1924 – Mrs. Franke Tobey Jones Broke Ground and Laid the Cornerstone

On March 14, 1924, an 80-year-old Franke, manning a wheelbarrow and spade, presided over the groundbreaking for the new supported independent living in Tacoma Home.  And on July 16, 1924, she laid the cornerstone of the Tobey Jones Building on a spectacular five-acre site with views of Commencement Bay and Mount Rainier.  The Tacoma News Tribune described the plan for a Tudor structure on the spot as follows:  “There will be a library, writing room, a solarium, kitchens, dining rooms, living rooms and a stage.”  After the building was started, the Tacoma News Tribune reported “It is half-timbered English architecture with gray stucco on the upper story.  It is built to take every advantage of the wonderful site with windows on all sides.”

“Long ago I thought that one of the saddest things of life was to see women who had fought the good fight of the life come to the end without a home.  That was the reason that I decided on this memorial home.  It seems to me that the site is especially desirable for such a place.  There will be flowers and vegetable gardens for the women who will make their home here.”  Mrs. Franke Tobey Jones May 11, 1924