“A look at some of the industries that helped shape the ‘City of Destiny’ and still define it today,” from South Sound Business:
JUMP TO: The Railroad | The Arts | The Port of Tacoma | The Timber Industry | Joint Base Lewis-McChord | Sweets | Beer
“Tacoma won the lottery when Northern Pacific Railroad investors chose it for the western terminus of NP’s transcontinental line from the Great Lakes over spots such as Port Townsend, Mukilteo, or Seattle.
“‘It was really crucial to the development of Tacoma to have a major railroad terminating in their community,’ said Gary L. Tarbox, executive director of the Pacific Northwest Railroad Archive in Burien, of NP’s arrival in 1873.
“The railroad put the city on the fast-track toward commerce and recognition, while boosting industries, including its own, that thrive today.”
“Tacoma has an attractive deep-water port in Commencement Bay that was active with sailing vessels before NP’s arrival, but the railroad added a key transit link and established a symbiotic transportation network that flourishes still today,” quoting South Sound Business.
Read more of this excellent story from South Sound Business.