We were in Tacoma Washington, just a few miles South of Seattle, in 1997 and it was not much of a destination town; however we stayed there because the accommodations were less expensive than Seattle and it was closer to Sea-Tac airport and to the bridge to the Olympic Peninsula. Today, just a few years later, Tacoma is a true destination city with everything the tourist or convention could want. With grants, a far-sighted board of city leaders, and hard work of hundreds of local volunteers who love their home town, Tacoma has been transformed into one of the most enjoyable cities you could visit. Tacoma Regional Covention & Visitor Bureau is very helpful in providing all the information you need to plan your stay.
We returned to Tacoma for the fabulous Parade of Sails on the Fourth of July week-end when the city hosted scores of tall ships sailing into Point Defiance and Tacoma docks on the Foss Waterway in a magnificent display of billowing sheets-to-the-wind on a specially-ordered sunny day. Docked for the entire week-end the ships were opened for visitors to go aboard and see both authentic replicas and historic vessels from as far away as New Zealand, Russia, and Mexico. Washington’s own “Lady Washington” is a replica of the 1770’s vessel which sailed from Boston around Cape Horn and up the Pacific Coast to trade sea otter pelts. She was one of the great ships of discovery throughout her historic voyages, and her replica was built in the 1980’s as an historic teaching ship owned by the state of Washington. She was recently used in some of the scenes of Pirates of the Caribbean. We were personally excited to go aboard her with Johnny Depp’s double because our son wrote part of the movie score and orchestration and was the conductor.
For the three day festival of Tall Ships, the docks were lined with entertainment, from jugglers and musicians to tents of souvenirs and various foods. Volunteers guided people and answered every need, while police, military, and other trained volunteers kept everyone secure. The crowd management and staging of the entire event was flawless, due to the hard work and dedication of local citizens. The event was the crowning glory to eight years of hard work to transform Tacoma to THE place you want to visit or live. We could not believe the marvelous changes we saw.
Old dockside warehouses and factories which had fallen into disrepair have been purchased and completely renovated to their historic best, preserving the old flavor of the area while making it desirable as a place to study and play. Throughout Tacoma, many of the reconstructed buildings are now part of the University of Washington and are used as classrooms, art buildings, galleries, etc. The cooperation between city, state, and federal governments is exemplary and was the impetus to beginning the restoration. Union Station, Federal Courthouse in Tacoma, WAThe old Union Station Building, a grand nouveau artes building of 1911 shaped like the Pantheon in Rome and designed by the architects who also designed Grand Central Station in New York City, was sold to Tacoma for $1 when railway systems began to die in the 1980’s. However, when plans were underway to tear the building down, some far-sighted citizens worked to save it, and it became a U.S.. Federal Courthouse. You must bring government issued photo ID to enter it, but you must see the inside of this building with the magnificent displays of glass art by Tacoma’s own world-renowned native son, Dale Patrick Chihuly. The vibrant colored glass chandelier of the courthouse weighs thousands of pounds and is part of Chihuly’s own personal collection, on loan here until 2020. The most memorable colored windows in front of the entrance are a profusion of color with his brilliant “sea forms,” which look like giant flowers. They are placed in such a way that they vibrate slightly, casting shimmery butterfly light reflections on the floor of the building in early morning.
If you are here for a convention you’ll be able to enjoy the marvelous facilities of the Tacoma Convention and Trade Center, which was opened in 2002. An excellent newly-opened hotel just across the street from both the Convention Center and Museum District is Courtyard by Mariott Tacoma Downtown with spacious rooms, large and inviting reception area, near Foss Waterway, and the best views of the city.
Plan to spend several days enjoying the wonderful museums. Start at Tacoma Art Museum where you’ll find another wonderful permanent collection of Chihuly glass pieces and a permanent installation piece called The Wave, done by another native son, Richard Rhodes of Rhodes, Ragen & Smith, in concert with the building architect Antoine Predock. The Wave was designed from ancient Chinese stone pavers. Other fascinating displays change every few months so that your visit will always be new and fascinating. The top floor of the vast and beautiful modern architecture building designed by Antoine Predock frames the best views of the city and waterways. An excellent art reference library of books is in one room. Another room is reserved for school classes to come to learn about art and artists. In summer local classroom teachers learn how to use art projects to augment their daily classes, since art classes as such have been cut in many of the schools because of budget restrictions. The other large room in the top floor is Hands-On Project room for anyone to come and be an artist for an hour or a day, with all the supplies there for free! The projects relate to current displays of art in the galleries below, and the instructions for projects in many different media are there in writing and with an instructor. Anyone can come to do projects in drawing, oil, acrylic, sculpture, and other media. The new artists can take their creations home or leave them for display in the creativity room. This is the most stimulating experiential place we have ever found in a museum.
You can find some of Tacoma’s best photo-ops on the Chihuly Bridge of Glass, a pedestrian bridge which transports you across Interstate 705 to the Museum of Glass. Dale Chihuly created special polymer glass to be light-weight enough to make the blue light sculptures for the bridge, and there is a wonderful Venetian Wall which displays many of his large glass vessel works in brilliant colors. At the Museum of Glass you’ll find amazing works by many glass artists. These include masks, skulls, horns, animal replicas, and textures you cannot believe are actually blown glass. You’ll want to spend time in the Hot Shop Amphitheater to watch different glass blowers creating pieces from start to finish, with good explanations as these work. There is always an artist blowing glass any time the museum is open. The large glass tile mural just inside the museum entrance is also hand-blown, etched and colored on the reverse side, and creates the pictorial history of glass blowing.
