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How would you change Freighthouse?
 by KevinFreitas on 7/24/2007 @ 12:56pm |
The Weekly Volcano is pretty up on Freighthouse currently and I'm certainly no exception with my fondness for SoDo and new stuff coming to Freighthouse. Still, after a paltry attendance in the mid-afternoon hours of their 20th Birthday celebration this last weekend, something seems missing.
So, given unlimited resources, how would you change Freighthouse? |
 by OddTodd on 7/24/2007 @ 1:40pm | Add a 'Shorty's Tacoma' location -- www.shortydog.com/
Also: Why do I have a feeling RR is going to hack a photo of Freighthouse Square with his 'vision' for the place, and post it? |
by KevinFreitas on 7/24/2007 @ 1:54pm | Hehe. One can only hope.
We will have The Red Hot opening on 6th Ave for all your hot dog needs. Granted, however, that's not in the downtown core (or near where, I assume, commuters like you might grab one while waiting for the 594). |
by OddTodd on 7/24/2007 @ 2:14pm | I like the old-school Donkey Kong, Pac Man, Donkey Kong Jr., etc. at Shorty's more than the hot dogs. Would like to see a Shorty's-style arcade at FHSQ. |
by KevinFreitas on 7/24/2007 @ 3:48pm | I'm sure Erik would go for that considering his love for Stargate over at Meconi's. |
 by Erik on 7/24/2007 @ 4:34pm | "I'm sure Erik would go for that considering his love for Stargate over at Meconi's." Ouch.
However, it was only a matter of time Kevin when we had to go mono a mono in a video game. "So, given unlimited resources, how would you change Freighthouse?" I think they just need market better, draw more people, have more events and hype it up. Then they will fill up the tenant space up. |
 by droid116 on 7/24/2007 @ 10:01pm | Keep it open from 10pm to 1am and use the length of it for laser tag. |
 by jenyum on 7/25/2007 @ 8:53am | Up the energy level of the events a bit, have more activity that spills onto the street/sound of live music on the train platform when the sounder comes in.
I'm kind of a nut about "flow" but it seems like having the quiet space of the art gallery between the bustle of the food court and the event space kills things a little. Also, I'd promote the district as a whole: by itself Freighthouse doesn't have one thing with sufficient pull to bring people in, then get them browsing. I used to think this was a total killer for them, but having spent quite a bit of time there now I think it's part of the charm. The problem is, they have to get people there in the first place. Unless they're thinking of putting in a large bookstore or a movie theater, It might make more sense to wrap the whole district up in a package. There's a huge used bookstore right around the corner, Crystal Voyage with their psychic fairs that draw people on the weekends, the Brown & Haley outlet store, and it's all open on Saturdays AND Sundays. (This is unusual in downtown Tacoma) If there were just one more large entertainment draw in the area (like a multiplex) I think it could be one of the most popular business districts in the city. Personally, I'd be happy if their free lot also covered other neighborhood businesses and Link riders on the weekends. I like to park down in the dome district and take the link when I'm exploring downtown, and this usually means at least a brief stop at Freighthouse Square while I'm at it. |
by jenyum on 7/25/2007 @ 8:56am | One more thing: they might be able to catch some of those thousands of bus riders that go through the Sound Transit terminal facing away from Freighthouse if they got people down there in the early morning with fliers, discounts on lattes, buy one get one free offers, etc. Give them to the commuters in the morning, with offers geared toward the evening when people are returning from work on the express buses.
I don't know what Sound Transit's policy is on such things, but it would be worth making a deal. |
 by NineInchNachos on 7/25/2007 @ 12:21pm | I like walking past the lego shop in FHS and seeing the shop keeps looking bored out of their minds, surrounded by piles of lego bricks.
Honestly though, I cant stand being in that building for very long. |
by jenyum on 7/25/2007 @ 12:44pm | The lego store would be more popular if they made an effort to make the play area comfortable and had more standardized hours. |
by Erik on 7/25/2007 @ 9:46pm | "Honestly though, I cant stand being in that building for very long."
