Tacoma Armory’s transformation into a show venue is almost finished. All it needs is boat and an oxen cart

Fred Roberson first saw the Tacoma Armory in 1965. He bought the sprawling red brick building in 2013 and turned to getting it spruced up.

Now, about $2 million later, the work is almost done.

“I want to just give something to Tacoma,” said Roberson, a long-time local developer who owns more than a dozen commercial buildings in the city, including the Armory and the Harmon and Carlton buildings.

In his will, he’s arranged to donate the Armory to the Broadway Center for the Performing Arts.

In the meantime, as the building at 1001 S. Yakima Ave. enters the next phase of its life, Roberson thinks the project needs some finishing touches.

Most importantly, he hopes to fill its gymnasium-size main room with history, and he wants the people of Tacoma to contribute.

“City of Tacoma, we need your help,” Roberson wrote in a letter to The News Tribune outlining his idea.

His vision is to line the perimeter of the building’s 20,000-square-foot drill floor with items from Tacoma’s past. First on his list are an old fishing boat and an oxen cart, two items Roberson said represent the first industries in the city.

Beyond that, he’s leaving it to residents to determine through their donations what historical collection will be.

“We think, when it is installed, it is something your family would be proud of for generations,” Roberson wrote.

Before Roberson

The Armory, once Tacoma’s military base, has seen several major renovations since it was erected in 1908. Originally used to house soldiers and for cavalry training, the three-story building was renovated in 1939 to level the split floor of the drill floor on the upper level and add an extra truss to the ceiling.

As military bases popped up across the state, the Armory gradually went from a building used for military purposes to a community space, said historian Michael Sullivan.

“Before there was a convention center or Tacoma Dome, when anything was done where the community got together, if it was a nice day, they would do it at Stadium High School,” Sullivan said. “But the smaller and wintertime events, the indoor events, were done at the Armory.”

Another wave of renovations came in 1985, when the building was used as a temporary jail, with updates and improvements to the brickwork encompassing the 80,000-square-foot building. The structure also has been seismically retrofitted twice.

Over the years, the drill floor has been used for events ranging from inline skating competitions to art exhibits to boxing matches.

Renovations and rejuvenations

Roberson bought the Armory five years ago, and has been gradually rejuvenating it ever since. Crews began to tackle the latest renovations within months of him finalizing the deal. Among other things, the 105-year-old building needed a fresh coat of paint to a complete redo of the electrical and plumbing work.

The most recent wave of upgrades is nearly finished.

The new plumbing and electrical work is complete top to bottom, except for a few loose ends in the commercial offices spaces on the first floor, said Mat Shaw, property manager with Roberson’s development company.

The offices will be completed as tenants move into the spaces, likely within a year, Shaw said.

As an event space, the Armory presented several technical issues, with a lack of restrooms and parking among the biggest concerns. Restrooms have been added and improved on the middle and upper levels, Shaw said. Three new stalls were added to the bathrooms in the Roosevelt Room and the women’s bathroom on the middle floor was doubled in size.

The building will have about 20 parking spaces in a garage on the lower level, accessible from South 11th Street. Parking in an alley between Nollmeyer Lane and South 11th Street also is being expanded, he said.

While the drill floor space has largely been left untouched in the most recent updates, the railings surrounding the upper-balcony will need to be upgraded or replaced. The work will be taken care of in the future, since seating in the space has rarely been needed, Shaw said.

Most of the renovations were simple, and focused on bringing the property back to its original state.

“It looked very antiseptic when we bought it,” Shaw said. “What we did was uncover all the stuff that was beautiful underneath. We want to honor what it is.”

Finding new life

The Armory is one of a handful of historic Tacoma properties Roberson owns. He plans to bequeath it to the Broadway Center for Performing Arts. The Broadway Center, which currently manages the drill floor space, will take ownership of the building after Roberson’s passing.

“We are pleased to be in support of everything he is doing,” said David Fischer, the executive director of the Broadway Center. “He is investing a tremendous amount right now in upgrading different spaces within the Armory.”

The Broadway Center’s first use of the multipurpose space will be Sue’s Tech Kitchen, an exhibition from Randi Zuckerberg that unites food and science, running from Aug. 23 to Aug. 26. After that, “Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition” will fill the space from Sept. 21- Oct. 14.

“We are doing a lot to experiment with the space and trying to find different uses for it,” Fischer said.

One idea is to use the Armory for a jobs center for Hilltop residents, bringing in more business to enhance the neighborhood, Fischer said.

The eventual change in ownership has fueled the restoration process, Shaw said, with Roberson wanting to make sure the building is completed before it’s given to the Broadway Center.

“The reason Mr. Roberson is doing all this work is so that, when Broadway Center is gifted the building, it’s actually cash-flow positive, not a burden to them,” Shaw said. “That’s the reason we’ve been doing a lot more work than we normally would.”

The final phase

Roberson’s work on the Armory is part of his effort to keep connecting local residents to the city he grew to love.

“He loves this city,” Shaw said. “He adopted this town in the ‘50’s and he just wants to maintain its history and have it so it’s more accessible.

“People don’t always go to museums, but people come here for events. He figures that if they are going to come here for an event, they might be interested in seeing a little more about Tacoma. He feels like the more people know about Tacoma, the better.”

As Roberson works to showcase the city’s history, he doesn’t expect the result to be short lived.

“I’m talking about something where people can enjoy walking around and looking at stuff,” he said. “I’ll put a plaque on it, then they can enjoy it or their successors, children, grandchildren.

“I would like to keep this building around for 1,000 years.”

Meredith Spelbring: 253-597-8509, mspelbring@thenewstribune, @mere0415

To donate

Those with antiques or memorabilia to donate to the Tacoma Armory can contact Suzanne Steliga at 253-627-2663 or suzanne@roberson.properties.

This story was originally published July 26, 2018 at 5:11 PM.