Tacoma

LeMay Museum

"America's Car Museum"
325 152nd Street East
Tacoma, WA 98445
253.536.2885
www.lemaymuseum.org/
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Harold and Nancy LeMay amassed the largest privately owned collection of automobiles, motorcycles, trucks, other vehicles and related memorabilia in the world. At its peak, the LeMay Collection numbered in excess of 3,000 vehicles and thousands of artifacts—listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest privately owned collection in the world; impressive if accomplished by a King, but jaw dropping, awesome when accomplished by a local businessman from Tacoma, Washington.

A new Museum is in the works, but the old one is pretty impressive, with over 350 vintage and specialty automobiles, trucks, fire trucks, busses and related memorabilia. Check the website, www.lemaymuseum.org/, for hours and addmission info.

Tacoma's Broadway Center For Performing Arts

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(Tacoma’s “theatre district”) includes The Pantages Theater and The Rialto Theater, two completely refurbished grand dames of Tacoma yesteryears, and Theater On The Square, the new kid on the block. These three great venues host all genres of stage performance, from hilarious comedians and storytellers to fresh new musicals, tried-and-true classics, and other theater productions.

Tacoma’s Broadway Center For Performing Arts also provides a home to Tacoma’s Resident Arts Organizations: Northwest Sinfonietta, Puget Sound Revels, Tacoma City Ballet, Tacoma Concert Band, Tacoma Philharmonic, Tacoma Opera, Tacoma School of the Arts, Tacoma Symphony Orchestra, and Tacoma Youth Symphony Association.

The Pantages Theater

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901 Broadway
Tacoma, WA 98402
(253) 591-5890
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Greek immigrant Alexander Pantages dreamt of owning beautiful and successful vaudeville theaters across the country. But it was Kate Rockwell (“Klondike Kate”, Pantages’ mistress) who put up the money to build Tacoma’s Pantages Theatre.

Being somewhat the cad, Pantages later married another lady and never paid Kate back her money. Kate sued him but never fully recovered her financial loss. She struggled for the rest of her life to make ends meet. As the song says, “He was her man, but he done her wrong.” They say a ghost (that could be Kate, the woman scorned) haunts Tacoma’s Pantages to this day… And it’s the oldest of all Pantages Theaters still in operation, designed after an ornate theatre in the Palace of Versailles. A truly awesome venue for the arts.

City of Tacoma: Rialto Theater

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310 S 9th St
Tacoma, WA 98402
(253) 591-5890
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Tacoma’s Rialto Theater also opened in 1918 and was hailed as "the ultimate photoplay house". But the Beaux-Arts style Rialto was still and foremost a vaudeville-era theater designed to meet the acoustic needs of theaters and concert halls of the time.

The Rialto resembles Vienna's 1916 Redoutensaal, the first "shoe box" shaped orchestral hall. Much of the original ornate plaster decoration (including replicas of cupids and patriotic eagles) remains to this day.

Theatre On The Square

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905 Broadway
Tacoma, WA 98402
(253) 591-5890
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Theatre On The Square, the third jewel in the crown of Tacoma’s Broadway Center For The Performing Arts, opened in October 1993. This impressive venue boasts full theatrical production capabilities, including a 302-seat auditorium, a new rehearsal hall, scene shop, costume shop, and storage space.

Tacoma Little Theatre

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210 North I Street
Tacoma WA 98403
(253) 272-2281
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Founded in 1918, the Tacoma Little Theatre held its first public performance in December of 1919 and has managed to churn out productions every year since – 89 years all tolled. Sure, there were gaps in its production history for various reasons--including the Great Depression and World War II. But records show organizational activity has never ceased since Tacoma Little Theater’s earliest days.

Certainly the Theater is going strong today, offering 5 to 6 Main Stage productions each year--Musicals like Hello Dolly, Dramas like Inherit The Wind, Comedies like The Odd Couple--plus 4 Second Stage productions. Voted one of the best Community Theatres in the country, Tacoma Little Theatre provides delightful entertainment at very affordable prices. Go to the website for performance times and ticket prices.

