Comments on: Alleys As Assets

By: RR Anderson

RR Anderson — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 23:41:06 +0000

in a previous life I probably owned a small curio shop off one of these alleys. Great post. I’m sorry I missed it when fresh.

By: Dave L.

Dave L. — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 09:26:57 +0000

Although I wasn’t quite old enough, and living in Lakewood at the time, The long-gone Court C Coffeehouse and shops was an incredibly important focal point of downtown Tacoma life, arts, and activism. Check out all the ephemera in Court C file in the “coffeehouses” section of the clippings file at the library. Or ask anyone involved back in the day; Flannigan, folk from Watermark or Victory Music… Court C played a pivotal role in pre-blog Tacoma.

By: Jennifer Boutilier

Jennifer Boutilier — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 05:38:17 +0000

I’m a little late, but I’m new to town and I just discovered you. This alley bit is awesome. Right up my alley, actually. When I first saw the headline I imagined referring people to the NYT article on Chicago … but, no need, I see.

I would love to see some more on this topic with input from a bunch of alley experts. Bravo!

By: Morgan Alexander

Morgan Alexander — Wed, 07 May 2008 06:35:46 +0000

This just in: The founder of Baskin & Robbins, Irvine Robbins, started off scooping ice cream at the shop on Court C that my mother-in-law used to go to when she was a kid.

What a strange small world Tacoma is!

By: Morgan Alexander

Morgan Alexander — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 02:45:32 +0000

And, is that asphalt I see running down the center? Possibly covering street car tracks??!!

I wish! Most likely the city did some repair work on a sewer line- which maybe it could have avoided by using permeable asphalt.

Streetcars ran on the main arterials: Pacific, Broadway, Tacoma Ave, etc. The alleys (Courts A, B, C, D) were for minor retail and service entrances.

By: David Boe

David Boe — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 01:09:56 +0000

Alleys are typically misunderstood as an urban design principle. In Tacoma this can be seen at its extreme with Court ‘B’ (i.e. Commerce Street). So Tacoma puts it’s major mass transit downtown in an area that should have remained an alley – thus allowing the garbage cans to end up on Pacific Avenue?

By: phil brooke

phil brooke — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 18:05:35 +0000

Not many blocks in the city with that level of unblemished historical integrity. Wonder why it hasn’t ‘popped’ or at least the facades been better organized?

And, is that asphalt I see running down the center? Possibly covering street car tracks??!!

By: Andrew Austin

Andrew Austin — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 15:56:53 +0000

Very interesting Morgan!