My wife used to work at the Tiffany Glass Museum in Florida and really wanted to see the Glass Museum in Tacoma while we were up in Seattle (thread here) a couple of weeks ago.
I'd never been to Tacoma and must admit at being seriously surprised at how nice the downtown area was. We didn't get to explore much beyond that (the joy of travelling with an infant is that excursions are limited to about 2-3 hours in length). Nonetheless, we did get to hit up the Glass Museum (and see the awesome children's art glass exhibit) and have lunch...
Apparently Bertrand Goldberg thought Tacoma was cool too:
Anybody know what the bread-loaf shaped building under construction near the Tacomadome is? Multi-modal transit center?
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the curvy building is the LeMay Car Museum. Apparently the guy had 2,500 cars. The museum is about to open soon.
It's not a transit center, but it's next to one. A few blocks away is a park-n-ride where there's an express bus to Seattle (every four or five minutes at rush hour...pretty good), plus commuter rail also to Seattle. Also the streetcar to the CBD, which they call light rail, terminates there. And a hell of a lot of structured parking.
PS, too bad it was cloudy. If Mt. Rainier looks good from Seattle at 60 miles, it's way better from Tacoma at 40 miles.
Interesting shots; the glass museum looks like something I'd really enjoy. All I've seen of Tacoma is the track side of Union Station from a train en route from Oakland to Seattle.
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The inside of Union Station is one of the most impressive things you will see there. I love the lights in the dome. It has the "early age of the light bulb" look to it. If you like glass art, there are a few nice pieces on display in Union station (at least when I saw it). It is a beautiful restoration both inside and out.
Was as the Glass Museum at roughly this time last year. The bridge connecting the museum to the station is cool too, though I wish it wasn't needed if only that freeway had not been there.
I had a feeling I missed out when I didn't get to see Tacoma when I was in the area a couple months ago... wish I had visited. If I end up going to school in Seattle then I definitely will. Downtown Tacoma looks great... this is quite the eye-opening set you have here.
Congratulations on your successful trip with the toddler. I always feel sorry for them in the plane when the air pressure is changing and they don't know how to adjust.
Glad you were able to see some of the sights in downtown Tacoma.
hells yes man, this is quintessential tacoma -- quintessentially underrated tacoma. agreed about it being a shame rainier wasn't out. you probably knew this but "tacoma" is one of the native names by which mount rainier is known ("tahoma" is another of them, causing for some confusion).
definitely didn't realize there was such a renowned glass museum there, nor that a view like this existed there:
Tacoma is certainly worth a day trip from Portland. The Tacoma Art Museum is across the skybridge from the Museum of Glass. Near both is the UW Tacoma campus which is mostly in a series of historic buildings...the library is cool and overall it's good for a walk. The waterfront promenade is worth a stroll near this photo...awaiting more development but cool already. Walk a mile north through the CBD (worth a look) uphill to Stadium High School, built originally as the grand hotel at the end of the northern US rail line. If you're driving, go to Point Definance Park, which is a forested peninsula on Puget Sound.
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