Downtown Tacoma

The Rialto Theatre in Tacoma, Washington was built in 1918 to showcase movies. Its design reflects the affluence following World War I. It reflects the character of a palace and is the result of efforts by entrepreneur Henry T. Moore and Tacoma architect Roland E. Borhek. Designed to hold 1500 patrons (revised to 780 today) and retail space. The two-and-a-half-story structure is in the historic downtown of Tacoma. The area has long been associated with theaters and entertainment. The theater is freestanding, with a dramatic view on an incline with a classical façade sheathed of glazed white terra cotta. Both the interior and exterior retain most of the original design of Roland E. Borhek. The theater has an auditorium, proscenium with stage, a relocated projection booth, balcony, lobby, and commercial space. It has been altered with the removal of the storefronts and marquee. On the inside, the lobby's decorative ceiling has been hidden and the concession areas expanded. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.

The Pythian Temple, built in 1906 for Commencement Lodge Number 7 of the Knights of Pythias, is an historic building located on Broadway in the Theater District of Tacoma, Washington. It was designed by noted Tacoma architect Frederick Heath. Like many multistory urban fraternal buildings built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, its lower floors were rented out for retail and office spaces while the upper floors were reserved for lodge use. This pattern of usage continues into the 21st century for this building, although Commencement Lodge plans to renovate the building to permit the rental of its hall for cultural events.On August 23, 1985, Pythian Temple was added to the National Register of Historic Places.The building was featured in the summer 2008 newsletter of the Marian Dean Ross Pacific Northwest Chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians. The group reported that the Pythian order remains active and is working to preserve its 1906 building and has received grants for work on the Knights of Pythias Castle Hall. "This two-story hall, completely hidden within the building's interior, is a rich confection of early 20th Century woodwork, plaster, lighting, murals and carpeting."For a short period in the mid-1990s, the Pythian Temple hosted a local gypsy theater company, and its ornate auditorium was the setting for productions of such plays as Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead, Inherit the Wind, 12 Angry Men, and Talk Radio. In addition to the Knights of Pythias, the building houses the Tacoma Youth Theater and Seabury Middle School.

Tacoma Arts Live is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization located in the Tacoma Armory of downtown Tacoma, Washington. Tacoma Arts Live Conservatory and Education Department provide one of the largest performing arts education programs in Washington state. Since 1918, Tacoma Arts Live has been host to many famous figures and world-class artists such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Babe Ruth, Ronald Reagan, Hal Holbrook, Debbie Reynolds, Martin Short, Queen Latifah, Joan Rivers, Wanda Sykes and Colleen Ballinger/Miranda Sings.

Theater District/South 9th Street was a light rail station on Link light rail's T Line in Tacoma, Washington, United States. The station officially opened for service on August 22, 2003; it was located at the northern end of downtown and named for the several nearby performing arts venues.The station closed on August 1, 2022, as part of work to connect the T Line with its extension to the Hilltop neighborhood. In 2023, another station will open two blocks north, adjacent to the Old City Hall building.Artwork at the station reflects the Theater District: Seats at the station resemble fold-up theater seats Bronze plaques in the ground are reproductions of historical theatrical posters Projectors project theatrical scenes on screens at night

The Pantages Theatre or Jones Building in Tacoma, Washington was designed by the architect B. Marcus Priteca. The unusual structure opened in January 1918. It was designed to be an office building and a vaudeville theatre. The theaters Second Renaissance Revival style is juxtaposed with the Commercial style. The exterior above the ground floor is largely unaltered. The building still houses entertainment and commercial activities (Tacoma City Theaters).

Frost Park (officially Larry L. Frost Memorial Park) is a public park in Tacoma, Washington. Named after police officer Larry Frost, the park is located at the intersection of South Ninth Street and Pacific Avenue in downtown Tacoma. Frost Park has a fountain and hosts chalk art competitions.

Urban Grace Church, formerly First Baptist Church, was built in a Gothic Revival style in 1924 by Heath, Gove and Bell (see Frederick Heath) in Tacoma, Washington. The building's 53 rooms include an auditorium with 1,250 seats, a 500-seat banquet hall with stage, a kitchen, nursery room, small chapel, choir rooms, and the pastor's study. It is believed to be the oldest continuously used location for Christian religious services in the city. The congregation remains active. The church was originally Baptist, but is now interdenominational, combining Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, and Lutheran practices. Urban Grace Church and the City of Tacoma sponsor a poet laureate program and a poetry series in Tacoma. The "Soul of the City Poetry Series" event has featured Poet Laureate of Tacoma, William Kupinse. The church has also sponsored civil rights events. The church partnered with Trinity Presbyterian Church to hold a trade craft sale in 2008. The mural on the back of Tacoma's Rialto Theater was first proposed by the church in 2009, with design elements of "both street graffiti and Islamic mosaic pattern in a pleasingly aesthetic way that reflects the church's commitment to religious diversity." Although both the graffiti aspects and the Islamic motif were controversial, the mural was completed in 2010.