On the other side of the brides of Glass you can enjoy learning about the beginnings of this state at the Washington State History Museum. You could spend days here with the interactive and multimedia exhibits, which tell about the state from its geological creation through the historical events, industries, and people who made this the state it is today. You’ll find moving accounts by First Peoples, members of some of the 150 Indian tribes integrated today into the fabric of life within this city and the surrounding area. Their heritage and culture are well presented and preserved in explanatory displays, videos, and computer interactive’s. From apple orchards, to manufacturing, to farming, to railroads, timber and mines, this state was formed by hard-working and dedicated people who often struggled to make a living. The Great Depression Hooverville Shantytown displays are strikingly real and haunting.
Collectors and souvenir hunters will find delightful one-of-a-kind items to purchase in the museum shops, with each shop featuring different locally-made items. Artists in many fields abound in Washington, and their creations are unique to this area. You’ll want to take home many special items, and the prices are very reasonable.
Down at the Foss Waterway Wharf you’ll find a wonderful Working Waterfront Maritime Museum where young and old alike can learn all about boats, ships, and the history of sail-to-rail which created the city of Tacoma and supported its early industries. Even today Tacoma is the sixth largest shipping port in North America and the 22nd in the world. The museum is housed in a 100-year-old wharf warehouse which will soon be perfectly restored. Adults can purchase materials for under $300 dollars and build your own wood canoe in free classes there, which are taught by volunteers several days a week. Children will have fun building toy boats and ships with materials and instructions provided free. It’s a great way to spend a day of summer vacation or a week-end for all kinds of learning fun. Along this Foss Waterway there are often festivals and family events for fun and games in celebration, and the city of Tacoma knows how to put on fun in a safe and clean way. Be sure to check with the Visitor and Tourism offices for the schedule of activities during your stay. And don’t forget the wonderful Defiance Zoo and Aquarium, where the animals and Aquarium are welcoming to young and old alike on almost any day of the year.
Another one-of-a-kind museum contains the largest private collection of antique cars in the world: the LeMay: America’s Car Museum, which is housed in an old Catholic school while awaiting new facilities to better display the huge collection. Certified by Guinness Book of World Records as the largest private collection of antique automobiles, the LeMay cars will create a nostalgic feeling in parents and grand parents while astounding kids that you rode in that!
There are so many wonderful places to eat in Tacoma. For very special seafood and exquisite waterfront dining we chose C.I. Shenanigan’s on Ruston Way. The views are amazing, with seating inside or out. We even had a beautiful seagull inquisitively seated on a post just outside our window curiously watching us eat. The food is excellent, and there is a large, full-service bar, and Washington wines are a best-kept secret! This is the perfect place to enjoy sunsets over Commencement Bay with a backdrop of the Olympic Mountain Range. On another night we were hungry for Italian food and found delicious, authentic fare at Altezzo’s Ristorante in the Sheraton Hotel. This restaurant in downtown Tacoma also offers the highest view of the surrounding city and Puget Sound area. We watched the busy Foss Waterway with the majestic backdrop of the setting sun’s rays tinting MT. Rainier in shades of gold!
For a lovely family day in Tacoma, take a picnic to Wright Park where you can enjoy the peaceful setting of greenspace and the exquisite flowers in the Conservatory. Plantings change regularly with the seasonal events. The directors and gardeners here give loving care to these gorgeous plants and also tend the green houses nearby in which they grow all the plants used in the parks throughout the city. Flowering plants love the cool nights and moist air of the Pacific Northwest, and you’ll see blooms larger and more colorful than anywhere else.
Just across the street from the Conservatory is a most unusual museum, the Karpeles Manuscript Museum, which is one of eight in the United States. It houses part of the private collection of Dave Karpeles. The eight museums exchange collections every two years and within each museum rotate the various exhibits every three months, so that you can always see something different. The collection owns priceless documents that will amaze and thrill you and give you a new perspective of history, which is always written from a biased point of view. Karpeles owns part of the original printing of the Gutenberg Bible, the writings of Joan of Arc, Abe Lincoln’s Death Certificate, Mozart’s Manuscripts, Galileo’s writings, and thousands more. Mr. Karpeles also speculates on what will prove of future value and purchases such current manuscripts as Harry Potter and various scripts including Star Trek and Star Wars. The documents you see here are fascinating manuscripts and ancient maps which will intrigue you. Be sure to spend some time here helping your children appreciate these fascinating and rare bits of history from many countries.
Another fun way to spend an afternoon or week-end evening is at Emerald Downs, just north of Tacoma. Beginning its 10th year, the horse race track is one of the cleanest and most appealing of any in the country. The paddocks are interesting with beautiful emerald grass and red roses where you can watch the jockeys and trainers walk the next set of horses to race. There is a children’s play area and families are welcome.
Besides all the marvelous ways to fill your time in Tacoma, take time to appreciate what an accomplishment this city is as a supreme example of regentrification and working together as a community. The city now shines as one of the jewels of the North Pacific and example to all cities that want to rejuvenate. And you have Seattle, the Pacific Ocean, The San Juan Islands, and MT. Rainier and MT. St. Helena all within an hour’s drive or less! No wonder so many who visit here want to stay forever!
Real Travel Adventures 