Museum of Glass

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1801 Dock Street
Tacoma, WA 98402
(253) 396-1768
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The Museum of Glass, brainchild of Tacoma’s own internationally renown glass artist, Dale Chihuly, celebrates the dramatic new Studio Glass movement, while nurturing and encouraging creativity of area artists. There are three galleries in the Museum that show changing contemporary art exhibitions. Visitors especially enjoy the several indoor and outdoor installations, but one of the biggest draws is the Hot Shop where you can see live glassmaking.

The Hot Shop Amphitheater, housed in an imposing 90-foot-tall stainless steel cone, includes a hot glass studio, cold glass studio and accommodates over 200 visitors. The cone itself is 100 feet in diameter at its base, narrowing to a 15-foot opening at the top. Molten glass is kept in 2 large furnaces, each holding 1,000-pounds of glass and reaching temperatures up to 2,400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Another not to miss experience is the The Chihuly Bridge of Glass, a 500-foot-long pedestrian bridge that links the museum with downtown Tacoma. As you stroll across the bridge you will pass through (or should I say under) The Seaform Pavilion; this is some 2,364 objects from Chihuly's Seaform and Persian series placed on top of a 50-by-20 foot plate-glass ceiling. At bridge’s center you encounter the Crystal Towers, each rising 40 dramatic feet above the bridge deck and made of 63 large Chihuly-made crystals. Visitors are always breathless at the Venetian Wall, an 80-foot installation displaying 109 Chihuly sculptures—one of the largest blown-glass works executed in the history of the medium.

Washington State History Museum

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1911 Pacific Avenue
Tacoma, WA 98402
1-888-238-4373
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Take a trip through Washington State’s history. It might be a lot more interesting than you think. Through the Museum’s diverse exhibits, view the people who lived here first, before explorers came from East and West. Meet the settlers who followed, and those who built the cities, railroads and industries. And of course, the folks who made it all run.

Ride a covered wagon, explore a coal mine, take a video trip down the Columbia River, walk through a traditional Southern Coast Salish plank house, visit a Seattle Hooverville shack and listen in as Mac and Leon discuss the Depression.

Colorful, interactive exhibits and walk-through dioramas depict the natural setting, the lifestyle and culture of the various inhabitants, exploration and settlement of the region, and important people and milestone events that shaped our state. Thirty-five different human sculptures share their stories through interactive audio, and video programs describing life as a "timber beast," a railroad worker, a fisherman on the Columbia River. Six touch-screen Electronic Journals add depth to the ideas and stories presented throughout the Museum. Block out plenty of time, for this is a big place with a lot to see. On Thursdays from 5pm-8pm admission is free. Check the website for all other times and cost of admission.

Tacoma Art Museum

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1701 Pacific Avenue
Tacoma, WA 98402
253.272.4258
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The Tacoma Art Museum’s rich collection contains more than 3,400 works, with an emphasis on art by Northwest artists and key holdings in nineteenth-century European and twentieth-century American art.

The museum presents works of art to achieve a dynamic balance of exhibitions from historic to contemporary periods, presenting 10 to 15 imaginatively paired exhibitions, always placing Northwest artists beside a continuum of historically-important artists. Exhibits include Studio Glass work, Studio Art Jewelry, Works on Paper (over 1900 prints), Japanese Woodblock Prints, and European Painting and Sculpture. Admission is free on Third Thursdays. Check the website for all other times and admission prices.

Children's Museum Of Tacoma

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936 Broadway Avenue
Tacoma, Washington 98402
253 627 6031
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If you are traveling with children, or you need to occupy some cranky kids for an afternoon, head for the Children’s Museum Of Tacoma. Not only will all enjoy themselves, but you’ll all come away a little bit more informed.

