Restoring the Site

Restoring the Site. . Lumber put Tacoma on the map and for over 100 years wood products made this community the “Lumber Capital of America.” A century of waterfront industrial activity, however, ultimately destroyed much of the surrounding wetlands. Today, as the City of Tacoma, Metro Parks Tacoma, government agencies, and private donors work to convert portions of Tacoma's historic industrial district into public spaces, planners face the difficult challenge of restoring the wetlands and beaches that once ringed Tacoma's Commencement Bay., The Dickman Mill site is typical of Tacoma's hard-hit shoreline. When Metro Parks acquired this site for a waterfront park in 1991, it barely resembled a mill. Crumbling walls, rusted machinery, worn pilings, and broken glass were all that remained from the 1979 fire., During the restoration process, landscape architects and wetland specialists designed the landscaping to support and enhance its wetland value. Soil contamination was a primary restoration issue here – polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxin, and other toxic residues permeated the ground. The first step toward restoration required the removal of contaminated soil and replacement with clean soil., The Intertidal Channel (left of the Wigwam Garden) is one of the unique features designed for this park. As the tide rises and falls, seawater flows through the channel. Overhanging shrubs harbor insects that fall into the water at high tide, creating a food source. This artificial "feeder bluff" mimics a natural slough similar to those found historically along this shoreline. , Captions , (Photo #1) Dickman Mill after the fire in 1979 , (Photo #2) Contaminated ponds at the Old mill site. , (Photo #3) Remains of the old mill provide the foundation for a water channel into a natural slough.