Tacoma – City of Destiny
Fun Facts about Tacoma
Tacoma is on the coast of the Puget Sound in which the Great Pacific Octopus calls home. Tacoma has great areas for starting scuba divers who want to explore the depths, we were even host to Octopus Wrestling championships in the 1960s!
Tacoma’s nickname is City of Destiny. So named by famed eccentric, George Francis Train – a wealthy shipbuilding heir, due to the
decision to make Tacoma the terminus of the Northern Pacific Railroad. We beat out Seattle. Heh.
Museum of Glass – photo by Jason Coleman
Tacoma’s Museum of Glass is Home to the World’s Largest Hot Shop Glassblowing Facility. Dale Chihuly, renowned glass artist, was born in Tacoma and had a hand in the museum’s creation.
The Tacoma Dome is one of the world’s largest wooden-domed structures. Opening in 1983, it seats 23,000 and has been home to such disparate events like rock concerts (such as Elton John, Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen, Garth Brooks, Travis Scott, Drake), Professional Bull Riding competitions, Monster Truck rallies, sporting events, and arts and crafts shows.
Point Defiance Chinese Garden
Point Defiance Park is the jewel of city parks. Spanning over 760 acres, it is an urban oasis featuring a zoo and aquarium, extensive gardens, beaches, hiking trails through deep forest, and several playgrounds and picnic areas.
The largest ferry system in the United States is Washington State Ferries (WSF). WSF operates 21 ferries across Puget Sound and the Salish Sea, carrying over 23 million passengers annually. It connects numerous islands and coastal communities in Washington State.
Tacoma has four different hospitals: Multicare Tacoma General Hospital, Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital, Multicare Allenmore Hospital are operated by Multicare Health System and St. Joseph Medical Center operated by Virginia Mason Franciscan Health System. If you join our Family Medicine Residency you will be able to work in all of them!
Community Health Care has been serving patients in Tacoma since 1969. Their founder, Dr. George Tanbara started seeing patients in a tiny Quonset hut!
Tacoma offers a wide variety in education and entertainment. Within an hour or so, there is a big city (Seattle), a big mountain (Mt. Rainier), and a big ocean (the Pacific)… forested mountains, beautiful beaches (rocky and sandy), museums, music venues, and great restaurants (especially seafood). At Community Health Care, our medical providers focus on the whole patient, often working with providers in other disciplines, like dental and behavioral health. In Tacoma, our residents get the best of all worlds: a top tier residency combined with the all-important work-life balance.