FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 21, 2021

MEDIA CONTACTS

Each May, the National Trust for Historic Preservation encourages local communities to celebrate National Historic Preservation Month. The City of Tacoma is excited to announce this year’s Historic Preservation Month theme of “Mysterious Tacoma,” which explores the strange and mystifying events, places, and people that have shaped Tacoma into a Gritty City of Destiny.

“Tacoma’s history is as captivating as it is complex. It is important to look deeper into forgotten and overlooked histories to better understand our present,” said Assistant Historic Preservation Officer Lauren Hoogkamer, “This year we will be uncovering these lesser known stories through a series of engaging virtual experiences.”

All event details can be found on our new Historic Preservation Month website, hpmonthtacoma.com/. Due to evolving public health social distancing recommendations, this year’s program will be virtual. Please visit the Historic Preservation Month website for up to date information on all the Historic Preservation Month events.

An event you won’t want to miss this year is a four part mystery series presented by the City of Tacoma's Historic Preservation Office and Pretty Gritty Tours. It follows a hardboiled detective as he tries to solve a murder in 1920s Tacoma. The four part audio mystery is based on the experiences and real life of Pinkerton Detective, Dashiell Hammett, the father of the noir novel. The four episodes will conclude with a virtual tour of Dashiell's time here in Tacoma recovering from tuberculosis and will reveal the murder from the audio series. This multimedia adventure will allow people to follow along and see if they can solve the murder before the final episode! Do your detective skills have what it takes to solve the mysterious murder? 

• Salmon Release with Sherman Elementary and the Foss Waterway Seaport Museum
• Mysteries of Tacoma on the Water
• Historic Tacoma’s What It Means to Be a Landmark Virtual Lecture
• Job Carr Cabin Museum’s Cabin Kids Art Challenge
• Downtown On the Go’s Virtual Puyallup Tribe Walking Tour
• Downtown On the Go’s Virtual Downtown Mural Walk
• Tacoma Historical Society’s Unsolved Mysteries: Tacoma Edition
• Heritage Skills Workshop: An Elegant Afternoon Tea at Fort Nisqually
• Fort Nisqually’s Homewaters: A Human and Natural History of Puget Sound
• Historic Preservation Awards Ceremony (still taking nominations)

For more information on Historic Preservation Month activities, visit hpmonthtacoma.com/ or contact Lauren Hoogkamer at LHoogkamer@cityoftacoma.org or (253) 591-5254.

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