The Tacoma totem pole in Fireman’s Park seems to be out of the woods. The 110-year-old civic landmark’s ultimate fate was brought into question in April when structural engineers found that the totem pole – which stands over 80 feet above Fireman’s Park – was deemed to be a “falling hazard.” Rot and insect damage had compromised a considerable portion of a cross-section of the log from which the totem pole is made. A fence was promptly placed around its base and a sturdy metal brace was erected to keep the pole standing.
A hastily assembled, ad hoc group was formed to consider the problem and make a recommendation to the Tacoma Landmarks Commission. The May meeting touched off something of a crisis with its recommendation that the totem pole be taken down, laid on the ground and allowed to rot (gracefully) back into the earth. That recommendation ignited a firestorm of criticism as Tacomans came forward to rally around the pole. Local media and social media have been abuzz with discussion of the history of the pole, with ideas on what to do with it and musings as to what the totem pole means to us as citizens in a city where it was made and kept standing for more than a century.
If nothing else, the conversation has become a “teachable moment,” an opportunity for the people of Tacoma to pay some attention to something that we often overlook and take for granted. We have been forced to contemplate the fate of this venerable icon and ponder its place in the story of our city.
We learned that the Tacoma Totem Pole was commissioned in 1903 and was erected at 10th and A Streets (then later moved to S. 9th and A Streets) just days before a visit by Theodore Roosevelt. It was reportedly carved by two men from an Alaskan or Canadian tribe where totem poles are part of the culture (the local Salish peoples do not have a totem pole tradition). Some claim that the carvers were Haida but this is a point of uncertainty. The totem pole was commissioned by Chester Thorne and William Sheard as a way to brand Tacoma as the “Gateway to Alaska.” It was meant to outdo Seattle’s 60-foot totem pole (that was ignobly cut down and stolen from its Alaska home) and erected a few years prior to Tacoma’s pole.
Tacoma’s totem pole was built as a kind of civic brand or sign – almost as an advertisement to boast Tacoma’s superiority over rival Seattle, the up and coming city of the Sound. It was not made as a spiritual object as is the case with traditional, authentic Native American totem poles. Once in place, the Tacoma Totem Pole became one of the distinctive icons that gave Tacoma part of its identity as a vibrant metropolis of the Northwest. It was a major tourist attraction and appeared on all manner of Tacoma memorabilia.
Originally the totem pole was located near the Tacoma Hotel and Sheard’s curio shop. It survived the 1935 fire that claimed the Tacoma Hotel. The pole was later moved a block from its original location to Fireman’s Park, where it stands today.
Since the May ad hoc meeting, cooler heads have had a chance to prevail. On June 4 the Tacoma Arts Commission met to consider whether or not to officially deaccession the totem pole from the city’s public art collection. Such a move would have been the first step in removing the pole from its current location and sending it to a museum or laying it down on the ground to be claimed by the elements. Either way, the totem pole would cease to be a living part of the ongoing life of the city. The Arts Commission, however, recommended that the totem pole be kept as part of the city’s public art and that it should be protected and restored. The recommendation was accepted at the Commission’s June 10 meeting. A June 12 meeting of the Tacoma Landmarks Commission directed the city to come up with a plan to restore the totem pole and to keep it in place in Fireman’s Park. Crisis averted.
It remains to be determined whether the pole will need to be removed for repair and restoration or whether this can be done while it is standing in place. The city seems to have a habit of taking its art treasures into storage for one reason or another and keeping them there. Did you know that Tacoma has an edition of the Statue of Liberty that is kin to the one at Seattle’s Alki beach? Ours, however, went into storage decades ago and there it remains. Thomas Morandi’s “Sun King” sculpture was removed from its location for the remodeling of the Hotel Murano and has remained in storage for the past five years. When “Water Forest” was damaged it was put in storage until it could be reengineered and it did not see light of day for seven long years.
For the time being, at least, the totem pole will remain at Fireman’s Park at the corner of S. 9th and A Streets. It is still powerful and charming despite the fence and the new metal brace. If nothing else, we can thank the May ad hoc group for stirring up the controversy that highlighted the role that the totem pole has played in the lives of Tacomans while it has stood watch over our City of Destiny for the past 110 years.