The Ruins of the Tourist Hotel
Architect F. H. Heath makes the case for converting the fire-ravaged Tourist Hotel into a modern high school, arguing it is a smarter investment than building from scratch.
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Architect F. H. Heath is a strong supporter of the proposition to transform the Tourist hotel ruins into a high school building. He claims the structure as it stands today is worth $150,000 for school purposes and that the walls are one-third thicker than necessary, with absolutely no danger of collapse. While opponents estimate reconstruction costs at over $500,000, Heath asserts that for $200,000, the building could be fully remodeled to accommodate 1,500 pupils with a modern manual training department. He argues that building a new school piece-by-piece on the Tacoma Avenue property would drain the general fund and leave the city without adequate facilities for years.
“There is absolutely no danger of the walls giving way. As a matter of fact, those walls are one-third thicker than would be necessary for a building such as the Tourist hotel was intended to be.”
The fate of historic buildings often sparks fierce civic debate in Tacoma, pitting the desire for adaptive reuse against the cost of new construction. This 1904 controversy highlights how the city has long struggled to balance heritage with the demands of its growing population.
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