Tacoma is in the west of Washington, on Commencement Bay and Puget Sound at the mouth of the Puyallup River. It is a major seaport and railroad terminus and one of the chief industrial cities in the Northwest. Tacoma was once known as the lumber capital of America and it is still an important center for forest-products industries. The city has a growing high-technology sector. Other industries include chemicals and electro-chemical products, paint, bleaches, heavy machinery, minerals, metals and alloys, furniture, clothing and processed foods. There are also shipyards and many docks. The huge Tacoma smelter, with a smokestack taller than the Washington Monument, is a tourist attraction.
Other points of interest include the nation's tallest totem pole, built in 1903 by Alaskan Native Americans and Point Defiance Park, containing a zoo, an aquarium, a children's park, a forestry museum and a reconstruction of Fort Nisqually, which originally dated from 1833. In Tacoma you will also find an arboretum, a number of art galleries and the state historical society museum. A lilac festival is held annually in the city.
Tacoma is a good place to stay if you want to visit Mount Rainier National Park. There are numerous recreational areas in the vicinity as well. The Tacoma Narrows suspension bridge links the city with the Olympic Peninsula. It replaced 'Galloping Gertie', the old bridge which collapsed in a windstorm four months after it opened in 1940.
Tacoma is the seat of the University of Puget Sound. McChord Air Force Base, Fort Lewis (a major army training center) and the state National Guard headquarters are not far from the city.
Accommodation and restaurants are available in town. Tacoma is 3760 km northwest of Washington D.C.
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