On September 18, 1898, Tacoma's Western Washington Industrial Exposition building burns to the ground. The building, built in early 1891, was the largest frame building on the West Coast. The mammoth structure covered two blocks around Tacoma Avenue and N 8th Street. It was 280 by 300 feet, used three and a half million board feet of lumber, and cost $72,000 to build.
A symbol of the boomer and booster spirit in Tacoma, it was built to display industrial products. When crowds were not forthcoming, it was converted to use for balls, sporting events, concerts, and the like. The fire occurred just seven years after the huge, impressive building was constructed.
Sources:
Harry Martin and Caroline Kellogg, (Virginia Beach, Virginia: The Donning Co., 1981), 76; Paul W. Harvey, Tacoma Headlines (Tacoma: The Tacoma News Tribune, 1962), 29.
Licensing: This essay is licensed under a Creative Commons license that
encourages reproduction with attribution. Credit should be given to both
HistoryLink.org and to the author, and sources must be included with any
reproduction. Click the icon for more info. Please note that this
Creative Commons license applies to text only, and not to images. For
more information regarding individual photos or images, please contact
the source noted in the image credit.
Major Support for HistoryLink.org Provided
By:
The State of Washington | Patsy Bullitt Collins
| Paul G. Allen Family Foundation | Museum Of History & Industry
| 4Culture (King County Lodging Tax Revenue) | City of Seattle
| City of Bellevue | City of Tacoma | King County | The Peach
Foundation | Microsoft Corporation, Other Public and Private
Sponsors and Visitors Like You