The courage of the merchants there is unbelievable. Many have been there for years and seem ready to hang on to the end. Some recent new tenants however, are making the place look more promising. The sushi place for one. The cailber of the shops seems to be on the upswing. Let's hope they put in a cool coffee shop. If they do, I will certainly make it. |
 by scout on 7/25/2007 @ 10:46pm | Freighthouse was the very first gallery where I showed my work - like at least ten years ago. I went there yesterday (I hadn't been there for at least three or four years) - it seemed kind of dismal. There used to be a lot more people and the layout seemed to work better and look better. |
by NineInchNachos on 7/25/2007 @ 10:57pm | Two Words: DONOR WALLS!
Yes friends, the only worthy improvement is to erect Donor Walls to pay tribute to all the people who helped save this historic structure. The walls would also divert absolutely all traffic through the physical structure of the building. Also if we don't build these walls it would drive a dagger into the heart of the freighthouse square's business interests (I mean why else would anybody want to go here unless they were forced to?). Furthermore, Julie Anderson and the City have no right to stop us from building our Donor Walls. We got a special deal on the design of these walls! They are brand-name walls! They weren't design by some wimpy seattle hipster architects... these designs are pure texas toast baby. |
by KevinFreitas on 7/26/2007 @ 6:39am | NineInchNachos: Nice walls!
scout: "Dismal" is right. Feels like a place where shops go to die. I hate to say that but it never feels like a good experience walking through there. Fixing that, however, might just be a problem of the building and location itself, unfortunately. To me, Freighthouse is a "commuter" mall which to me means there's few reasons to stay and many to leave. The food court/cafeteria doesn't keep people there and often at lunch it's almost too crowded to want to stay. Being located at a transit center certainly doesn't help folks want to stay either since everyone nearby has some other place to go. There's also no place to just sit and relax. Hopefully the re-do of the cinnamon roll place may change that. Perhaps the biggest problem is Freighthouse is not quite a mall and not quite a shopping plaza. It's too small to be a mall and too enclosed to be an outdoor plaza. My vote would be to pull more people in by exposing the place more to the nearby street. Knock down some walls and create more entrances to businesses there from the street. This might help visually attract folks there and give them a way to go directly to what they want and wander if they desire. |
by scout on 7/26/2007 @ 12:14pm | "My vote would be to pull more people in by exposing the place more to the nearby street. Knock down some walls and create more entrances to businesses there from the street."
That's a really god idea Kevin - When I was there inside at one point I could see the Tuesday market out on the street and it looked much more vibrant and inviting than where I was inside. They should connect the two as seamlessly as possible - maybe make the entire structure more like Pike Place Market - get rid of as many walls as posible and just have enough cover to keep people dry. |
by scout on 7/26/2007 @ 12:15pm | correction - good idea, not god idea - though you are rather godlike, Kevin! ;-) |
 by AP on 7/26/2007 @ 1:06pm | How about hot dog carts on the sidewalk, a la Pioneer Square. Those things are like magnets. You can't pass one without stopping, no matter how hard you try.
Perhaps this would be cheating? |
by KevinFreitas on 7/26/2007 @ 2:33pm | Nah, vendors in the food court could be out there during peak visitor hours like during the morning and evening commutes and especially during the summer when the weather's nice. |
by GL on 12/19/2007 @ 4:37pm | Love the new coffee shop with the big tasty cinnamon rolls. That makes 2 places to get a morning latte.
But. I ride the train to and from work, and all the food and other vendors in Freighthouse are closed when I get off the last train (the 5:55 out of Seattle arrives in Tacoma just before 7:00 pm) - which means that I can't pick up dinner or anything else on my way home. And I'm seriously hungry by the time I get off that train. Seems like the vendors have just closed up shop when we get off the train - if they stayed open even a half hour later they would surely pick up more business. Also, especially for that new coffee shop, a sign or bell or clock or some other signal of how long you have until the train leaves would encourage people to come in and not worry about missing the train in the morning. On that same note, only the Subway serves a real breakfast. There's room for competition. There are guaranteed customers coming through that place at predictable times every single day, riding the Sounder to and from work, and the vendors should start by building their products and their hours around those customers. Obvious, right? |
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