Museum Mecca

Today, downtown Tacoma is a veritable Museum Mecca—the Tacoma Art Museum, the Museum of Glass, and the Washington State History Museum provide tourists with a generous depth of cultural attractions within easy walking distance of each other. Fortunately for visitors, it doesn’t end there—all three museums participate in a “Midweek at the Museums” promotion on Wednesdays that gives people an opportunity to take in all three museums for one price.

All of these museums are linked by a spectacular piece of public art—The Chihuly Bridge of Glass, a foot bridge above Interstate 705 that connects the Thea Foss Waterway and the Museum of Glass to the Washington State History Museum and downtown Tacoma. The bridge features one of the largest outdoor installations of Chihuly’s glass, valued at about $12 million, and pedestrians can stroll across it and admire the 1,500 pieces in the overhead Seaform Pavilion, the jewel-toned glass creations in the 80-foot-long Venetian Wall and the 30-foot-high, glacial-blue twin Crystal Towers.

The collective creative energy of the three institutions has also, not surprisingly, led to the opening of many art galleries downtown. Each month during “Third Thursday Art Walk,” all the museums and many of the galleries stay open from 5 to 8 pm and museum admission is free. And many new restaurants
and upscale bars have opened up downtown to accommodate hungry and thirsty museum-goers.