The Tollbooth Gallery was a site-specific exhibition space and project of the nonprofit arts organization ArtRod launched in 2003 and located in Tacoma, Washington. The project featured contemporary art on view 24 hours a day and seven days a week. The aim of the Tollbooth was to offer dynamic and challenging installation and video art in an outdoor urban setting. Tollbooth Gallery was created and curated by Jared Pappas-Kelley and Michael Lent. For each exhibition an artist or artist team was commissioned and tasked with the realization of their project at the site, while taking advantage of the freestanding concrete structure. Art critic Regina Hackett characterized the project as “mind-expanding art packed into cramped quarters” and described the approach as: “Art that is eager to wrestle with reality.” Hackett noted: “What it lacks in space, it achieves in time,” and “on top of that, it's fabulous.”The Tollbooth commissioned eight exhibitions per year, focusing on varied approaches and engagement with the site and viewer, with an emphasis on video art, time-based work, photography, printmaking, and installation art. The gallery’s stated mission was to bring video and gallery work outside of the traditional museum setting, challenging artists and audience to approach site in different ways. Participant and curator Fionn Meade described the Tollbooth site as a “challenging space to work with but in a good way,” commenting that “the limitations of a format make you be more decisive.” This decisive approach to exhibiting contemporary art allowed the Tollbooth Gallery to program work that might be considered “edgier,” which was furthered by the temporary nature of the commissions. As the journal Public Art Review noted, the project benefited from the “dynamics” of its temporary exhibitions as they allowed for experimentation and “delivered on a short timeline.”Over the years the Tollbooth Gallery was selected by Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles to be included as part of their curriculum, presented as part of the panel Conduit to Contemporary Art at Americans for the Arts National Conference, and Make Your Own: Art in and out of Cologne at Henry Art Gallery. A catalogue of the first year of exhibitions at Tollbooth Gallery was subsequently published as Toby Room 10.The Tollbooth Gallery was one of four major projects of the art organization ArtRod, which included Critical Line - an exhibition center, the publication Toby Room, and the film and video series Don’t Bite the Pavement.

The World Trade Center Tacoma (WTCTA) is an office building and trade center in downtown Tacoma, Washington. The World Trade Center is affiliated with the World Trade Center Association and is considered the only full-service center in the Pacific Northwest.The World Trade Center Association of Tacoma was established in 1970 and was renamed to the World Trade Center Tacoma after licensing was approved by the World Trade Center Association. The organization was originally headquartered on Port of Tacoma property, but moved in 2003 to the Rust Building in downtown Tacoma.Since 2017, the trade center has been managed by the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce.

The Spanish Steps, also known as the Spanish Stairs, are stairs in Tacoma, Washington's Old City Hall Historic District, in the United States. Modeled after Rome's Piazza di Spagna, the stairs were built in 1916 to connect Broadway and Commerce. The stairs are adjacent to the Elks Temple, and have served as a fire escape for the building. Since McMenamins began operating in the building, the stairs have housed a cafe and patio.According to the Daily Journal of Commerce, "The staircase is an important east-west pedestrian connection within the north end of Tacoma's downtown. The Spanish Steps serve as an access point to transportation facilities, including those for Pierce Transit and LINK light rail, which connects with the Sounder commuter rail line."The stairs were restored in 2011. Fodor's has called the Spanish Steps "famous".

The Elks Temple in Tacoma, Washington is a historic Beaux Arts Fraternal building built in 1916 for the Fraternal Order of Elks, now housing the McMenamins Elks Temple hotel, restaurant and event space.: 14  The building is included in the Old City Hall Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Pierce County.

The National Bank of Tacoma Building, also known as the National Bank of Washington and as the Tacoma Art Museum, is a former bank building in downtown Tacoma, Washington, United States. It was designed by Sutton & Whitney and built in 1921. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.The bank changed its name to the National Bank of Washington in 1937. In 1970, the building ceased to be used for banking and was sold to the Tacoma Art Museum, which converted it in 1970–1971 for use as an art museum. It remained in use as the Tacoma Art Museum until 2003, when the museum moved to a new building. Already in 2002, in anticipation of its move, the art museum sold the former bank building to the Asia Pacific Cultural Center.In 2007, a business named Sound Inpatient Physicians moved into the building. Sound Physicians remained there until 2015, when the company moved to another building in downtown Tacoma. As of October 2017, the building was for sale.