"Chihuly Bridge of Glass" Top 5 Page for this destination Tacoma Off The Beaten Path Tip by glabah

When Interstate 705 was constructed through downtown Tacoma, it continued to spread the gap between Tacoma's waterfront area and downtown.

When the Museum of Glass was constructed on the waterfront, it helped start the redevelopment efforts in the area. However, for such a facility to be effective, people have to be able to get to it. Several busy railroad tracks plus an interstate highway provide a very effective obstacle for access to the waterfront area.

Thus, a new pedestrian bridge to connect the Museum of Glass, plus the new waterfront trail, to the core downtown area (including the Washington State History Museum and Tacoma Art Museum) was really a key part of making this museum an attraction.

Due to the nature of the Glass Museum, a considerable amount of glass artwork was installed onto the bridge, making it an attraction unto its own, separate from the museum - though the two are structurally tied together, and the ramp and stairs on the waterfront side form part of the roof of the museum.

Artwork built into the Chihuly Bridge of Glass include:
Seaform Pavilion
Crystal Towers
Venetian Wall

The web site below is the artist's web site, and has a fair amount of information on it, including a construction video. The video requires the installation of Quicktime.

How to Get There: There is parking along Pacific Avenue, but this is a very busy part of town, and you are most likely not going to find anywhere to park there. If you are driving, therefore, you may actually find it easier to park at the parking lot at Waterway Park, the parking lot of which is located under highway 509. From the Tacoma dome drive north on D Street, and turn left onto E 23rd Street, which almost immediately turns into Dock Street. Under the bridge, you will be able to make a right turn into a parking lot under the highway bridge. From here, you can walk north a few blocks to get to the Museum of Glass. By public transit, there are a number of local bus routes operated by Pierce County Transit that operate near the downtown end of the bridge. There is also the Tacoma Link light rail line operated by SoundTransit.

Website: http://www.chihuly.com/bridgeofglass/