- Image
The Tacoma Opera House Company commissioned a group of architects to design an office and theatre block in downtown Tacoma. At this time, Tacoma was experiencing a building boom. It began shortly after the Northern Pacific Railroad first reached Tacoma in 1883. Chicago theatre architect James M. Wood (see my previous installment #214 ) designed the Tacoma Theatre. Wood was a native of New York City, born in 1841. Early in his career, he moved to Chicago and eventually opened an architectural firm for himself. He completed many designs for theaters, opera houses and concert halls throughout the United States. In Tacoma, Wood was assisted by local architect August F. Heide (1862-1943). The architect who had a hand in the theatre design was John Galen Howard (1864-1931). Galen had previously worked in Los Angeles (1887-1888) and would later return to the East Coast after Tacoma. Howard also worked with Sydney Lowell, who completed the larger building’s interior design. Others involved in this portion of the project were Moore and Clark, (building contractors), Spierling & Linden (interior decorators), Thomas Moses (scenic artist), Charles H. Smith (stage carpenter) and the Peterman Manufacturing Company (manufacturer of the carved woodwork).