Tacoma Dome Exhibition Hall, Tacoma (must see)

Tacoma Dome Exhibition Hall is part of the larger Tacoma Dome complex, opened in 1983 as a major public venue. Used for trade shows, graduations, ceremonies, community programmes, and event support, the hall changes character with the calendar rather than offering permanent exhibits.

The surrounding complex is best known for its vast wood-domed structure, built with laminated Douglas fir beams arranged in triangular sections. Part of the timber came from trees blown down during the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. In 1982, local residents also signed one of the huge roof beams before it was raised, leaving a community mark still visible high in the rafters.

The Dome quickly became an important indoor venue for large public gatherings. Its opening festivities included a Rick Nelson and the Stone Canyon Band concert on April 21, 1983, followed soon after by the World’s Toughest Rodeo from April 29 to May 1. David Bowie’s Serious Moonlight Tour concert that August marked its first major superstar performance. Since then, the complex has hosted concerts, sports, conventions, school events, and civic gatherings.

For visitors, the Exhibition Hall is less about a fixed attraction and more about scale, adaptability, and atmosphere. On event days, the space may be filled with booths, crowds, ceremony seating, or event services, while the larger Dome overhead recalls the engineering ambition of the early 1980s. After the Kingdome was demolished in 2000, the Tacoma Dome became the largest indoor venue in Washington State, able to hold up to around 23,000 people depending on configuration.