About our building
"The Brown Castle" is home to over 1700 students. Originally designed to be the
Northern Pacific Railroad Tourist Hotel, construction began on the structure in 1891. The
depression of 1893 caused the company to abandon work on the structure before it was
completed. After being boarded up for a number of years it was acquired by the Tacoma
School District. In 1906, Tacoma High School, as Stadium was then called, opened its doors
to 878 students and 38 teachers. Renamed Stadium High School in 1913, the Brown Castle has
been host to many historical figures, including Presidents Teddy Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson
and Warren Harding, presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan, World War I hero
General John "Black Jack" Pershing and John Philip Sousa's band. The Brown
Castle, a registered historical landmark, is a source of pride for the students, parents
and staff of Stadium High School.
(excerpt from http://www.tacoma.k12.wa.us/schools/hs/stadium/stadium_performance.htm)