The Tacoma Bridge of Glass

We just visited Mt Rainier National Park but I am not going to write about it other than to call it- in my opinion- the most boring national park in America. It takes at least six hour to drive through the park with an occasional glimpse of some tall mountains with some snow and glaciers but mostly all you see are big trees. Big deal. Even the visitors centers were boring. 

However, I am a fan of art in public places so on our way back to Seattle we stopped in Tacoma, Washington to see the Chihuly Bridge of Glass, a pedestrian overpass in downtown Tacoma, Chihuly's hometown. Dale Chihuly is a famous glass artist. You may have seen some of his pieces in the lobby of the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas or lots of other places including several special exhibitions at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix over the past few years. 

The city built a 500 foot long pedestrian bridge which is sort of a free museum. It connecting their art museum to downtown Tacoma. This post consists of photos of his work on the bridge and in the courthouse. 

There are three art installations on the pedestrian bridge, including a ceiling made of 2,364 glass objects suspended in midair a few feet above our heads. It is like a coral reef of beautiful and colorful glass:

An evening view

Close up of some of the panels: 

S

Another section of the bridge features an 80 foot wall displaying 109 glass sculptures:

Here are some close up photos:

At the end of the bridge is the old train station which is now a courthouse.  The elegant lobby has more Chihuly glass piece.  

I hope you enjoyed looking at them. I certainly did.