This coming season of performances, marks the Broadway Center's 24th year as your performing arts center, and it commemorates the 90th birthday of both the Pantages and Rialto Theaters. Generations of Puget Sound residents have gathered in the Theater District at the corners of 9th and Broadway – the heart of Tacoma – to celebrate, honor and sometimes grieve the “collective experience.” We hope you'll agree the theaters and the Broadway Center for the Performing Arts have played a significant role in enriching your life and your community.

We are in the midst of an exciting rejuvenation offering more performances, more education, and more support to our community partners than ever before. All of the changes are a reflection of our commitment to connect people in the heart of Tacoma. Today, the Broadway Center is recognized for its leadership in presenting world-class performing artists, providing the largest performing arts education programs in Washington State and preserving our historic theaters. We are proud to provide a vital home to our Resident Arts Organizations: Northwest Sinfonietta, Puget Sound Revels, Tacoma City Ballet, Tacoma Concert Band, Tacoma Philharmonic, Tacoma Opera, Tacoma School of the Arts, Tacoma Symphony Orchestra, and Tacoma Youth Symphony Association.

We invite you to join the Broadway Center as a member and enjoy advance ticket purchases ensuring the best seats in the house, ticket discounts, and many, many other benefits and savings. This season we've assembled an outstanding series of performances and world-class entertainers of nearly every genre! Whether you prefer folk or hard rock, spoken word or jazz, comedy or drama, acrobatics or family fun, we're positive you'll find appealing performances throughout the year.

We thank and honor all of you, our friends and patrons, who've helped the performing arts thrive in our community. Today, we look back with pride and forward with excitement and confidence. Welcome to the Broadway Center for the Performing Arts!

Downtown Tacoma 's Theater District

Downtown Tacoma has accomplished a revitalization of massive proportions over the past two decades. Beginning with the restoration of the Pantages and Rialto theaters 22 years ago, many downtown historic buildings and storefronts have undergone face-lifts and refurbishing. These efforts in combination with the debut of Sound Transit's Tacoma Link Light Rail system, has made Tacoma 's Theater District more accessible, user-friendly and welcoming for tourists and local residents than ever before. A wide variety of unique merchants and restaurants, state-of-the-art museums, including the Museum of Glass and Tacoma Art Museum, along with Washington State History Museum, invite you to enrich your cultural senses and explore Downtown Tacoma.

History of the Broadway Center Theaters

Please read on to find out more on the background of the Pantages Theater, Rialto Theater and Theatre on the Square.