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Although this could very well be a picture of me finding a new treasure at a favorite nursery, it's actually an illustration by David Catrow for a children's book called Plantzilla.

Friday, March 11, 2016

Winter Walk-Off 2016

For the fifth consecutive year, Les at A Tidewater Gardener is hosting his Winter Walk-Off.  Learn more about it here!  The rules are fairly simple.  Walk, ride, or drive to a location, set out on foot and photograph what you see.   Nothing from your own garden.

This year, on a sudden whim on my way home from work during a break between wind and rain storms and armed only with my cell phone, I decided to park downtown and walk around the museum of glass.  The museum itself was closed but there are lots of interesting things to see in the area around the museum.




The sideways cone contains the hot shop and an observation gallery.  The shape is an homage to the wood behive burners that once lined Tacoma's waterfront. You can learn more about the museum here.


Here we have a view of more of the city's icons, the 509 bridge and Tacoma Dome. 



While the museum was closed, the gift shop was still open.



The Chihuly Bridge of Glass, a sky bridge that passes over the highway and streets to link the museum to the city is always open. See more here.   The domed building in the background is Union Station, now used as a federal courthouse.



Parts of the Venetian Wall. 




The "Crystal Towers" are made of polyurethane and are illuminated at night.  If you've driven into downtown Tacoma, you've seen these.  Interestingly, at the time that these were installed, Walmart bags were the same color.  Certainly I wasn't the only one who thought of these as poles of Walmart bags and an interesting commentary about "The City of Destiny."



The Seaform Pavillion, 






Next to Union Station, on the other side of the bridge, is the Newish Washington state History Museum.

Front entrance of Union Station which was also closed.  The interior is gorgeous and has amazing acoustics.  It's also filled with work by Tacoma native, Dale Chihuly.

This spot, tucked away in the middle of all these city buildings and behind a wrought iron fence seemed especially restful.

The Albers Mill building is, I think, the only old brick building left on the waterfront.  It's been repurposed as a gallery and condos or lofts.  There are a lot of condo buildings in this area.


Here we are again where we began.  Hope you enjoyed this quick walk around the museum and that you'll visit Les's blog and participate in the Winter Walk-Off yourself!  Thanks, Les, for hosting this fun party for another year!  Here's to many more!
 
Happy weekend and happy gardening all!

31 comments:

  1. The weather has been so unsettled lately, good for you for finding somewhere that you could take a quick walk and then tuck yourself away indoors if you needed. I've been trying to think of a way to walk inside, out of the brutal weather. Thanks for posting this look at the Museum of Glass. I've never been, but I'd love to go.

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    1. We should go sometime. It's been years since I've been inside the museum!

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    1. And now only a couple of hours away from you! I hope that you'll visit Tacoma once you get more settled in your new digs!

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  3. Nice change of pace. I really like the venetian wall, although there's a lot of beauty to see here. BTW I hope a "beehive burner" is not what it sounds like.

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    1. Nah, they burned wood waste and were called that because of their shape.

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  4. Thanks for the look around! I've always loved Union Station.

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    1. It was such a joy to see Union Station being restored instead of torn down!

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  5. WOW !!!! And that's on your way home from work. I'm wondering if Chihuly did more than the bridge. The clear glass to the multi color art takes my breath away. Lots of beautiful things. Thanks for the "walk off" this is a very clever creation.

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    1. There is a lot of Chihuly's work inside the museum as well. This is actually a couple miles from home so I pass it several times a day.

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  6. Tacoma looks so very interesting. The last time I was there (many years ago) it was more like a very large ghost town. Crazy about glass art but too much of a klutz to own any. Thanks for this look-see.

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    1. It's amazing how much Tacoma has changed in the 35 years I've been here! Gone are the days when downtown was a red light district. Tacoma is worth a visit! Come on up and see me sometime!

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  7. Very cool, Peter. You made us think we need to pay another visit to Tacoma soon.

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    1. Tacoma: It's not as bad as it smells.
      Tacoma: It's not all dodging bullets and holding your purse close.
      Seen on a bumper just a couple of days ago: "Keep Tacoma Feared."
      Do come on down for a visit sometime!

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  8. Wow, that is amazing! All the glass is so beautiful, the plain as well as the coloured, I saw plenty that could have come home with me! Thank you for sharing your walk with us.

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  9. You have a Museum of Glass - how wonderful! That Seaform Pavilion just about made me cry - it's so beautiful. I didn't know that Chihuly was a Tacoma native but I'm glad he did right by his home town.

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    1. In Tacoma, there's a museum for everything: An automobile museum, Washington State History Museum, Manuscript Museum, Art Museum, Glass Museum and others. There's a lot of Chihuly's work in buildings around town.

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  10. Thank you Peter for joining in. I am struck by the wet gray cold in juxtaposition to the colorful glass. It is especially noticeable in the gift shop with those colored cubes of glass and a view to outside. I am glad at least one of your stops was open. Our waterfront once had amazing old brick warehouses, that have likewise made room for condos. Several of the old structures were repurposed, but only one or two retain any glimpse of their original character, most met their fate with a wrecking ball.

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    1. Progress... Interestingly, some of our waterfront is still used for industrial purposes and it's surprising that they build residential stuff so close. I hadn't expected the gift shop to be open either but knew that there was a lot of interesting stuff in the neighborhood around for a walk off. It's always a pleasure to participate in the walk off! Thanks for hosting again!

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  11. The Seaform pavilion is incredible!! It's like looking down on a coral reef. Just amazing. :o)

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    1. You'll have to come see it when you visit Tacoma someday!

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  12. Really fantastic pictures, Peter. The gray sky made for gorgeous pictures, almost mono chromatic. A sunny day would have created a totally different feel. I visited the glass museum some years ago. It may be time to see it again.
    I must recommended the Chihuly museum in the Seattle Center. I think you'd enjoy it.

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    1. I can't believe that I live so close to the Seattle Center installation and haven't seen it yet but have enjoyed other bloggers' coverage.

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  13. It's is so neat to see other walks Love the structures and the colored glass. Thanks for posting.

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  14. so interesting, Peter, to see all that glass art. Your cell phone has (is?) a really good camera.

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  15. A very interesting walk-off! Your phone talks great pictures.

    The seafoam pavilion is gorgeous.

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  16. I used to live near the Corning (NY) and visited the glass museum there. This one looks amazing and you captured the colored glass best - my favorites.
    -Ray

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Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! I love to hear your thoughts.