with harsh white sunlight and interior shadows: his “Untitled 1” squints up to a blaze of light at the top of a stair like something out of “The Shining.”
Not all are satisfactory. Carmen Lee’s collages can be described only as scrapbooky, filled with damask-and-old-newsprint decoration and R-E-N-A-I-S-S-A-N-C-E spelled out in round stickers. No one seems to have captured the lush red of the old brickwork, or the Dickensian forboding of the old safe doors, black with gold lettering.
Still, it’s a chance to explore this little bit of Tacoma history, before it becomes just another collection of expensive condos.
Rosemary Ponnekanti: 253-597-8568
rosemary.ponnekanti@thenews tribune.com
What: “Old City Hall Photo Safari” exhibit.
Who: Various photographers, organized by City of Tacoma.
When: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays-Fridays, through June 22.
Where: 12th floor, City of Tacoma Municipal Building, 747 Market St, Tacoma.
Admission: Free.
Information: nstrom-avila@cityoftacoma.org.
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