It’s time for a birthday bash. The public can help Union Station celebrate its 100th birthday next Sunday.
The U.S. General Services Administration and the City of Tacoma are planning an afternoon of ceremony, tours and discussions. Events start at the U.S. Courthouse at Union Station, 1717 Pacific Ave., Tacoma.
Hint: Get there early. Parking will be tough; the Tacoma City Marathon and Tacoma Art Museum picnic are also going on downtown. Consider parking at the Tacoma Dome Park & Ride garage and riding the Link Light Rail, which stops in front of Union Station. Pierce County Transit Bus Routes 1, 11, 13, 41, 42, 53, 500, and 501 all stop within walking distance of Union Station as well.
If you can’t attend, tapes of the celebration will be broadcast on TV Tacoma. For times and details, go to the TV Tacoma webpage at www.TVTacoma.com.
For more information and to register for the event, go to tinyurl.com/union100.
Here’s the schedule for next Sunday:
Noon: Doors open to main entrance at Union Station rotunda. Arrive well before the ceremony to pass through security and present government-issued photo identification, such as a driver’s license.
1 p.m.: Ceremony commemorating the centennial in the Union Station rotunda. Speakers include U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks, University of Washington Tacoma Chancellor Patricia Spakes, and Chief Judge Robert Lasnik, Western District of Washington. Entertainment will be by the Lincoln High School Choir.
2:30-3:30 p.m.: Panel discussions next door at the Washington State History Museum. People choose to attend one of three panels going on simultaneously:
• Diversity in the City of Destiny: Tacoma’s Untold Cultural History.
Facilitator: Former Tacoma Mayor Harold Moss.
Panelists: Shanna Stevenson, Washington State Historical Society; Theresa Pan Hosley, president of the Chinese Reconciliation Project Foundation; Liz Begert Dunbar, executive director, Tacoma Community House; and Barbara Mizoguchi, former executive director, Japanese American Community.
• History of the railroads and Union Station in Tacoma.
Facilitator: Michael Sullivan, historian, Artifacts Consulting.
Panelists: Jim Fredrickson, former Northern Pacific worker and railroad historian; Russ Holter, state Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation; Edward Berntsen, president, Tacoma Chapter, National Railway Historical Society.
• Efforts to save the station and construct the courthouse and the resulting impact on the revitalization of downtown Tacoma.
Facilitator: Jim Merritt, architect.
Panelists: Kathryn Van Wagenen, co-chairwoman of Save Our Station; former Tacoma Mayor Karen Vialle; U.S. District Court Judge Robert Bryan; David Nicandri, director, Washington State History Museum.
Debby Abe: 253-597-8694 debby.abe@thenewstribune.com
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