The Museum's imaginative environment reaches beyond home and school experiences, nurturing growth and development as young children and their adults explore the world together. Check out cool exhibits like…

• Smart Moves with Food and Fitness, where dramatic and explorative play lets adults and children discover healthy options in selecting foods and beverages, and try their hand at the kids' yoga workout studio or the climbing wall.
• Bank on It! Where exhibit activities and games focus on viewing money through three lenses: spending, saving, and sharing.
• New Digs, an interactive neighborhood brimming with container gardens, window boxes, a produce stand and delivery truck where the kids learn to sort, count, weigh, buy and sell fruits and vegetables. Garden-to-table connections are made as children roleplay in the sidewalk cafe, whipping up tasty treats or ordering a fresh lunch. You and the kids will love it. After all, it’s not really school, just playing with some new friends.

Admission is free every first Friday. Go to the website for hours and admission information.

W.W. Seymour Botanical Conservatory

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Wright Park
6th Ave. & I St.
Tacoma, WA
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Exotic tropical plants and floral arrangements are always in bloom at the W.W. Seymour Botanical Conservatory in Wright Park. Three thousand panes of glass make up the dome and wings of this historic glass conservatory, with its distinctive twelve-sided central dome. Floral exhibits are ever-changing, something new and different each month.

The Conservatory has more than 250 individual plant species, more than 200 orchids, between 300-500 blooming plants on display year round, large collections of tender azaleas, Vireya rhododendrons, Clivias, Cymbidium, Agapanthus, Epiphyllum Cacti, and exhibition Chrysanthemums.

A visit here is a treat for the senses and it is free always! Check the website for opening and closing times.

Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium

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5400 N. Pearl St.
Tacoma WA 98407
253 591-5337
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Here’s a terrific combination of Zoo and Aquarium.

• Visit Rocky Shores, home to Beluga whales, harbor seals, Pacific walrus, sea otters, and tufted Puffins.
• At the Wild Wonders Outdoor Theater, a fantastic array of animals show their amazing talents on the naturalistic stage as the presenters take you on an outdoor adventure. Spot an Asian fishing cat or the clouded leopards. Or maybe a green-winged macaw, or Indian runner ducks.
• Stop by the Arctic Tundra where Arctic fox, muskox, reindeer and the polar bears hang out.
• And don’t miss the new Asian Forest Sanctuary. It’s got tigers and elephants, and other exotic animals, too.

• Oh, and take the young ones by the Kid Zone, where they can get up close with some animals, but don’t forget to bring along a change of clothes and some water proof sandals for the lily pad fountain dancing.
• Last but no means least, visit the Aquarium.

I left a lot out, like the red wolves, but you can see them all when you go there.
Check the website for admission and operating hours information.

Fort Nisqually Living History Museum

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Located in Point Defiance Park
5400 N Pearl Street #11
Tacoma, WA 98407 USA
253 591-5339
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Fort Nisqually, a Hudson's Bay Company outpost built in 1833, was the first European settlement on Puget Sound. With a diverse work force of American, English, French Canadian, Hawaiian, Irish, Native American, and Scottish laborers, Fort Nisqually was a bustling center of trade that expanded into a large-scale agricultural enterprise.

Today, in the Living History Museum, volunteers and staff in period clothing demonstrate the crafts of the 19th Century and engage visitors in historic-feeling dialogue. This amazing place steps the visitor back in time to experience life in Washington Territory during the fur trade era. Check the website for admission and operating hours information.

Weyerhaeuser Pacific Rim Bonsai Collection

33663 Weyerhaeuser Way S.
Federal Way, WA 98003 253 924 5206 ext. 5206
1 800 525 5440 ext. 5206
Admission Free
Free Parking
www.weyerhaeuser.com/Company/Bonsai
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One of the major cultural attractions in the Puget Sound region, Pacific Rim Bonsai Collection is regarded as one of the top bonsai museums in the United States. Take a guided tour or just stroll through this forest of 100 exquisite Bonsai trees and it’s just 26 miles from downtown Seattle. Be sure to call ahead or check the website, for opening and closing hours.