Tacoma is a mid-sized urban port city in and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States.
The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, 32 miles (51 km) southwest of Seattle, 31 miles (50 km) northeast
of the state capital, Olympia, and 58 miles (93 km) northwest of Mount Rainier National Park.
The population was 193,556 at the 2000 census.
Tacoma is the second-largest city in the Puget Sound area and the third largest in the state.
Tacoma adopted its name after the nearby Mount Rainier, originally called Mount Tacoma or Mount Tahoma.
It is known as the "City of Destiny" because the area was chosen to be the western terminus of the
Northern Pacific Railroad in the late 1800s.
The decision of the railroad was influenced by Tacoma's neighboring Commencement Bay.
By connecting the bay with the railroad Tacoma’s motto became “When rails meet sails.”
Today Commencement Bay serves the Port of Tacoma, a center of international trade on the Pacific Coast.
Like most central cities, Tacoma suffered a prolonged decline in the mid-20th century as a result of
suburbanization, divestment, and federal urban renewal programs.
Recently the city has been undergoing a renaissance, investing in the downtown core to establish the
University of Washington, Tacoma; Tacoma Link, the first modern electric light rail service in the state;
various art and history museums; and a restored inlet, the Thea Foss Waterway.
With a long history of blue-collar labor politics — from the railroad workers of the 1800s,
to the longshoremen of the 20th century, to the Labor Ready workers of today —
Tacoma has long been known for its rough, gritty image.
Tacoma-Pierce County has been named one of the most livable areas in the country.
Tacoma was also recently listed as the 19th most walkable cities in the country (19th).
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