Proctor District, Tacoma, Washington

The Proctor District is a business district in the north end of Tacoma, Washington. Primarily a center for locals to shop, the District has cultivated a small town "urban village" character.

Businesses

The Proctor District is home to many unique, family owned small businesses. The venerable old Blue Mouse Theatre, built in 1923, is the oldest continuously operating movie theater in Washington State and is open seven days a week. The Blue Mouse celebrated its 90th birthday on November 12, 2013 and has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2010. Two Saturdays a month, Rocky Horror Picture Show brings in crowds. There are many restaurants including Europa Bistro, East West Cafe, Pomodoro, La Fondita, Knapps and Pour At Four. Proctor is also home to US Bank, Key Bank and Umpqua Bank. There is a veterinary clinic and a range of businesses that attract shoppers from surrounding areas as well as nearby neighborhoods.

The Pacific Northwest Shop (Proctor and North 27th) specializes in products made exclusively in the Pacific Northwest. For a complete list of shops go to http://proctordistrict.com/

An important development in the mid-1990s was the arrival of the supermarket Queen Anne Thriftway, now Metropolitan Market, which moved in across from Safeway at the corner of North 25th and Proctor.

The center of the Proctor District is located at the cross streets of Proctor Street and North 26th Street in Tacoma. The 1927 Proctor Street bridge just north of the district was rebuilt in 2006.

A major commercial and residential development, Proctor Station - 2015, has been a controversial project due to its size and cost. It offers retail on the ground floor with apartments in the five floors above that. A proposed similar project at the other end of the Proctor District promises to be more controversial with many local residents formed in opposition and attempting to lower the height limitation from 65 feet to 45 feet, a move developers oppose as it will limit the profitability of the project.

Schools and Churches

The Proctor District is the site of two public schools (Washington-Hoyt Elementary School and Mason Middle School), and the Tacoma Waldorf School. It has a public library (Anna Lemon Wheelock Public Library), and a church, the Mason United Methodist Church, as well as a number of charitable organizations.

Charitable Organizations and Community Services

Mason United Methodist Church hosts several services for the public:

  *Alcoholics Anonymous meets daily 
  *Puget Sound Debtors Anonymous meets every Tuesday from 6-8pm.  
  *The Northwest FISH Food Bank is open on Wednesdays (12-4pm) and Saturdays (11:30 am-3pm)

Tacoma Discovery Shop is a thrift shop that supports the American Cancer Society

Safe Place for Newborns Fire House 13 is a designated Safe Place for Newborns.

Farmers' Market

Proctor has a lively farmers' market, the second largest in the city, which runs from the last weekend in March through the second-to-last weekend in December on Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

The Arts

The Proctor Arts Festival

• Hosts 'a free, accessible and celebratory experience of the arts for the public.' with its 17th Annual Juried Art Show in summer of 2015
• The Mason United Methodist Church has a notable Aeolian-Skinner pipe organ
• The historical Junior Daffodil Parade is an integral part of spring for the District.

External links

• Proctor Association Website
• City of Tacoma
• North End Neighborhood Council
• Neighborhood Tacoma Business Districts - Proctor Business District
• Historical Proctor District
• Mason United Methodist Church
• Proctor Farmers Market
• Proctor District Store Directory
• Labor Negotiator