Metro Parks Tacoma

  • Park Finder
  • Register

Point Defiance Lodge Visitors Center

Features You'll Find:
Hover over an icon for more details
  • ADDITIONAL FEATURES
    • Art & Artifacts
    • Gift Shop
    • Historic
    • Parking Stalls
    • Parking Stalls / ADA
    • Restroom / Seasonal
Hours:

Closed until summer 2013  

5715 Roberts Garden Rd
Tacoma, WA 98407

Get Directions
AT THE VISITORS CENTER you can tour interpretive exhibits, get information on special events and recreational opportunities in the park, and purchase books, gifts and refreshments. The visitors center is closed until summer 2013. 

View Map

E.R. Roberts Family Portrait Outside Point Defiance Lodge - photo courtesy of Jean Insel RobesonHISTORY
The Board of Park Commissioners approved $2,200 to build a residence in Point Defiance Park in 1898 for Superintendent Ebenezer Rhys Roberts, referred to as the Keeper's Lodge. Designed by noted Tacoma architect C.A. Darmer, the residence permitted Roberts and his family to live in the park, where he could more easily tend the gardens, feed the zoo animals,and provide general park security. Read more about the history of Point Defiance Park's Lodge.