Wednesday January 14th 2026
All Ages | Doors 6:00PM
Spanish Ballroom @
Elks Temple
565 Broadway
Tacoma, WA 98402
Tacoma’s history is filled with the legacy of ethnically diverse neighborhoods, but their memory has been largely forgotten after residents were displaced by public projects such as Interstate 5.
Historian Michael Sullivan will focus on the history of Tacoma’s Hawthorne neighborhood/Puyallup Tribal campus and the working class neighborhoods erased by the Tacoma Mall. He’ll also examine the boarding house district between downtown and the Hilltop that was targeted by President Lynden B. Johnson’s Model Cities Program and federal urban renewal projects of the 1960s, in addition to delving into what happened in the McKinley Hill district after the closure of the Northern Pacific Hospital.
Michael Sean Sullivan is a public historian, writer, and historic preservationist. He has taught Pacific Northwest history at the University of Washington Tacoma for more than 20 years. Michael created the website TacomaHistory.live and co-produces the short form documentary series, Tacoma Home Movies. Michael co-founded the historic preservation firm, Artifacts Consulting, and he is an advisor to the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Michael is Board Chairmen for HistoryLink (the online Encyclopedia of Washington State History) and serves on the Governor’s Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.
We will follow all state and local Covid-19 guidelines in place at the time of each show. Proof of full vaccination or negative Covid-19 test may be required for entry. Please make sure to check back here before attending as policies are subject to change. No refunds will be given
General Admission.
All sales are final. No refunds or exchanges. Tickets are non-transferable. Will Call name changes are not permitted.
“Print at Home” Method of Delivery is suggested to avoid potentially long Will Call lines at the Box Office Day Of Show. Print at home tickets can be physically printed out or displayed on your phone to be scanned at the door.
