Stadium High School Tour @ Stadium High School

Saturday, April 14th SOLD OUT
Saturday, May 20th
Saturday, June 10th
Saturday, July 22nd

IMHO, the most iconic high school rom com of the ’90s was 10 Things I Hate About You—not because of Heath Ledger’s very public rendition of “I Love You Baby” or because it was a relatable adaptation of Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew. It was its castle-like set: Tacoma’s Stadium High School and its postcard-worthy view of Commencement Bay. 

Thanks to the film, Stadium is widely known to be one of America’s most beautiful high schools. The French chateau-style building was originally constructed in 1891 to be a luxury hotel for the Northern Pacific Railroad, but the project was abandoned during the financial crisis of 1893. The Tacoma School District purchased the building in 1904. 

 

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Tacoma’s Pretty Gritty Tours puts on a tour of Stadium High, and its co-founder, former travel journalist Chris Staundinger, seems to know his audience: “The world is divided into two (kinds of) people: people who went to Stadium, and people who wish that they had.” I guess you can put me squarely in the latter camp. 

Book a spot on one of Pretty Gritty’s small, after-hours tours of Stadium High. For $35, spend an hour and a half exploring the school’s halls and unique spaces: the swimming pool, underground tunnels, and a four-story attic that’s the site of a really sweet school tradition. Original props from the movie still live in the teacher’s lounge. Pay the extra $6 to live out your Ghost Hunters dreams (or nightmares): rent an EMF detector and explore the haunted boiler room. 

April tours are sold out, but booking is open for tours on Saturday, May 20th from 5-8 pm. If you’re too slow, check out these other iconic film locations and wait for the next tour drop. 🙃