Ruston Way Park, Tacoma

Ruston Way Park sits along a waterfront corridor shaped by recreation, industry, and local memory. Today, visitors come for open views across Commencement Bay, paved paths, grassy areas, benches, and the steady movement of boats, cyclists, walkers, and wildlife near the shoreline. The park’s calm appearance, however, belongs to a waterfront with a much rougher past, when mills, docks, smelting works, and entertainment venues stood close to the water.

One memorable landmark was Top of the Ocean, a 1946 restaurant built over the water to resemble a luxury liner. It hosted dining, dancing, proms, and big-band nights before arson destroyed it in 1977. Marine Park now marks its story, while nearby Dickman Mill Park preserves mill foundations and a restored 15-ton head saw from the old lumber waterfront.

The wider waterfront also reflects major change. To the north, the former ASARCO smelter site, once marked by a 571-foot smokestack, was cleaned up after decades of heavy pollution. To the south, Chinese Reconciliation Park recalls the forced expulsion of the local Chinese community in 1885, with the Fuzhou Ting pavilion adding a symbolic note of healing. Together, these sites show how the shoreline has shifted from industry and conflict toward public space, memory, and recreation.