Down the street the Washington State History Museum is another architectural masterpiece. The dramatic archways were designed to mimic those of the adjacent Union Station. This is not only a beautiful building but is truly a great museum. The permanent exhibits tell the history of Washington through interactive exhibits and high tech displays (Danny enjoyed the elaborate model train display ... pictured at right) and the gift shop is one of the best we have visited.

The highlight, however, was the opportunity to view the nationally touring exhibit: Beyond Lewis and Clark: the Army Explores the West. This fascinating exhibit traced eight decades of Army explorations west of the Mississippi. The Army, as we learned, was the first to explore and map the West, chart routes for the telegraph and railroads and document the region through art and photographs. Most of the objects were original and were on loan from institutions from around the country (Danny especially loved seeing Meriwether Lewis's air rifle).

Adjacent to the museum we walked through an amazing kaleidoscope of color known as the Chihuly Bridge of Glass. This 500-foot-long overpass is a tunnel of brilliant light and color created by Chihuly's glass forms that leads to the Museum of Glass. The distinctive profile of the museum is a Tacoma cultural landmark. We did not “do” the museum…maybe on our next visit.

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