What’s the quirkiest place in the Tacoma area? It might be Lakewood’s B&I Public Market
As someone originally from New Hampshire, I’ve been surprised by the range of Tacoma’s cultural diversity. One thing I have wanted to delve deeper into since moving here six months ago is exploring the quirkier and more eclectic side of the city.
So I wondered, what place could I check out that local residents believe encapsulates some of the city’s idiosyncrasies?
When I asked a coworker, a long-time Tacoma resident, for suggestions, they told me about the B&I Public Marketplace. When they told me about the marketplace’s past as the former home to a gorilla, I was sold.
B&I Sales Store, now known as B&I Public Marketplace, is best known to locals as the refuge to Ivan, a gorilla originally captured in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Central Africa and featured at the Lakewood business for nearly three decades, according to Washington encyclopedia site HistoryLink.org. Ivan was held in captivity and displayed at the market as a tourist attraction until the mid-1990s. Following animal rights controversies, Ivan was transported to Zoo Atlanta in Georgia, where he spent the rest of his life until his death in 2012 at age 50.
B&I shopping experience
I drove to the Lakewood market on a cloudy Friday morning in June. I turned into the parking lot, where a man wearing what I can only describe as a referee outfit was standing in the middle of the entrance. He gave me a military salute. I returned the greeting. At that moment, I assumed he was directing traffic in the parking lot. But when I exited my car, I noticed the man was no longer at the parking lot entrance.
Before I had even set foot in the market, strange things had begun to happen.
For about an hour, I wandered the market’s corridors aimlessly, following wherever my curiosity led me. My overall impression of the market is that it’s a hybrid between a flea market, a mini shopping mall and a diorama of Tacoma’s diverse cultural background. Shoppers can browse stores packed to the brim with beauty merchandise, rodeo attire, firefighter equipment and many other niche products.
Set along many hallways, promotional posters plastered the walls. Ads written in Spanish displayed product promos for hair loss shampoo, digestive supplements and hygiene products. The range of products on display reminded me of a ‘90s Sears catalog.
The market was full of quirky services that also felt like a throwback to the ‘90s and early 2000s. A giant, half-empty gumball machine pulled me to the end of one hallway. Near the back hallway of the food court, sat machines offering to tell anyone with 25 cents their “romance level” and “kiss meter.” I tried both.
I also inserted a quarter into a separate device that measured my weight, provided my lucky lottery numbers and a horoscope reading, “Life is what you make of it.” Other store attractions, like a sticker dispenser and kiddie rides modeled after Clifford the Big Red Dog and Bob the Builder, reminded me of my early childhood.
Some stores reminded me of a flea market because of the volume and variety of the merchandise. One store contained so many hair-related and beauty products that I can’t fathom how employees organize and track their item stock. I had never seen so many mannequin heads inside one room in my life.
The flea-market vibe extended to other stores, too, some of which sold items that seemed either random or mismatched. For instance, one business had religious Christian statues and paintings prominently displayed at the store’s front. But in the back of the store, a collection of what I can only describe as leprechaun and troll statues were on display inside glass cases.
To me, the serene atmosphere of the religious paraphernalia conflicted with the unsettling troll figurines.
Since I’ve been in Tacoma, I’ve felt similarly about my time living in this city — though outdoor recreation is a big part of why I moved to Washington, Tacoma’s highly urbanized setting has made me feel more distant from the outdoors compared to when I lived in Missouri and New Hampshire. I feel like I’m living in the nation’s center of outdoor recreation, but at the same time not.
Another business that struck me sold two primary items: rainbow boombox stereos and oversized aluminum stock pots. The disparity between these products is a bit confounding but also reinforced the market’s identity as a destination for discovery — you’ll be surprised by what you find.
Each store is more unique than the last, much like the various neighborhoods of the Tacoma area. The Stadium, Hilltop, Old Town, Proctor and Point Ruston districts are all so different from one another. From my viewpoint, they don’t even feel like they’re each part of the same town. Going from one neighborhood to the next can be jarring, as each has its own culture and unique landmarks.
Many stores were closed on that Friday morning, so I was only able to explore a fraction of what the market had to offer. From what I gleaned, I only scratched the surface. The B&I shopping experience of today continues to be a novel and unique destination to locals and Pierce County transplants alike.
How to get to B&I Public Marketplace
Address: 8012 S. Tacoma Way, Lakewood
Directions: The marketplace is situated right on the border of Tacoma and Lakewood, just east of Flett Creek Basin. If you’re traveling from Tacoma, drive southward along South Tacoma Way and go through the four-way intersection at South 74th Street where Car Pros Kia Tacoma is located. Drive past the Larson Hyundai, South Tacoma Honda, Toyota of Tacoma and South Tacoma Auto dealerships. The market will be just after South Tacoma Auto on your right.
If you are traveling from Lakewood, drive northward on South Tacoma Way and through the four-way intersection on South 84th Street. Continue past the AutoPlus Auto Parts and South Tacoma Antique Mall. The marketplace parking lot will be on your left right as you pass the right turn for 82nd Street S.
Hours: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mon.-Sat.; 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sun.; individual store hours may vary.
Contact: 253-584-2056
This story was originally published June 16, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
