The Old Tourist Hotel Finds New Life as a High School
After a confused election and a tense recount, Tacoma voters clear the way to transform a landmark hotel into a public school.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The school directors met yesterday to canvass the vote of the election held last Saturday. A recount of the ballots changed the result somewhat and cleared up the puzzle which the vote reported Saturday night presented. In reporting the vote from the different precincts some errors were made, which were responsible for the confusing figures given as the result of the election. The first figures made it appear that the people did not want the Tacoma Avenue site of the Tourist Hotel property. The revised figures are as follows: To build on the Tacoma Avenue site: Yes, 1,085; No, 1,085. To rebuild the Tourist Hotel: Yes, 1,002; No, 1,001. These figures indicate that a majority of the voters favor the Tourist Hotel proposition. There was no change in the figures on the other propositions. Secretary Whitty submitted a form for advertising the bonds. The board expects to be able to sell most of the bonds in Tacoma. At an early date, architects will be asked to furnish competitive plans for transforming the Tourist Hotel into a high school building.
“The board expects to be able to sell most of the bonds in Tacoma.”
Adaptive reuse of historical structures remains a central tension in Tacoma’s growth. While the Tourist Hotel was repurposed for education in 1904, current debates over school bonds and the conversion of heritage buildings continue to shape the city's urban footprint.
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