The Rowland Building was designed by renowned Tacoma architect C.A. Darmer in 1908. Public records show —. Along with the neighboring Olympus Hotel, the Rowland has had an interesting and colorful history in the heart of Downtown Tacoma. In 1931, the building, then called the Holly Hotel, made the Tacoma Daily Ledger front page story with the banner headline — “SEVEN TAKEN IN BOOZE RAIDS HERE”.

Charles Rowland.

TACOMA DAILY LEDGER
August, 9 1908
“Review of the Realty Market”

New Hotel On The Avenue Architects Darmer & Cutting have drawn the plans for the three-story hotel building which Charles Rowland of California is set to street on the east side of Pacific avenue between South Eight and Ninth streets. The hotel, which is to occupy the two upper floors, will contain thirty rooms.

The building will be constructed of brick and concrete and twill be modern and fireproof in every particular. It will be heated by a hot water plant of the most improved type.

TACOMA DAILY LEDGER
March, 30 1931
“7 TAKEN IN BOOZE RAIDS HERE; FOIL CENTRALIA BOMB PLOT”

HUGE LIQUOR HAUL MADE IN FIVE PLACES 

Customer gets impromptu beer bath when fast-working wife dumps mash; hotel room raided.

Still and Cache Seized in Evening Rum Roundup

Striking in quick succession Saturday night, federal, county and city dry squads raided five alleged liquor vending establishments, seized one still, a large quantity of assorted intoxicants and arrested seven persons.

Eighty pints of moonshine, whisky, eight gallons of unbottled moonshine, gin, a trunkful of alleged bonded liquor and flavoring were seized by federal and county dry agents in the Holly Hotel, 811 Pacific Avenue. Claude L. Judge and May Evans were arrested and released on $1,000 cash bail each.