The Biggest News Of All - Flip The Spire! ( 6. October 2006, 06:26 by Erik) ~ Bringing Back The Spire?

We got word of an until-now-secret plan that many hope will be the capstone to the revitalization of downtown Tacoma’s Theater District. A city staffer advocating the project, and who has asked to keep his identity secret, tells me this project is the biggest news of all.

The plan begins, I am told, by re-introducing the now infamous Tacoma Spire and placing it at 9th and Broadway. Intriguingly, the most audacious part of the plan is to balance the 400-foot-tall spire upside-down in the middle of the intersection and use cables to anchor it to the surrounding buildings. “The Spire used to be a symbol of excessive City spending,” my source tells me, “but we can quite literally turn that symbol on its head.” And since it would be pointy-end down, Tacoma traffic officials believe they could center over the road without disrupting traffic flow.

The City of Tacoma sees the upside-down Tacoma Spire as “the final piece of public money” invested in an area that is finally beginning to see private investment. In fact, the Spire is just another example of a seemingly dauntless project that is finally coming to fruition. Tim Quigg and AF Evans are assembling the high-profiled transformation of the Winthrop Hotel to its former glory (I discussed the Spire with Quigg earlier today and he says he is happy to have the Winthrop help anchor such an ambitious project.) Elsewhere the Pantages, the Elks Temple, and other buildings are coming to life after years of lagging funds.

In a sit-down with Ryan Petty, head of Tacoma’s Community and Economic Development Department, I asked for confirmation of the Upside-Down Spire. He did confirm it, but a certain twinkle in his eye told me I only knew half the story. Here’s a portion of our interview:

Exit133: Once the Spire is in place, will the interior or the roof of the Spire be accessible to the general public?

Ryan Petty: Not at all.

Exit133: Will it be available for group rentals?

Ryan Petty: Unfortunately, no. Engineers are concerned about having any guests inside the spire that might upset its balance. Tipsy guests make for tipsy spires, if you get my drift.

Exit133: Will it fulfill any function at all?

Ryan Petty: Certainly. For Tacoma residents, the Spire will point in a clear and direct way to the heart of our City.

Petty went on to say that he hopes the Spire will eventually point all the world to Tacoma and staffers at the City have a plan to do just that. Once the Spire is completed, the City will begin an elaborate bidding process to move the Prime Meridian from its current course running through the United Kingdom to run through Tacoma and underneath the Spire instead. Currently the Prime Meridian is centered on the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, a popular sight-seeing stop; relocating the Meridian and marking it with the point of the Spire may bring those tourists to Tacoma once the lines of longitude are re-drafted. Petty and his staff believe that a major push to move the Meridian to Tacoma would bring Tacoma unprecedented name-recognition around the World.

“It’s Tacoma time,” my source tells me. “With all the investment and happenings in the area, haven’t we earned this kind of worldwide recognition? All roads may lead to Rome, but with the Spire leading the way, all maps might point to Tacoma,” he said.

All information on our site is almost always 100% confirmed, so if you doubt any of it, you are probably too cynical for Tacoma and should consider moving to Seattle. All quotes from public officials are fictitious. We apologize for any confusion. We may occasionally stretch the truth or make things up on Fridays.