The Islander - Tacoma

Tacoma, Washington, United States

Built in 1907, the Perkins Building is a historic building in Tacoma, Washington, United States. The 8-story building housed the offices of the Tacoma Ledger/Daily News. It was the tallest reinforced concrete building in the Northwest and the first building on the West Coast to have a basement parking garage.

The Islander was opened in this building in 1951 by Bill Mead and Bob Trent.

This pre-tiki establishment advertised itself as "Tacoma's Smart Charcoal Broiler Restaurant" where people could enjoy "Dancing and Dining in a Tropical Atmosphere." In May, 1957, the restaurant changed hands when Walter F. Clark returned to Tacoma after an absence of 30 years to include the Islander in his chain of Northwest restaurants. Clark sold it in 1960, thus ending the Islander, and the space changed hands a few times, hosting different restaurants. In 1966 it became a Black Angus Restaurant.

In the early 1990’s, the Perkins Building served as the first home of the University of Washington Tacoma. In 2004 the building was converted to residential condominiums, office and retail space at a cost of 9 million dollars. The first floor is restaurant/retail space, floors 2-4 are commercial office space, and floors 5-8 are condominiums.