Museum of Glass

ak1
ak1
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Museum of Glass

  • July 8, 2007
  • Rated 5 of 5 by Koala_D from Olympic Peninsula, Washington
Museum of Glass

Home to the famous Chihuly Bridge of Glass!

Before you even enter this museum you will be walking through the Chihuly "Bridge of Glass," a 500-foot long pedestrian overpass. It isn't very long, but you can stand there gazing up at the many artworks in the ceiling for quite some time. This "Seaform Pavilion" is a ceiling made of 2,364 objects from Chihuly's Seaform and Persian series. As visitors walk through, they experience a seemingly underwater world of glass shapes and forms a few feet above their heads. It is illuminated at night.

Continuing on, you approach the 40-foot high Crystal Towers, which mark the center of the bridge. The 63 large crystals in each tower are hollow, and glacial blue in color.

The eighty foot Venetian Wall displays 109 of Chihuly's glass works. Fiber-optic lights illuminate this at night.

You will see Chihuly's work in the Tacoma Art Museum (not in the Museum of Glass), and also in Union Station (next to the museums).

The large metallic-looking cone you see ahead is the glass-blowing chimney at the Museum of Glass. This museum houses exhibitions with work by world-renowned contemporary artists.

Don't miss the "Hot Shop," where artwork is made from molten glass right before your eyes! You won't see this every day!!

General admission is $10, and hours vary between winter and summer. Current hours are: 7 days a week — Monday through Saturday from 10am to 5pm, and Sunday from 12pm to 5 pm. The third Thursday of each month is free from 5pm to 8pm. There are discounts for seniors and children.

You can park free of charge at the Tacoma Dome Station, and take the free Light Rail train, then walk across the Chihuly Bridge of Glass to the Museum. Parking is also available beneath the Museum of Glass. Parking rates are $2.50 per hour. Additional free parking is available on Dock Street and on Pacific Avenue.

Driving...how to get here:
From I-5 in Tacoma (north or south)
Take Exit 133 (City Center) to I-705
Take the S. 21st Street Exit
Turn left onto S. 21st Street
Turn right onto Pacific Avenue
Turn right onto Hood Street (just past the Tacoma Art Museum)
Turn right at stop sign onto S. 15th Street which becomes a ramp that curves to the left.
Turn left onto Dock Street

*** For additional information please visit their website at: www.museumofglass.org

From journal Tacoma, Washington? You'll Be Surprised!

Museum of Glass

  • November 9, 2005
  • Rated 1 of 5 by ak1 from Auburn, Washington
Museum of Glass

I was expecting this to be a museum with a whole bunch of Dale Chihuly originals. The inside of the building seemed kind of empty to me. There were different sections and they had different exhibits in each section, but nothing that I would call wonderful. When I went, luckily, I had a coupon from the entertainment book for a buy-one, get-one-free admission. (Ok, so that is beside the point.)

The displays at the time when I went had different eras of glass makers and styles. I will admit there were a few neat things, but for the most part, I could have seen prettier and more fascinating things in an antique store. The outside of the building is pretty cool looking, and the bridge to the museum has more Dale Chihuly art than the inside. So my recommendation is go to Tacoma, walk across the bridge to the museum, but don't waste your time or money to go in if you want to see Chihuly's art.

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