The House of Tomorrow was built in 1938 in an Art Deco, Streamline Moderne style by designer Bert Smyser, famous in Tacoma for his 1930 coffee pot-shaped stand known today as Bob’s Java Jive. The house featured curved exterior walls and low, wide floor plan typical of modern house of the time. The interior featured bent plywood curved walls and ceilings throughout.
While the House of Tomorrow was very unique, and did meet the criteria for historical significance, it was not on the Pierce County nor the National Historical Register list. Further, it was built near the floodplain along Clark’s Creek, and numerous flooding events took their toll on the property. Relocation of the house itself was considered, but deemed too costly to pursue, so the county was forced to slate it for demolition.
The County did however want to salvage as much usable material from the house before it was razed, so Second Use was selected to remove usable materials throughout the structure. Water damage did take a toll inside, but the kitchen and upper floors did have some solid cabinets, doors and more that all could be reused or repurposed for projects.
Our crew spent a day on site, carefully removing each item and transporting them back to our warehouse, and was available to the public within a day. These cabinets shared the rounded style that was typical of the Smyser’s interior design. See the remaining inventory in our Tacoma warehouse.
Jobs like these help Second Use keep more than 3,000 tons of used building materials out of landfills in the Tacoma and Seattle area every year. We’re always looking for more salvage opportunities, so if you’re planning a renovation, reach out for a free assessment of your potential construction waste.
