Totem Pole - Tacoma, Washington
Posted by: 
Hikenutty
N 47° 15.347 W 122° 26.234
10T E 542580 N 5233742
This totem pole came to be thanks to an ongoing rivalry between the cities of Seattle and Tacoma. Seattle had the "world's largest totem pole" and so not to be outdone, Tacoma citizens hired Alaskan natives to come to Tacoma and build a bigger one.
Waymark Code: WM1GAT
Location: Washington, United States
Date Posted: 05/03/2007
Views: 96
The following excerpt is from
Washington: A Guide to the Evergreen State published in 1941:
The TOTEM POLE at 10th and A Sts. is the tallest in the world, 105 feet high, and was carved in Tacoma from a single cedar by Indian sculptors brought from Alaska, since the removal of genuine totem poles from the jurisdiction of the tribe is not permitted.
The pole was presented to the city in 1903 by Chester Thorne and W. T. Sheard. According to the plaque at the base of the pole, the figures from top to bottom, form an impressive record of the tribal succession, glorifying the Eagle Clan of the North.
page 273
There has long been a rivalry between Tacoma and its better known neighbor, Seattle. In 1903, this totem pole was commissioned to be carved for the city, with the sole purpose of being larger than Seattle's famous "largest totem pole".
The pole is located in Fireman's Park, high above Commencement Bay, and the park's webpage gives this historical background:
In a small skirmish in the ongoing battle for prominence between Tacoma and Seattle, Tacoma residents William Sheard and Chester Thornes commissioned a totem pole to rival Seattle's. The pole was carved by Indians from the Sitka area of Alaska at a cost of $3,000 and presented to the City of Tacoma in 1903. Since Alaskan Indian totem poles are not allowed to leave their tribes, Sheard brought the Indians to Tacoma and paid all their expenses for a summer while they carved it in the St. Paul and Tacoma Lumber Company yard.
With its deep relief, in contrast to earlier poles with less pronounced relief, this totem pole shows stylistic influences of the Indians of Vancouver Island. This totem pole was claimed to be the largest in the world. When rot threatened it in the 1970s, artist and woodcarver Doug Grannum restored it.