Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
and afternoon tea on Monday through Saturday afternoons, the real reason to
come here is for an old-fashioned soda fountain experience.
1617 Lafayette St.
&
253/588-9668.
www.thebairrestaurant.com. Reservations recommended for dinner.
Main courses $5-$12 breakfast and lunch, $16-$20 dinner. MC, V. Daily 8am-3pm. Memorial Day to Labor
Day dinner served Fri-Sat 5:30-9pm.
TACOMA AFTER DARK
Opened in 1983, the
Tacoma Dome,
2727 East D St. (
&
253/272-3663;
www.
tacomadome.org), which rises beside I-5 on the east side of the city, is Tacoma's
most visible landmark and is the world's largest wood-domed arena. With seat-
ing for 28,000 people, it is the site of concerts, sporting events, and large exhi-
bitions. Smaller productions take to the stages at the
Broadway Center for the
Performing Arts,
901 Broadway (
&
253/591-5894;
www.broadwaycenter.org).
This center consists of three theaters within a block of each other. The
Pantages,
a renovated vaudeville theater with a neoclassical terra-cotta facade, and the
Rialto Theatre,
a classic Italianate movie palace, were both built in 1918, while
the
Theatre on the Square
was built in 1993. Together these three theaters
present a wide variety of nationally recognized theater, music, and dance, includ-
ing performances by the
Tacoma Philharmonic,
the
Tacoma Symphony
Orchestra,
the
Tacoma Opera,
and the
Tacoma City Ballet.
If you're just looking for someplace interesting to have a drink, check out
The
Swiss,
1904 S. Jefferson Ave. (
&
253/572-2821;
www.theswisspub.com),
which is located just uphill from the Washington State History Museum. The
pub is at the top of a long flight of stairs that links the museum with the Uni-
versity of Washington Tacoma Campus. The pub not only has a great beer selec-
tion and decent food, but it also has a collection of Dale Chihuly glass
sculptures.
The Spar,
2121 N. 30th St. (
&
253/627-0895
), is another local
favorite that has been around forever and is housed in a historic building in Old
Town Tacoma.
5 Olympia
60 miles S of Seattle, 100 miles N of Portland
Located at the southernmost end of Puget Sound, Olympia is the capital of
Washington and a pleasant little city, though aside from the state capitol build-
ing and a few parks, it has little of interest to attract visitors. The city does, how-
ever, cling to the shores of Budd Inlet's twin bays and boasts a fairly lively
downtown and an attractive waterfront. The city is further divided by Capitol
Lake, above which, on a high bluff, stands the capitol building. Despite the
political importance of being the state capital, Olympia still has the air of a small
town. The downtown is compact and low-rise, and when the legislature isn't in
session the city can be downright ghostly. Keeping things alive, however, are the
students of Evergreen State College, a very progressive liberal-arts college.
The Olympia area has a long history, and it was near here, in what is now the
city of Tumwater, that the first pioneers settled in 1844. A historic district and
historical park along the Deschutes River in Tumwater preserve a bit of this
history.
ESSENTIALS
GETTING THERE
Olympia is on I-5 at the junction with U.S. 101, which
leads north around the Olympic Peninsula. Connecting the city to the central
Washington coast and Aberdeen/Hoquiam is U.S. 12/Wash. 8.
