TACOMA, Wash. — Tacoma Union Station is now officially a federal building.
Officials from the City of Tacoma and Washington, D.C. held a ceremony to celebrate the transfer of ownership on Wednesday.
Speakers took a moment to highlight the history that Union Station has seen since opening in 1911, and the new purpose the building has found once it was turned into a U.S. Courthouse in 1990.
“President Harding was here in 1923, FDR was here in 1937, Babe Ruth, Ella Fitzgerald, you name it, they walked through these halls,” said Robin Carnahan of the General Services Administration.
In the time since the General Services Administration entered into its lease agreement with the City of Tacoma, Union Station has housed 10 courtrooms for judges of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.
“This building today is a beacon for justice in our community at a time when it’s desperately needed,” said former Washington Congressmember Norm Dicks.
At the end of the lease, the GSA exercised an option to purchase the property from the City of Tacoma for $1, but will continue overseeing the building, which Deputy Mayor Catherine Ushka said will allow the Union Station to continue serving Tacoma.
“When the community wants to come together because they’re worried about justice, where you’ll find them in Tacoma is right outside those doors, so this is an important part of Tacoma placemaking,” Ushka said. “It’s not about making money, it never was. It’s about making sure that all that hard work and grit that I talked about that makes Tacoma the City of Destiny continues for generations forward and this allows that to happen.”
Ushka went on to say there are plans in the works to restore and preserve other historic buildings like Gault Middle School. She said although the work is expensive and difficult, it’s also necessary.