Museum of Glass in Tacom, Washington Celebrates the Magic of Glass Blowing

The Museum of Glass in Tacoma stands as a beacon of the thriving artistic movement of downtown Tacoma, WA. They are connected to the cultural epicenter of Tacoma by a 500-foot art-adorned outdoor walkway, and we anchor the picturesque Thea Foss Waterway with our 90-foot, metallic, glistening cone-shaped exterior which houses our "Hot Shop" amphitheater, which features amazing live exhibitions of creative glass blowing by masters in the field.

The Museum of Glass in Tacoma, is dedicated to providing a center that nurtures artists, celebrates the rise of the Studio Glass movement and encourages creativity. They convey a vision through their gallery exhibitions, art installations on the outdoor plazas, our hands-on art studio, and through educational programs.

Their main feature is known as the "Hot Shop" amphitheatre, where live glass blowing by local and international artists can be viewed whenever the museum is open. The power behind the artists trade is the museum's two massive furnaces - each of which holds approximately 1,000-pounds of glass and are both capable of reaching temperatures of 2,400 degrees fahrenheit. On a daily basis, you can see these talented craftsmen blow up glass like a baloon, spin it, contort, and create breathtaking sculptures with it.

Since the museum opened in 2002, over 50 internationally established artists, as well as emerging talent from the region and abroad have worked their magic in the "Hot Shop."

Our amphitheater is connected to the Tacoma Washington State History Museum and Pacific Avenue by the Chihuly Bridge of Glass, named after renowned Tacoman glass artist David Chihuly. It spans 500 feet and includes thousands of examples of Chihuly's visually striking glass sculptures.

One of the more striking displays on the Bridge of Glass is what's known as Chihuly's Seaform and Persian series, which contains 2,346 glass cones, roundels, and flasks of multiple flourescent colors encased in a glass overhead ceiling. With the tinted side walls, and natural light streaming through the multi-colored objects, pedestrians are able to bask in an illuminescent, almost celestial ray of fluorescent light.

"The bridge is the gateway that welcomes people to Tacoma. We wanted something unique in the world, something that is full of color and offers a joyous experience to passersby both night and day," said Chihuly.

The museum's history dates back to 1992, when the idea for the museum was spawned by a conversation between Phil Phibbs, the former president of University of Puget Sound, and Chihuly, who is a former UPS student.

Hubbs believed that artists from the Pacific Northwest had played a major role in the Studio Glass Movement which had developed worldwide. Dale Chihuly, in particular, had played a big hand in the movement through his personal work in the 1970's along with his founding of the Pilchuck Glass School along with Anne and John Hauberg.

After drafting an outline of his idea to the Executive Council for a Greater Tacoma, a group of business and governmental leaders, Phibbs found himself in the middle of a plan to re-develop the now-thriving Thea Foss Waterway, which at the time was an empty strip of industrial refuge along a narrow channel of heavily polluted waters. The head of the council, George Russell, concluded that the idea for the glass museum was a perfect compliment to the planned renaissance for the waterway.

In the year 2000, construction began in the summer, along with construction of commemorative Chihuly Bridge of Glass, a 500-foot walkway designed by Arthur Anderssen of Austin Texas, which features examples of Chihuly's work and connects Tacoma to the main cultural center of the city. On July 6, 2002, both the bridge and glass museum unveiled their grand opening, attracting thousands of visitors and receiving rave reviews worldwide.

For information on admissions, tours, or how we may serve you or your community, please visit the following website: http://www.museumofglass.org/