A Call for a Waterfront Mission
Chaplain Stubbs makes a plea to the First Presbyterian Church to move the Seamen's Friend Society closer to the busy Eleventh Street bridge.
The story, cleaned up
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Chaplain Stubbs of the Tacoma Seamen's Friend Society addressed a large audience at the First Presbyterian Church regarding the need for new facilities. Having served for over 21 years, the Chaplain highlighted that between eight and ten thousand seafaring men pass through Tacoma annually. He argued that the current 'bethel' or mission needs to be relocated to the vicinity of the Eleventh Street bridge, where the majority of ships now anchor, to better reach the men working the docks.
“For over 21 years Chaplain Stubbs has been at this port carrying on this work among seamen.”
The 'seamen's bethel' was a vital institution for a port city, providing social and spiritual support to transient laborers. The Eleventh Street Bridge (now the Murray Morgan Bridge) remains a Tacoma landmark, though the maritime culture it served has shifted dramatically in the century since.
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