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| "Salander" |
At the
Valhalla site Sunday afternoon I could see they had found an artifact: where the debris had been cleared away was a
sign for the Gustaf Salander Grocery.
Kerry Jenkins, a city staff manager, spoke to me on the phone on
Friday. The sign is “painted lettering
on exterior siding”, the wall is twelve feet long and on 2 x 8 studs, now in
storage. Bellwether Housing is the
development consultant for the Raffin Construction project. The city staff continues partnering or
involvement.
According
to Stephen J. Forslund (Swedes In Tacoma
and The Puget Sound Country) “Gustaf Selander (Salander) had arrived in Tacoma
before the turn of the century from Östersund, Sweden, and went to work at the
Griffin Wheel Co. foundry in South Tacoma.
In Sweden he had had considerable experience in the mercantile line, so
he gave up his job as moulder and entered the grocery business in one of the
street level stores in Valhalla Temple.
He continued his business there until his demise some thirty years later.” The home of Signe and Gustaf Salander was nearby the hall.
Early project plans promised the housing units would replicate the Valhalla Hall in ways. Now that is not certain.
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| At A Public Event May 2016 |
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| At the Valhalla Site |
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| Valhalla Site |
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